Healing up Road Rash

[dgaddis]

Laid down the road bike on the ride home from work last night for the first time. Nothing major, just a little road rash and some scratched up bike parts. Been a long time since I've crashed on pavement. Low speed, front tire washed out in an off camber turn. It was raining. I was going slow, didn't think I was anywhere near the limits of the tires. Speaking of which, are the Vittoria Zaffiro tires on my bike especially sucky in the wet?? Or is my perception of grip in the wet just way off? I know I've taken corners much harder, with a lot more lean, in the pouring rain on my mountain bike. I was really surprised when the front end slid out yesterday. Anyhow...

So, what's the best way to quickly heal road rash?

Right now I'm keeping an ointment (neosporen (sp?)) on it and bandaged. If I didn't have to wear pants at work I'd leave it uncovered, but, alas, we have a pants required policy.



Is this why so many of you are afraid of carbon bars on your road bike?

[Too Tall]

Twice a day clean, keep covered with triple ointment and use netted surgical bandage to keep the surgical pads in place.

That ain't no thaing. You'll be healed up by the weekend yah wuss ;)

xxoo

[Chance Legstrong]

for making us look at those hairy sticks
you should be forced to bandage it in duct tape

[tele]

Twice a day clean, keep covered with triple ointment and use netted surgical bandage to keep the surgical pads in place.

love the triple ointment and I like to put Tegaderm on top--easy on/off and breaths well.

[burgess1108]

Tegaderm is absolutely the way to go. Clean, apply, let heal. The best treatment out there.

[Chance Legstrong]

Tegaderm is absolutely the way to go. Clean, apply, let heal. The best treatment out there.

WTF? that is a paper cut do not spend $15/pad for that
but do get some razors (or weed whacker) and get that hair gone

[Lionel]

Brave soldier is what I use.

Also, please buy a razor

[j44ke]

There are pre-medicated dressings that I like. Johnson & Johnson makes the ones I have - Soothing Non-Stick Dressing. They look like a dense mesh screen and they are wet dressings because they have petroleum jelly in them. Clean, coat wound with Neosporin, then the non-stick wet dressing, then the dry non-stick pads to absorb drainage and then one of those elastic net bandages to hold everything together. The crinkly wrap that holds itself in position with interlocking crinkles is good for areas that maybe require a bit more secure wrap. Your wound doesn't look too bad, so really you are just trying to prevent infection and keep things from staining your clothes.

I never was able to get Tegaderm in large enough sections. You can get them by ordering from Amazon, but that doesn't do you much good if you are already wounded.

It helps too to get rid of the hair around the wound. Just be sure to keep things sterile when you shave. Metal razors are great vectors for introducing infections.

I expect you'll want to retire those handlebars.

[Tomi]

So, what's the best way to quickly heal road rash?

There is no quick way. I'm already gone thank you --->[]

[Lionel]

One of the key is to keep the road rash from forming a scar (wet healing) so that you can continue riding. This is particularly true around the top of the knee.

[quickag]

buy a new bike your bike obviously sucks.

[SteveP]

ive cut myself shaving worse than that.
pretty true actually.
it'll heal

[R.Liverman]

It can be gross, but in some cases using Vaseline works in much the same way as Tegaderm. I used my face to slow down about this time last year and putting Vaseline on the wound kept things moist and helped keep scarring to a minimum.

[dashDustin]

This happened over a week ago at Specialized Product Launch:



I've never used Tegaderm before, but this is how it looked 4 days ago...Wasn't expecting the drainage, but apparently that's normal:



It's now finally starting to look like it's healing. Wound is shrinking, I can now shower without screaming like a little girl.

[Chance Legstrong]

honest to gawd it works: Macy's - Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour Cream 1.7 oz. customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings

and Desitin Diaper rash cream over night

to keep scarring to a minimum

[Lionel]

See, this is what happens when you get on a specialized bike. These things are dangerous with their short chainstay and all ;-)

[Saab2000]

Wound is shrinking, I can now shower without screaming like a little girl.

I can't yet....

[nauqneyugn]

Would recommend Polysporin instead - people develop sensitivity to neomycin over time. Funnily enough, a wound care specialist recommended to me leaving the road rash alone and letting it scab over... not that I've ever listened to her.

[Tomi]

Would recommend Polysporin instead - people develop sensitivity to neomycin over time. Funnily enough, a wound care specialist recommended to me leaving the road rash alone and letting it scab over... not that I've ever listened to her.

That's what I've always done. My body knows better than me how to heal.

Besides, I'm proud of my scars, and it helps a lot when I tell the kid about my former life as a caribbean pirate.

[WadePatton]

It can be gross, but in some cases using Vaseline works in much the same way as Tegaderm. I used my face to slow down about this time last year and putting Vaseline on the wound kept things moist and helped keep scarring to a minimum.

white petroleum jelly is the base for every ointment named here...use freely and keep on hand as it's cheap.

vet wrap or "horse wrap" is the self-adhering stretchy bandage that i use most. comes 4" wide rolls, and can be cut narrower for digital application. very durable and comes in colours.

my rule for wound healing (often different but it's all the same) is once it's cleaned and dressed, to keep the dressings clean enough, but to absolutely keep water completely away from it for a few days to several depending on the wound and healing progress.

but you ain't wounded yet.

yeah, i'd get new tires, maybe a wheelset. you might need a thru-axle front-end...safety is a priority right? gonutz.