Using Tegaderm

[steelbikerider]

I had a crash over the weekend ending up with a broken collarbone, ribs and a collapsed lung. Before going to the emergency room, I cleaned up the road rash and put tegaderm over my hip, elbow, and shoulder scrapes so I wouldn't bleed all over my car and clothes. No one in the ER( a branch of Houston Herman) and only 1 nurse in the hospital was familar with the product. They all wanted to clean the wound, put polysporin and gauze over it and let it scab over. After dealing with the bone inuries, the dr insisted on having the wounds cleaned again. When he actually looked at the road rash he was surprised to see a healthy looking and healing wound.

When the nurse came in to redress the wounds, he brought a pink sponge bandage and a tegaderm bandage. I talked him through the application proccess and he seemed pleased with the results.

Anyone else experience this?

[pasadena]

go to a different hospital.

[Dude]

@pasadena lol

I have lots of experiences with tegaderm. It was recommended to me (years ago) by a former cyclist but medical professionals that I know are all familiar with it. Also, check out "hydrocolloid barriers." They are similar to tegaderm except they absorb some of the liquid so you don't get the blister effect and have pepperoni juice ruining your pants.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by pasadena

go to a different hospital.

What he said.

[GOTHBROOKS]

tegaderm is great for healing tattoos.

[Andreas]

Don't go back.

Road rash is wet you need a "wet" dressing.
Go buy some xeroform (CVS etc) and slap it on. Change q24 hrs.

Tegaderm is suboptimal for this application. How do I know? I use it every day.

[steelbikerider]

Insurance means I didn't have a choice.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by Andreas

Don't go back.

Road rash is wet you need a "wet" dressing.
Go buy some xeroform (CVS etc) and slap it on. Change q24 hrs.

Tegaderm is suboptimal for this application. How do I know? I use it every day.

Thanks for the input. This is a bit surprising to hear, because I've had good results with Tegaderm in the past, and other cyclists on the forum also seem to have had good results. I assume we are all talking about the Tegaderm transparent film dressings here.

[chiasticon]

ugh. sorry to hear about your crash. sounds like the road rash is the least of your worries though! hopefully everything else wasn't too terribly serious and heals up quick!

my experience with Tegaderm has been pretty mixed. I mainly used it last year when I crashed on the road and effectively "rolled", ending up with road rash on pretty much every limb. so I got a chance to "sample it" on various parts of my body. I'd say only about 1/4 of it worked out well. the rest had to be replaced pretty quickly, either because of too much liquid build up or movement causing the seal to break. but then on other wounds, it stayed on perfectly for over a week. I've been told it's best to put medical tape over it as well, but I'm not looking for another chance to try.

[clyde the point]

Wounds like road rash heal better/faster when allowed to dry and not covered up in Saran Wrap. Keeps them too wet.

[batman1425]

Tegaderm is good stuff, regularly used, and I'd be leary of any health care professional that not at least aware of it or generic equivalent - tegaderm is a 3M specific product.

There are other options as others have noted but I've had good results - particularly in low movement areas (i.e. not on joints or other areas where it can pull, tug, or work lose over time).

It keeps the area protected from debris, infection, and the dreaded sheet sticking. Requires a bit less maintenance if applied correctly and in the right places than other dressing options. I also like that by keeping the the area hydrated (via the seal) it reduces the likelihood of cracking during healing - which can also be quite uncomfortable.

[pasadena]

Originally Posted by clyde the point

Wounds like road rash heal better/faster when allowed to dry and not covered up in Saran Wrap. Keeps them too wet.

dry = scabs and scars, pain and irritation
tegaderm=faster healing, no scabs, minimal scarring and minimal pain and irritation

[benb]

A lot of the current/newer crop of health care professionals aren't using Tegaderm because it fell out of favor with them quite a while ago and newer nurses/doctors might have been working in a system where it's never been recommended for use since they started working. I'd still expect them to know what the various products are and immediately tell you why they don't recommend a particular course of action.

AFAICT there are 2 different products that cyclists confuse:

1) Actual Tegaderm - plastic film that's thinner than even kitchen plastic wrap and it's clear

2) The hypercolloid barrier products which are translucent white and turn opaque as they absorb fluids. These are much thicker than the tegaderm.

My experience has been the hypercolloid barriers work a lot better on road rash.. I didn't even know for years and years those were not Tegaderm, everyone I rode/raced with called it Tegaderm even though it wasn't. My understanding is you're way more likely to have medical professionals recommend the hypercolloid barrier products.

But I would not expect a doctor a doctor to trust your home cleanup if you subsequently go into the hospital. Way too big of a chance the patient didn't do a good enough job and there could be a dangerous infection lurking.

By the way OP you get some kind of ridiculous hard-man-of-the-year award for cleaning yourself up with a collapsed lung.

[simonov]

Originally Posted by GOTHBROOKS

tegaderm is great for healing tattoos.

Unless you're allergic to certain adhesives. Ouch.

[steelbikerider]

I rode home first It was a long 10 miles.