Bah Humbug

So yesterday I went on my second ride of any serious distance and, like an idiot, tried to go faster around this one right-hand curve. Overcooked it, slid off the concrete, which led to a 2" drop, so the bike went down, I went down, I bounced, chain dropped, and I now have five patches of road rash, including one big one on my side, and a bruised hip. I was hoping to do my weekly aquathlon tomorrow, but I'm guessing that's out of the question now. Any suggestions on how to make road rash heal as fast as possible? They're currently Neosporined and open to the air.

Amusingly, this is one of the things I was deathly afraid of when I started cycling, and other than the split second of panic as I was going down, it wasn't that bad. I got up, looked at it, learned how to reseat the chain, and decided I was going for my ride anyway, since I was half a mile in.

Oh, and HEED rocks my world.

camhabib

Just make sure to keep it clean, it will heal on it's own. Neosporin and a lightly wrapped bandage are best for that. Glad to hear you're ok and that it wasn't worse, as it sounds it could have been.

Tigerprawn

Clean it our REALLY good. I have road rash scars on both my sides and my shoulder. Neosporin works a bit.

MadGrad

Ouch! I crashed recently, and here's what I learned:

1. Duoderm. Go to Walgreen's and get some right now for your road rash, as it is amazing.
2. You're going to be really sore in a few days where you hit the pavement. Alternate icing/hot-padding your biggest bruises and bumps to stay limber, otherwise you may find yourself pretty stiff.

Glad you weren't too injured!

acaurora

I had a similar experience like you... when I first got my hybrid bike I was biking down a street that was being re-done, such that there was about a 2 inch gap between the sidewalk and the actual road. However, I did not see this gap until it was too late, in that I was going from on the road to the sidewalk and was not turning at a sharp enough turn. I heard the tires rubbing against the sidewalk, and down I went. Had a pretty nasty road rash on my leg. Learned that putting a bandaid without neosporin is BAD (couple days of just yanking the pad off). But after I learned about Neosporin I just kept that and the gauze taped to my leg, changing daily. Was not fun taking showers the first week, I can tell you that...

But anyways, I believe what you are doing is correct. Let your wound stay open to the air for now so that it can dry and harden. Once that's done and you have a scab on there, I don't think there's anything else you can do except for it to wait.
But then again this has happened to me only once...

Good luck!

Brian Ratliff

Nobody's mentioned "Tegaderm"!?

Read this: https://www.obra.org/wound_care.html

The guy who wrote it a local masters racer and an ER doctor. He helped me get cleaned up after a crash a few weeks ago.

SwimBike

time machine

Bah Humbug

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, I showered right after I got home, and yeah, it burned bad for the first minute or two, but after that stopped I let it keep running until it was clean and the whole area was pink from blood rushing there. I'll be doing that every night.

Duoderm? Never heard of it, but I'll go see what I can find over lunch. I don't think I've seen a Walgreen's out here, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

Yeah, it could have been worse. I held my head off the ground, which I did when I went down once or twice as a kid, even though I've never been on a bike without a helmet, but it's nice to not be needing a new one right now, and not worrying about a concussion through the helmet.

I also had to take some Ibuprofen to sleep last night, since moving at all hurt. That part seems to be better now, at least.

jdon

Exactly!

San Rensho 

Use what MD's use.

Clean thoroughly with povidone-iodine solution (scrub till you scream), brand name Betadine.

Then get a scrip for Silvadene cream, its the stuff MD's use for treating serious burns. Its very soothing and minimises scarring.

AEO

if it's a large patch, instead of multiple minor cuts, use a bandage to help the blood clot.
instead of removing the bandage each time you are in the shower, just keep it clean and dry it off well, then put another layer of bandage on top. if you're worried about infection, you can drop some rubbing alcohol or iodine onto the bandage.

aloe vera works well too.

AEO

it's best if you just clean out the embedded stuff and pat down the wounds with the iodine.
scrubbing only damages the skin further.

botto 

clean it well. keep it wet. wash off the wet scab tissue several times a day.

Paniolo

On minor rash I use tegaderm. Deep or severe rash the duoderm is excellent. In general I think it is best to keep scabs from forming by using the above. Heals faster and scars less. The advice I follow was an article in velo news by Dr Dawn Richardson ... click the link

unbrokenchain

I have a friend who is an acupuncturist, and she poured a mix of chinese herbs on my roadrash when it was still fresh, and it burned like hell but the healing time is staggering! (crashed on friday, here it is wednesday and I'm seeing new skin!)

I wish I could tell you what herbs were in it, but I'm afraid I can't remember or pronounce them. You might an herbalist that could help you out with something similar. Good luck, pizza doesn't look so delicious when it's on your body!

FLvector

+1 If there is drainage use duoderm.

RacerX

tegaderm and duoderm are the best. no pain after the initial cleaning and it heals very quickly with minimal scarring.
I wish I knew about it much earlier in my racing- i would have a lot less ugly scars.

Bah Humbug

If I had a time machine, I'd be too busy milking the stock market and pulling a groundhog day on all the gorgeous girls here to ride my bike.

Fortunately, the rash isn't deep, just big; I was going quite slowly by the standards around here, and it was on concrete, so there weren't any serious protrusions to dig in. It's honestly 75% rough and swollen but not bleeding skin, and 25% shallow scrapes and punctures. Just enough to leave me out of commission tomorrow.

hendrick81

lemon juice...

DScott

Or a chemical coma. Time flies when you're unconcious!

acaurora

I just remembered also... Hydrogen Peroxide. It'll burn, but it'll be clean.

Bockman

Best post on this ever

notwist

+1 tegaderm

Brian Ratliff

At Walgreens, ask at the pharmacy window for Duoderm. The probably have it, but not on the over-the-counter shelf. Good stuff, especially if you have a huge patch. They also have tegaderm and that's on the shelf.