Went down hard yesterday...advice on wound care

[veggieburger]

Ahem.

I was JRA when I grabbed a drink. All of a sudden the pavement turned from glass to moon surface. Put my hand down and the bars were about an inch behind where my hand was reaching. Over corrected, yada yada, went down on my left side and skidded across the gravel.

No gloves, so hands are both sore and bruised. Partly landed on my elbow, so that’s cut up and tender.

What I’m most concerned about is my left hip, which is a bit like ground beef. Luckily I have fat thighs and was wearing tights, so that’s good. So far I have cleaned it, slathered on the polysporin, and I wear a gauze bandage when I’m at work. Anything else you have done to take care of road rash? Thanks all!

[yarbsr02]

Would use a thin layer of ointment so the gauze doesn’t stick in it. Shower and dry after to keep area clean. Watch for surrounding redness that could be a sign of infection and need medical attention.

[Spdntrxi]

silver colloidal wound gel and tagaderm and patience

[joosttx]

I feel your pain. I broke (cracked) my pelvis last week. I have the most awful looking bruise which is slowly moving down my leg.

[wasfast]

I posted this some time ago as part of another thread on wound care. The info is from a ER doctor in an article on Slowtwitch. The info is not mine but I think it's solid.

Road Rash: The Definitive Guide
1) Wash and scrub the grime from the wound (debridement). Perform this in a shower immediately and wash out the wound really well under running water, scrubbing gently with your finger tips or clean washcloth and soap. Municipal water is clean enough to irrigate your wounds.

2) If the wound is too painful to scrub, apply topical 4% lidocaine cream to the wound and take a Tylenol 15 minutes before your washing routine."

3) You need a tetanus shot if you haven’t gotten one in the last 10 years.

4) No need for alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or betadine for open wounds.
5) Do not open air your wounds. A moist wound healing environment heals the fastest with less scarring. Airing wounds inhibits new skin cells from growing and invites new bacteria to enter your body.

6) Bandage with a non-adherent or "non-stick" bandage to prevent pulling off new skin growth.
a) petrolatum-impregnated gauze (brand name Xeroform)
b) silicone-adhesive based sticky bandages (brand name Mepilex)
7) Change bandages daily or every other day, depending on the amount of bleeding. Silicone-based antibiotic bandage (Mepilex Ag) may be left on up to 7 days.

8) Neosporin not recommended due to possible allergic reaction after long use. Use Xeroform dressing or Aquaphor.
Buy in Advance:

- Xeroform non-adherent gauze: to cover all kinds of road rashes.
- Abdominal gauze pads (also called ABD pads): these collect drainage and blood, placed over the non-adherent gauze (Xeroform).
- Surgilast elastic net: holds bandages in place on arms and legs (see the image highest above).
- Mepilex bordered foam dressing: to cover smaller & flatter wounds (the pink bandages with the rounded corners).
- Lidocaine cream & tylenol pills: optional for pain control.

If the wound is becoming red, warm and painful, these are often symptoms of skin infection. A doctor can apply doxycycline.

Scar Prevention. Treat as above and protect from from UV rays.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by wasfast

I posted this some time ago as part of another thread on wound care. The info is from a ER doctor in an article on Slowtwitch. The info is not mine but I think it's solid.

Road Rash: The Definitive Guide
1) Wash and scrub the grime from the wound (debridement). Perform this in a shower immediately and wash out the wound really well under running water, scrubbing gently with your finger tips or clean washcloth and soap. Municipal water is clean enough to irrigate your wounds.

2) If the wound is too painful to scrub, apply topical 4% lidocaine cream to the wound and take a Tylenol 15 minutes before your washing routine."

3) You need a tetanus shot if you haven’t gotten one in the last 10 years.

4) No need for alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or betadine for open wounds.
5) Do not open air your wounds. A moist wound healing environment heals the fastest with less scarring. Airing wounds inhibits new skin cells from growing and invites new bacteria to enter your body.

6) Bandage with a non-adherent or "non-stick" bandage to prevent pulling off new skin growth.
a) petrolatum-impregnated gauze (brand name Xeroform)
b) silicone-adhesive based sticky bandages (brand name Mepilex)
7) Change bandages daily or every other day, depending on the amount of bleeding. Silicone-based antibiotic bandage (Mepilex Ag) may be left on up to 7 days.

8) Neosporin not recommended due to possible allergic reaction after long use. Use Xeroform dressing or Aquaphor.
Buy in Advance:

- Xeroform non-adherent gauze: to cover all kinds of road rashes.
- Abdominal gauze pads (also called ABD pads): these collect drainage and blood, placed over the non-adherent gauze (Xeroform).
- Surgilast elastic net: holds bandages in place on arms and legs (see the image highest above).
- Mepilex bordered foam dressing: to cover smaller & flatter wounds (the pink bandages with the rounded corners).
- Lidocaine cream & tylenol pills: optional for pain control.

If the wound is becoming red, warm and painful, these are often symptoms of skin infection. A doctor can apply doxycycline.

Scar Prevention. Treat as above and protect from from UV rays.

Thanks for posting that. I'm going to save that, and hope it's not needed. Best of luck with healing to everyone.

[fogrider]

it doesn't look like they are shipping to the US...

https://lqdspray.com/cycling/

[Jere]

Great wound care tips
One more from Doctor Daughter and yes her dads had way too much Road rash.
After shower or before covering.
Flush with Saline and let air dry.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=saline+wo...sl_6gpeygq4n_b

[tigoat]

Sorry to hear that. I get a chill thinking about it. I took a slow but hard fall two years ago that hurt my hip, and to this day, it still feels not 100% normal. Take some rest and recovery quickly.

[veggieburger]

This has all been awesome, thanks!

Now as it starts to heal up and ooze less....can I sit on the spin bike in the basement and just turn cranks? Keep the flexibility up? I wake up in the morning and everything is stiff. Can I pedal (again, no/limited resistance) and everything will still heal up ok? Any drawbacks? Thx!

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by veggieburger

This has all been awesome, thanks!

Now as it starts to heal up and ooze less....can I sit on the spin bike in the basement and just turn cranks? Keep the flexibility up? I wake up in the morning and everything is stiff. Can I pedal (again, no/limited resistance) and everything will still heal up ok? Any drawbacks? Thx!

I'm not that kind of doctor, but I can't see why that would inhibit your ability to heal. They look nasty, but road rash is usually superficial and doesn't require anything to "stay closed" to heal like a cut or slice would. Listen to your body and let pain be your guide. Heck, look at the pros who continue riding grand tours with big road rash wounds. Doesn't seem to slow progression all that much and you often see them scabbed over later in the race.

[cmg]

this.

5) Do not open air your wounds. A moist wound healing environment heals the fastest with less scarring. Airing wounds inhibits new skin cells from growing and invites new bacteria to enter your body.

and silver colloidal wound gel and Tagaderm for the deeper parts of the road rash. Letting the wound form a scab is not a good idea. It dries, gets crusty, falls off, wound remains open, forms scab and repeat. makes the injury last longer.

[zap]

Advice for all cyclists........make sure you have extra large non stick gauze pads at home. Not all stores have the big ones cyclists needed.

I remember the time my wife and I went down on the tandem. Both of us had decent road rash on our left hip. It was not fun driving around looking for extra large gauze pads. Had to make sure the rash cleared the car seats.....that required a decent right lean.

[pobrien]

Hi,

I think you live in Vancouver in Canada? Why not just see your doctor or go to the ER if it is serious? Am I reading your info incorrectly?

We pay a lot of tax for the medical coverage we have...and it is good!

Patrick

[benb]

Yah best wishes it always sucks, hope you feel better soon.

You can always go get yourself checked out at the doctor/hospital to be sure.