Road Rash treatment

faarn

I finally decided to start cycling in winter as the weather here in the UK is so mild. Beautiful day with only a bit of water on the roads so I thought my 23 tyres would be OK.

Long story short, I went round a corner (slowly) and the back tyre went from under me. A combination of leaf oil, water and gravel probably contributed and also my lack of experience in poorer conditions!

My question is what is the best way to treat the resulting road rash? It is about a 10cm diameter graze that is weeping a lot. I tried doing nothing (but am going through far too many trousers and boxer shorts from the puss) and then a gauze (that was painful when I tried to take it off). I am finally using hydrocolloid plasters which are the best so far but the puss is still coming out the sides a bit.

So, what do other people do? recommendations welcome.

diy

Sounds infected are you are to date with Tetanus? You might need something stronger to deal with the infection.

faarn

Pus (i'll spell it correctly this time) was probably not the right word to use. It is a slightly straw coloured liquid so pretty sure it is just white blood cells. I am up to date with my jabs so not worried (will keep an eye on it).

twotyred

Make sure the wound is clean. Scrub it out if necessary. Then use a hydrocolloid dressing such as Duoderm. This dressing is designed to stay in place for about a week keeping the wound moist and accelerating healing so once its on leave it alone. After a week you should see some nice new pink skin growing.

Flâneur

http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Faster-Healing-Hydrocolloid-Dressings-Pack-of-5-Assorted-_1209211/

Two good sizes three small IRC works a treat n avoids scarring. The stuff the pro use (sleeves) cost a small fortune when I looked

northcliff66

It is very important to clean the wound. Scrub it with soap and a soft brush and then rinse with clean water. Scrub a lot until it is all pink and clean. This can hurt a whole lot, but it is the peak of the pain. Those eye wash things are perfect.

Then, put on a hydrocolloid dressing that is big enough. Change it after a few days. Yes, you will rip off some skin/scab. Be brave. Put another one on. A few days later lift the dressing and replace it again. It will probably be no longer sticking. If it does, repeat until it doesn't.

Chances are you will have a new skin covering within a week. If not it is normally because the wound was not properly cleaned to start off with. If that is the case you either man up and scrub like mad again (really painful) or wait the process out with dressing changes.

Hydrocolloid dressings are the quickest solution, as long as the wound is not being frequently flexed, which his why you do not regularly see them on TV as a quick fix. But they are the best for those of us who are fortunate to be able to prioritise recovery over performance.

FatTed

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19765801#p19765801]northcliff66[/url] wrote:

It is very important to clean the wound. Scrub it with soap and a soft brush and then rinse with clean water. Scrub a lot until it is all pink and clean. This can hurt a whole lot, but it is the peak of the pain. Those eye wash things are perfect.

Then, put on a hydrocolloid dressing that is big enough. Change it after a few days. Yes, you will rip off some skin/scab. Be brave. Put another one on. A few days later lift the dressing and replace it again. It will probably be no longer sticking. If it does, repeat until it doesn't.

Chances are you will have a new skin covering within a week. If not it is normally because the wound was not properly cleaned to start off with. If that is the case you either man up and scrub like mad again (really painful) or wait the process out with dressing changes.

Hydrocolloid dressings are the quickest solution, as long as the wound is not being frequently flexed, which his why you do not regularly see them on TV as a quick fix. But they are the best for those of us who are fortunate to be able to prioritise recovery over performance.

And they weep so don't worry, if that is a problem you could always put another dressing over the Hydrocolloid dressing

faarn

Scrubbing it out was lots of fun! Luckily there was little grit and my bib shorts pretty much stayed in tact so stopped the dirt getting in. The hydrocolloid plasters seems to be working, I do find it a bit of a con when only half of the quoted plaster size has the hydrocholloid pad. Am having to use 4 which means the overlaps leak a little bit.

sungod

depends how oozy the wound is, but i think alginate is better for oozier ones than hydrocolloid, if it's not oozing too much a tegaderm film one is good

btw the gel dressings soak up the ooze and keep it there, which makes it look much heavier than it really is

try asking at the chemist's counter if they have any large dressings, afaik they don't come in retail packs so you don't see them on the shelves

ideally you want to only change every few days and let the skin regrow without being disturbed too much

briantrumpet

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19765917#p19765917]sungod[/url] wrote:

try asking at the chemist's counter if they have any large dressings, afaik they don't come in retail packs so you don't see them on the shelves

Might also be worth asking your GP is they have any large dressings. Ideally you want a good centimetre of clean undamaged skin to stick the dressing to, so your dressing needs to be quite a bit bigger than the wound, as you want the whole healing process to be anaerobic. The first time I used the dressings, the creamy liquid concerned me, but the complete lack of pain or heat convinced me to leave it on. On removal the liquid was odourless, reassuring me that all was fine.

Incidentally, Tegaderm is another option - it isn't hydrocolloid, as such, but similarly seals the injury, and keeps the 'healing juices' on the skin. (Edit - large dressings available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Tegaderm-Semi-Permeable-12cmx12cm/dp/B012TL9B52/)

I'd have to admit that when my dad died, the small pile of large dressings that had been stored at home didn't make it back to the hospital. After all, he'd have liked to have known that I'd have the means to patch myself up, if necessary. Thankfully the need hasn't arisen since.

faarn

I think I will order a few off Amazon. I will also ask my Dr next time I am there (not often luckily). I have been overlapping the small ones to keep it air tight which does seem to work but not so keen putting the sticky edge over the raw bit. Still it comes off easily enough and doesn't seem to take the new skin with it.

sungod

note that the tegaderm film ones look sticky over the whole surface, don't worry, they seem not to stick to the damaged bit

no problem showering with them

make sure you don't get creases/bubbles when applying, think/plan first, then put it on, some have a carrier around the edge that makes them easier to handle