Ygduf

grab a boom handle to bite down on and htfu.

spdntrxi

^ that's what I use on paper cuts

globecanvas

+1 to patchwork tegaderm not being useful. For days 1-3 I used 5 of the 2.5x2.5 tegaderm bandages to cover one area, but the tegaderm really needs to adhere to undamaged skin on at least 3 sides or it just slides all over the place. It probably ended up only covering half of the road rash at any given time, so kind of a waste of money. Finally today (day 4) I got the big tegaderm bandages and I can cover the area with 2 of the 4x4.75 bandages with undamaged skin contact on 3 sides of each, and it is staying in place.

Ygduf

anyone else ever used colloidal silver gels?

I got some after my neighbor recommended it to me for the puncture wound, but honestly I feel like my road rash healed more yesterday under the silver solution than it had in the previous 3-4 days with careful tegaderming.

burger0014

@Ygduf where did you get this giant roll of tegaderm, I can't seem to stop crashing this year.

Ygduf

https://www.amazon.com/Smith-Nephew-5...ustomerReviews

that's the tegaderm. Let me tell you though, after my last crash my neighbor recommended to me silver colloid gel. I looked it up an it seemed sort of homeopathic or something, but I gave it a shot and I swear to god it's better than tegaderm. Put the colloid gel on, it gums up but creates a seal. Then slap gauze over that (just to keep the gel-layer clean). My knee made as much progress in 1 day with the silver colloid as it did with 3 days of tegaderm with significantly less fuss.

I was taking bandages off to ride and the knee was fine. The gel collects grime but soap/water and it comes right off in the shower. Get out, dab dry and re-apply.

I feel weird because it isn't popular and doesn't seem to be well known so it feels like I'm advocating for powerbalance or copperfit or some sham product, but spend the $10 for 2 tubes and give it a shot.

burger0014

thanks, I'll try anything, I hate the oozing

globecanvas

Another tip for covering large areas or difficult to wrap areas (like high on the hip) without going the mummy/wrap/miles of tape route, which always comes apart anyway. I got a couple pair of panty hose from the dollar store and cut them apart so I had one leg plus waistband, and another leg which I used as an arm sleeve. It worked great for holding on the gauze while the wound was still exuding and continues to work great for covering the tegaderm to keep it from rubbing off while exercising or sleeping. Also it nicely shapes and tones the legs

king_boru

I swear by vinegar. Soak a clean cloth, bite down on thick piece of caramel, breathe deeply and apply vinegar cloth. It will clean that rash up pronto. I've done it lots. Even applied it to my face after making out with the road for a few tens of meters.

Hurts worse than the crash though.

dcwldct

This man^^ has HTFUd

krumvis

No, it doesn't work like that.

TimmyT 

Vinegar is antibacterial and antiviral. You can do that, but rubbing alcohol (isopropyl or ethanol) will do the same thing.

1. Clean out the gunk and grit.
2. Clean it with alcohol (or vinegar, if you like)
3. After that, clean it with betadine. I use cotton pads soaked in betadine.
4. After that, put a salve on it, such as an antibacterial ointment ... something from the neosporin/bacitracin shelf in the drug store.
5. Finally, cover with tegaderms or non-stick pads.

Change the dressings 1x or 2x daily.

Ygduf

again, silver colloidal is the bomb.

if you want pain, go with new-skin spray. You'll get some relief when you pass out from the pain. Best applied while over a padded surface.

trainsktg

This is pretty much in concept what I did when I rashed my whole right shin from ankle to knee, but I went a bit cruder.... I vasolined the the whole area, applied a couple layers of folded wet paper towel, and covered with duct tape, with the edges attached to good skin. It was pretty much healed within two weeks and I didn't even get any pink scarring.

Keith

TimmyT 

Duct tape is not hypoallergenic, and I've developed contact dermatitis using it on skin.

YMMV.

mattm

I feel like this thread should be in the 41.

Ygduf

silver colloidal gel!

rideaz

This is what happens when they patch you up when you crash mid ride. Gauze and electrical tape: do not recommend because after the adrenaline wears off, you have to peel it off

dz_nuzz

Oh man, I made that mistake once where you use gauze on open wounds....that is one of the most unpleasant experiences in the world. I feel for ya @rideaz !

Ygduf

just wear the gauze into the shower and let it soak a bit. the only times I've had gauze on fresh road rash was from race medics applying it, so I needed to do a deeper clean anyway.

mecheng

Just wanted to give a thumbs up to Ygduf and Silver colloidal gel for wound treatment. I have/had a deep open wound (through the skin, down to the muscle) from sliding on pavement, and it kept on bleeding with Tegaderm. After one night with the silver gel, the bleeding pretty much stopped (knock on wood). If you're skeptical, for $10 it's worth a try. Cheaper than a pack of Tegaderms, anyway.

scheibo

so... i crashed again (5th time this year, 3rd 'serious' crash). while i didn't learn from my past mistakes about not riding on bad roads, i did go see the doctor right away this time (as opposed to waiting two weeks until i was infected). one thing im having trouble with is that this doctor wants to keep the wound dry vs. last time for almost identical injuries (like scary how similar the wounds look) where the wound care specialist i ended up having to see wanted the wound to be moist during healing.

i'm not above second guessing medical professionals (probably the same hubris that is resulting in all these crashes), and my web searches seem to indicate keeping the wound moist will end up with better results. am i crazy for thinking that i should be following the procedure the wound care specialist at the hospital had me using last time as opposed to just listening to the doctor at the clinic i saw today?

Ttoc6

Do you want scabs? Let it dry. Do you not want scabs? Keep it moist.

No matter what you do, keep it covered and keep it clean. If you see any sort of debris in the wound get it out ASAP. It's gonna hurt like a ***** but it's a lot better to do it now than have to reopen it and pull a stone or shard of carbon fiber out of a weeping scab.

If you're up for experimentation, try out @Ygduf 's Collodial Silver gel. I used it last time (mtb crash trying to jump my bike) to some successful results. Stopped the bleeding, scabs didn't form as thick but it did cause some weird ridges to form in my skin that took a while to heal. Still have the normal pink/rawness left over but it worked.

If you don't want to experiment gauze ortegaderm. If you can't afford or don't want to pay for tegaderm (or the wound is too large...) use saran wrap and neosporin or Petroleum jelly + skin tape to keep it in place and moist.

scheibo

Thanks. I'm pretty well equipped with tegaderm/gauze/non stick pads/colloidal silver/topical antibiotic/etc, and already had 2 doctors/nurses spend the better part of an hour cleaning the wounds and picking out debris. I want to go the moist healing route because I believe it will be faster healing and reduce scarring. My hip wound is too large for tegaderm currently (at least, the biggest sheets they had at the doctors/pharamacy), but until it reduces saran wrap actually seems like a pretty cool idea - i hadn't heard of that one before. Thanks!

Heathpack 

IMO you should get a second opinion and keep the wound moist until you do.

Twice I have been bitten by a dog with resultant infections. The first time it was handled very well by a hand surgeon. The second time I went to an urgent care place and the nurse practitioner there was floundering a little. I said something like, "Yeah it sucks, this happened to me once before & my hand surgeon wound up having to go with XYZ treatment".

She went behind the scenes and came back 15 minutes later telling me she'd made a phone call and consulted with a hand surgeon who suggested XYZ treatment course.