[blurman]

Any ideas to help alleviate the pain and help speed up the healing process?

 

[Psycho Mike]

I'm no doctor, but from a first aid perspective there are a couple of ideas I could pass on...

For helping the healing: get the wound good and clean to start with. It'll hurt, but it is important to do...last thing you want is a rip-roaring infection. Bandage things for the first couple days (preferably with non-stick dressing) and after that, let the air at it.

As for pain...the Bandaid folks had a lidocane wound wash that may help topically. Tylenol or Ibuprofen may also help.

 

[LadyDi]

Ouch!!! First of all, big abrasions are essentially like burns in that large amounts of fluid and electrolytes will be lost thru the skin. Drink more Hammer/Cytomax-type sports beverages during your recovery and watch for signs of infection. Resurrecting an old post of mine on this topic. Since I wrote it I've acquired firsthand experience, after a sliding crash of my own, with the dressing described below. It really works! Good luck and here's that old post:

I feel your pain. My bf had a rather horrific crash off a sandstone ledge over the summer. Lost patch of skin ~2" x 6"+ on his shin. Being the manly man, he adamantly refused to go to the E.R., even tho I work at a hospital. So we looked up the latest on road rash (this was essentially road rash) & followed instructions:
http://www.freewheel.com/mvw/cure.htm

Hydrogen Peroxide, triple antibiotic ointments, alcohol, iodine, etc. are no longer recommended as these substances kill healthy tissue & delay healing. Letting a hard scab form isn't recommended either because, believe it or not, this also delays healing. A scabby wound is more likely to become infected.

Get a big bottle of sterile saline from the drugstore to rinse your wound. Pat dry. Then you'll need a hydrocolloid dressing. Hydrocolloid dressings are amazing. They're spongy pads (thickness varies by brand) that you place, sticky side down, directly on the abrasion. Put it on & leave it on for days. It soaks up "exudate" (that ooze), gets puffy & weird, but is meant to stay on until it practically falls off by itself. Your skin heals underneath without scabbing. Some brands of hydrocolloid dressings are Biocclusive, Duoderm, Exuderm. Larger drugstores will carry some version in their 1st Aid/badages aisle. Look for HYDROCOLLOID WOUND DRESSING on the label or ask the pharmacist for assistance. They're somewhat pricey (sorry).

Clear-to-yellowish oozing is normal and not indicative of infection. My bf had so much oozing that initially, in addition to the Duoderm dressing, we also placed some thick absorbent gauze ON TOP OF the Duoderm and held the whole deal in place with a long cut length of pantyhose. This bandage was quite comfortable for him as he could wear it under jeans at work w/o "sticking".

If you have any serious concerns about your injury, please consult a doctor. Be well!

***Additional comment on pain-- hydocolloid wound dressings naturally alleviate pain by covering raw nerve endings.

 

[blurman]

Thanks for the advice!

Found some 3M Tegaderm at a medical supply store, works good but fills up with all the fluid from the wound ozzing. Going to look for the hydro colloid dressing tomorrow.

 

[xcguy]

Great thread!

This was very informative. I've made mistakes in the past treating road rash (not as bad as yours, though) but this thread has shown me and others the proper way. Thanks again. Here's hoping I'll never have to use this advice!

 

[CdaleTony]

I let mine dry. Big mistake. It did get infected in spots and I had to hot soak the scab off in the tub... Disgusting, though I am a scab picker at heart....

The google info helped mine alot....It was wierd how it wept only 'plasma' and no blood...
CDT

 

[Hot Compress]

Wrap up the wounds with 4x4 mesh dressing. Use anti-biotic ointment for the first couple of days. Then, start using vasaline on the wound. The trick is to let air get to the rash, but not let it become completely dry (hence- vasaline keeps it moist). When your at home take off the bandages and just keep vasaline on the wounds. Don't be concerned when you get serous (clearish-yellowish) exudate. The wound will heal a lot faster and there will be very little scaring with this method. If you keep it wrapped all the time, it will be nasty, stink, and take forever to heal. Don't forget to keep it clean!

Looks gnarly by the way. Way cooler than tattoo's.

ben

 

[jerichoharris]

I've had a similar but smaller rash from playing football (soccer) on artificial turf layered over with a bit of sand. I got home, thought I'd better clean it so dabbed it with a bit surgical spirit. I cried like a girl and wouldn't recommend it.

 

[dadat40]

for wound cleaning you can get those iodine brush/sponges that they use in ER they work great .
I like the scab look but those are a little to large to do that with

 

[JapanBiking]

The best article ever on road rash treatment

I've read many articles on this topic and this one is the most complete I've seen. I have it printed out in my house.

Dealing with road rash

By Dawn M. Richardson, MD FACEP

This report filed May 14, 2003

velonews.competitor.com/2003/05/coaches-panel/ask-the-doctor-with-dawn-richardson_3909