# Need Advice on Wounds from Chain Ring



## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

Yesterday, a guy cut me off (he did not have the right of way) in a pickup truck and I had no choice but to ditch my bike to avoid hitting him. I was barely moving but fell to my left hitting my left knee. There's a bloody spot and the knee is sore but I'm not too worried about it. 

Of more concern is my right lower leg where the large chain ring embedded itself with four of its teeth. I had so much adrenaline, I at first continued with my ride but then stopped and realized it needed to be cleaned out. I was only about a half mile from my house when it happened. I cleaned it out, bandaged it and proceeded on my 34 mile ride.

I again cleaned it when I showered and put a new bandage on. It bled more during the night. I went to the nurse at my company who said it is not infected but she wonders about the openings and their potential to become so. She couldn't get steri-strips to stick. I have an appointment with my doctor in 2 hours but they told me that they won't be able to stitch it should they determine it needs it. I don't understand that! They said they would only stitch if it had just happened. So, this will mean an emergency visit which is very expensive and time-consuming. I will be receiving a tetanus shot at my doctor's.

I know it's going to leave a prominent scar but I'm not too concerned about that. I wouldn't get stitches just to impact that but I am concerned about infection.

I'd appreciate feedback from others when chain ring insertion injuries. I'd imagine they're fairly common.

Thanks,


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## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

I'd guess they're rare injuries. Best thing to do is keep it clean. Use an antibiotic cream instead of an ointment and keep it wrapped up. Should heal up quickly.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

I've never had that particular injury, though I've had plenty of others from mountain biking and skateboarding. Make sure to keep it clean and covered with bandages, which should be changed frequently.


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## Guod (Jun 9, 2011)

I'd agree with the 'just keep it clean' approach. I get pleanty of cuts and scrapes in my line of work (automotive tech) that involve grime and dirt. If you're diligent with the bandages and cleanliness those punctures should heal fine. The only time you should start to worry is if they become dark red and inflamed. I actually got myself with the big chain ring not too long ago putting a pedal on (socket slipped and my wrist got some neat punctures). Nothing to worry about though. +1 on the tetanus shot if you aren't current.


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## maximum15 (Feb 6, 2004)

Just guessing here, but I imagine it is similar to a dog bite, ie, puncture wounds. I believe the typical procedure for that is wash with soap and water, tetanus shot if not current, and keep the punctures clean and dry.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

No big deal. Just wash it out and cover.

The scar will fade away in a year.

My wounds helped me collect 10 big ones from an insurance company.
(yes, I am a bad person)
.
.
.
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.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

If you're concerned about infection, watch for the signs: redness, heat, swelling. If they show up, get to doc or nurse and get antibiotics. If no signs of infection in a day or two, just keep it clean and it will heal.

How deep did they go?

You'll probably have a permanent grease tattoo when it heals - consider it a badge of honor. After the wounds are mostly closed, consider using hydrocolloidal bandages or tegaderm to minimize the scarring


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## Tommy Walker (Aug 14, 2009)

Is the bike OK.


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## 9er (Oct 26, 2011)

25 stitches. Keep it clean, current tetanus, watch for staph. Those teeth are sharp!


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## minutemaidman (Jun 14, 2010)

Sorry about your wound. You got all the good advice you need here except for one more thing: keep it in the big ring (especially when wrenching on your pedals) and you will avoid this kind of thing in the future. Heal quick!


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

Thanks everyone.

I went to the doctor. My regular one wasn't there and instead I saw a drop-dead gorgeous woman doctor so no complaints about the examination.

She said 20 hours is the limit on getting stitches and explained the medical reason for it - something about the healing and congealing process already being too far along at that point. She inserted a cue tip into each of the punctures and determined that the healing process had begun and there was little chance of them remaining open, again using terminology I wasn't familiar with. She added that it looks like things should progress without a problem so long as I continue bandaging it carefully and watch for signs of infection.

I probably wouldn't have gone to the doctor except the nurse at my company strongly recommended it particularly because I hadn't had a tetanus shot. So the visit served to bring me up-to-date on that.

Yes, *JCavilia*, I will consider my "tattoo" a badge of honor and I'll defnitely have one. I tried to get the grease out of it initially so I don't know if much grease will be part of it but there is still a hint of black smudge. The teeth went all the way in as far as I can tell.

I wish I got the jerk's license plate who almost ran me over. He barely missed getting into an accident with a car coming towards him which also didn't expect him to make the turn he did. I bounced off the pavement and looked right into his sneering face and he took off. It's my first time going down in 15,000+ of road cycling so I guess I was due. Fortunately my bike was completely undamaged as my body took all the impact.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

JasonB176 said:


> I went to the doctor. My regular one wasn't there and instead I saw a drop-dead gorgeous woman doctor so no complaints about the examination.


With medical matters it's always best to play it safe. You should have taken the opportunity to get checked for a hernia and also have gotten a prostate exam.


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## Irch (Mar 15, 2011)

I still have a permanent scar on the back of my calf from a mtb chainring. I'm not too concerned with it. Scars happen. I did nothing more than wipe it off with alcohol and dab some antibiotic creme on the punctures.


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## easyridernyc (Jan 10, 2008)

first get it clean, sounds like you're past that, cold water over the affected area to reduce the swelling and give you a good luck at what you're dealing with. then the tough part. tear/rip away hanging and nasty bits of skin, the very small pieces im talkin here, like less than an eighth or a sixteenth, that dont want to lay flat. if you dont get them out of the way and smooth the area out now, that flayed skin will eventually turn into nasty looking scar tissue later on. get it now. hurts like a mf, but worth it later on, trust me. then cover the wounded area until you can get to the anitspetic. if there's nothing clean around and its not bleeding profuse, my advice is leave it uncovered until you can get to something clean to cover it. ok step 2. 

antiseptic to get the dirt, all the dirt the f out, and that part is gonna hurt like f. then dry. then bacitricin. and cover with gauze, secure the gauze with the medical tape. keep the wound and the area immediately around it especially clean. mild soap and warm water when you shower is probably ok, hurts like a mf, but probably ok, keeps the wound and the area surrounding it clean, take it like a man lol. rinse the soapy water completely away, dry around the area with super clean towel or sterile cotton, and then get back in/on that mf with the ointment. then cover with the gauze. repeat. repeat. repeat. repeat. bacitricin will eventually heal the wound. 

as it gets cooler/colder if you keep riding, cover the wounded area up, keep it protected from the elements, the cold air will try to dry it up and aggravate the healing process. keep it hydrated with the bacitiricin....good luck feel better


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## Tobypaw (Nov 4, 2011)

We were in a bad bike crash last year and my husband landed on his buddy's bike and specifically on the derailler. He has a permanent scar across his thigh that looks like claw marks and it almost looks like the grease got engrained too even tho we cleaned it out real well and used paper stitches. When people ask him what it is, he says he was attacked by a bear.


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

I caught a chainring to the face in a road bike crash in late August, more or less along my left jawline. The 7 deepest punctures got one stitch each (to my surprise, they didn't shave my beard to do the stitching). The more shallow ones just got cleaned out. I didn't cover any of the stitches, but applied neosporin twice a day and they healed up quick.


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

Listen to your doctor, not anonymous advice on internet message boards.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

alane said:


> listen to your doctor, not anonymous advice on internet message boards.


^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Should make a nice "cat 5 tat".


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

Pics of the doctor plz.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

I had three front chainring teeth embed themselves in my right calf in the summer of 2006 when I was riding through a small town in France and two pedestrians jumped in front of my bike and I slammed on the brakes and jumped from the bike to avoid hitting them. The middle tooth was embedded deepest. For about two years the scars from all three teeth were very prominent. Now, the only scar that is visible is from the middle tooth and it faint enough that someone probably would not notice it unless I pointed it out to them.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

MarkS said:


> I had three front chainring teeth embed themselves in my right calf in the summer of 2006 when I was riding through a small town in France and two pedestrians jumped in front of my bike and I slammed on the brakes and jumped from the bike to avoid hitting them. The middle tooth was embedded deepest. For about two years the scars from all three teeth were very prominent. Now, the only scar that is visible is from the middle tooth and it faint enough that someone probably would not notice it unless I pointed it out to them.


I'm glad it healed well for you. Did you develop any type of infection during the healing process?

I'm seeing a bit of bleed-through again from last night's bandage but it looked good last night. I'll continue to follow my doctor's recommendations and will be riding tomorrow.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

JasonB176 said:


> I'm glad it healed well for you. Did you develop any type of infection during the healing process?
> 
> I'm seeing a bit of bleed-through again from last night's bandage but it looked good last night. I'll continue to follow my doctor's recommendations and will be riding tomorrow.


I did not develop any infection. I'm glad to hear that you will be riding tomorrow. When I embedded the chainring in my leg, I was on a riding vacation. So, I did not let it get in the way of riding. Good luck.


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## Trower (Apr 28, 2009)

Ouch! I had a chainring gash my leg open a couple years ago and I just changed the bandage twice a day, morning and after work, used neosporin, cleaned it out with every bandage change, and once it started to close up used Vitamin E ointment on it and it didn't even leave much of a scar! 

Hope it heals up quickly for ya


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## Nickk (Oct 24, 2011)

ouch, sounds like yours went deep. I had one from a mountain bike in a bike path and oblivious pedestrian incident. I had 5 nice gashes that wrapped around my calf, it looked like I escaped from Freddy Kruger, mine weren't too deep though.


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