Road rash abrasion.

ben@31

Hi,

I had a big off caused by wet leaves on a corner and I've now got a red patch the size of a playing card on my hip. Good news is my favourite bib shorts are okay and I did not get mugged in the park.

If I press tissue against my hip, I still have capillary bleeding. Any advice what I can do? Or is it just a case of placing some medical gauze over the top and some sticky tape?

JackPozzi

Tegaderm is good, assuming you can find some big enough to cover the abrasion, and make sure it's properly cleaned out before applying any dressing

g00se

Hydrocolloid dressings - to stop a scab hardening - but maybe check with a GP, pharmacist or NHS Direct for advice....

redvee

g00se wrote:

Hydrocolloid dressings - to stop a scab hardening - but maybe check with a GP, pharmacist or NHS Direct for advice....

I was given a box full, 50, when I had my road rash some years ago and was told to return those I didn't use to the GP which I did after keeping a dozen or so. They work well but feel odd as you can feel the liquid under the dressing if you press it.

Omar Little

+ for hydrocolloid (i think tegaderm is the same thing). Clean the wound first then put the dressing on and keep it on for a week or so before removing.

me-109

The sarcastic reply is that for an off to be "big" requires more than just a small dressing to patch up. ;-)

cadseen

Ive got one as well recently, but I just try to let and keep mine open and dry and scab over to heal.

pdstsp

I had some quite severe road rash back in the summer after the off that left me with a broken acetabulum - basically the whole of my left leg and arm was pretty scuffed. Hospital put a dressing on one deepish abrasion on my arm but left the others to heal over themselves. The nurses kept a pretty close eye on them for any sign of infection but seemed to think they would heal quicker left alone.

(As a by-line when I was in a&e the nurse wanted to cut my bib-shorts off but I had my favourite assos ones on so we did a deal where he gave me another shot of morphine and then removed the shorts normally - things you do for money!)

Tjgoodhew

Lucky enough to not suffer an off and cycling road rash but spent years of nursing grass burns from football when playing in the summer. I would usually have at least one at any one time on either hips or knees

What i found worked well was not covering it with anything and then using iodine spray to keep it clean. Using dressing seemed to make the wound "sweat" and took a lot longer to heal.

Keeping it uncovered might not be practical and in that situation a sheet of melolin just to stop it sticking to clothes but trying to allow as much air to get to it as possible

ben@31

I got a box of hydrocolloid plasters from Boots. But they're were not very big. Much smaller than the box they come in! I have not managed to get the first plaster properly aligned, it does not even cover the fringes of the top of the abrasion.

It's just a pitty the abrasion is on my hip, as when walking I can feel my jeans rub a bit.

Any recommendations where's the best place to get big hydrocolloid plasters from?

@ Bf109... It was big for me. I'll try and get more abrasion and a few somersaults for you next time. I'll throw myself into the corner with more vigor I wonder if the KOM on Strava was done in the back on an ambulance?

johncp

Pharmacies have a range of hydrocolloid dressings, but usually in the dispensary so need to ask. They can be a bit pricey but as said above, depending on how much fluid is being lost, they can stay on for a week or so. Don't panic when you see all the yellowish goo building up, its just how the hydrocolloid reacts with tissue fluid. You can probably leave the dressing on until the fluid starts to leak out at the sides :shock: As long as the skin around the road rash is normal colour, not pink and not hot, there's no need to panic

bigmul

Best to get the dressings from the docs as they are quite expensive as others have said. I had a big off 6 weeks back but on gravel (gravel rash), hospital had to scrub it out and its still not healed yet. Also had 4 lots of stitches in my face which have healed thankfully and need 2 new teeth - it was a "big" off!

deswahriff

...I've had quite a few tumbles this year...I've found, for hip/outer thigh road rash, savlon (after cleaning in the shower) then a melonin pad (quite cheap), shiny side on the wound to stop sticking, held on with micropore tape. Change daily for the first couple of days....
...knees and elbows, usually the same, but maybe a hydrocolloid dressing after the first couple of days - to make sure its healing ok first.

...I much prefer to keep an eye on any wound for the first days just to make sure its not getting infected...there's always loads of gungy stuff, but that's normal and shouldn't smell too offensive.
...there are some excellent articles in google land, with one ingenious solution involving sanitary towels and ladies tights.....!