# Road Rash Question



## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

You know when road rash is healing, it gets this little layer of a crappy attempt to be skin over it?

You're supposed to scrape that off, right?


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## PdxMark (Feb 3, 2004)

Argentius said:


> You know when road rash is healing, it gets this little layer of a crappy attempt to be skin over it?
> 
> You're supposed to scrape that off, right?


Are you using a wet-heal method (kept covered & smeared with ointment) or a dry-heal method (allowed to dry & scab)? In either case, I don't think you want to intentionally scrape stuff off unless it's green & stinks.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

wet / covered.

I don't know that I'm describing it very well, but you probably know what I mean. It SEEMS like the new skin grows below the injury, but this stuff builds up on top of it, but I'm no doctor...


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

depends what you mean by scrape, but my undersanding is you are supposed to keep that layer off -- which is the first step of scab formation. My understanding by doing that (with a warm wet cloth) is that it reduces both infection and scar after. I've had good resuts with that-just don't expect that part of your body to tan again..


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

"scrape," yeah, I rub it off with a cloth in the shower...


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## vonteity (Feb 13, 2005)

Argentius said:


> "scrape," yeah, I rub it off with a cloth in the shower...


Ew... I leave it on and just keep it wet. That gunk peels off when it's healed anyhow. Are you using tegaderm?


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

Argentius said:


> "scrape," yeah, I rub it off with a cloth in the shower...


I think once you starting having to pick it off, then you shouldn't. I'd use some neosporin and new bandage. I think I left some stones in my elbow last year. I got these black things in my arm still.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Tegaderm, yeah, but as much as they say you can leave it on for a week, after I go for a ride it is pretty trashed. I hear duoderm is better, I think I need to find a website that I can order a bunch of that from, for the future...


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Argentius said:


> Tegaderm, yeah, but as much as they say you can leave it on for a week, after I go for a ride it is pretty trashed. I hear duoderm is better, I think I need to find a website that I can order a bunch of that from, for the future...



Douderm is better. But, it is outrageously expensive.

I had a major road rash experience a few years ago. (I lost control of my bike when descending on a wet road at 44.5 mph -- when I slid across the road on my right side, the road literally ripped my shorts off of me. I had a patch of road rash on my thigh/upper butt that was about 4 inches wide and 8 inches long). The duoderm worked well. I did not touch anything that developed under it. When I took a shower (daily), I removed the bandage and put a new one on. But, I did not do anything to the road rash area (i.e., I did not scrape it). After a week or so, I would stand to let water hit it in the shower, but I did not rub it. Three years later, I still have a scar, but it is significantly less prominent that the scar from the small patch of road rash that I got on my arm in the same accident and on which I did not use duoderm and yanked off the scab that formed during the healing purpose (I did not intend to pull off the scab, but it happened when I was changing the conventional bandage on it).


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## allison (Apr 19, 2006)

I've actually used J&J's second skin kind of bandages recently. They create a nice white bubble of protection. I've kept one bandage on as long as like 4-5 days and it's still stuck pretty well. I just put on one of the Nexcare similar bandages, and I don't think it works as well. CVS was out of the J&J bandages, though. Need to get some more of those!


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## 514Climber (Oct 19, 2005)

*You may want to see a dermatologist*

Mine told me to apply sunscreen. She really stressed the importance of keeping it moist and out of the sun. 

Now I hear there is some sort of wrap that you can put over the wound that helps reduce the appearance of scars. I don't know the exact name - I'm going to visit my derm soon and get all the righteous Rx so I can have a personal road-rash kit for those miserable days.


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## lot8con8 (May 17, 2006)

*one word.........*



Argentius said:


> You know when road rash is healing, it gets this little layer of a crappy attempt to be skin over it?
> 
> You're supposed to scrape that off, right?




..................for me............................Bactroban for road rash as well as other things................


JG


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## bas (Jul 30, 2004)

It's the really expensive stuff at your local grocery store for scars.





514Climber said:


> Now I hear there is some sort of wrap that you can put over the wound that helps reduce the appearance of scars. I don't know the exact name - I'm going to visit my derm soon and get all the righteous Rx so I can have a personal road-rash kit for those miserable days.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*The method*



Argentius said:


> "scrape," yeah, I rub it off with a cloth in the shower...


You want to keep things wet with antibiotic ointment at all times. Gently going over the "gunk" with a washcloth in the shower is fine, but no scrubbing.


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## WingNut (Oct 12, 2005)

Argentius said:


> You know when road rash is healing, it gets this little layer of a crappy attempt to be skin over it?
> 
> You're supposed to scrape that off, right?


Wash thoroughly in clean water (ie in the shower)With a clean cloth and get rid of it and then cover it, fixomull is cheap and fantastic, my favourite dressing for this kind of wound - the stuff you mention is probably chewing-gum-like exudate and wound slough that retards healing, try to avoid scab formation, it slows healing. Here's a thread I started that may help.
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=74056&highlight=road+rash


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## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

It builds up on top to protect the skin underneath. 

I'm all for the wet method. Tegaderm, gel gauze, polysporin, etc. Stinks and looks pretty messy, but one day you wash it all off and you are healed.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Yeah, I suppose the crap is "chewing-gum" like. Thanks, I just nearly threw up my breakfast.

Appreciate both the simple answer and the lots o' tips in your thread...


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Second the J&J Advanced Care*



allison said:


> I've actually used J&J's second skin kind of bandages recently. They create a nice white bubble of protection. I've kept one bandage on as long as like 4-5 days and it's still stuck pretty well. I just put on one of the Nexcare similar bandages, and I don't think it works as well. CVS was out of the J&J bandages, though. Need to get some more of those!











https://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=68768&catid=722&brand=17888&trx=PLST-0-BRAND&trxp1=722&trxp2=68768&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-BRAND&cmbProdBrandFilter=17888

Works great, and will actually stay stuck the 4-5 days they recommend.


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## de.abeja (Aug 27, 2006)

If it is scabbing up right now, you should not be putting ointment on it anymore unless you are using a xeroform type dressing. 

Tegaderm during the day should be more than adequate. If you are having a problem with it adhering throughout your rides and such, make certain that you clean the surrounding area of any oils. Using a skin prep can also help with adhesion. 

I would simply use a non-adherent pad with micropore or paper tape at night, allowing the wound bed to breathe while you are around the house and in bed.


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## esenkay (Jan 1, 2006)

WingNut said:


> Wash thoroughly in clean water (ie in the shower)With a clean cloth and get rid of it and then cover it, fixomull is cheap and fantastic, my favourite dressing for this kind of wound - the stuff you mention is probably chewing-gum-like exudate and wound slough that retards healing, try to avoid scab formation, it slows healing. Here's a thread I started that may help.
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=74056&highlight=road+rash



Thanks WingNut, my GF took a good fall in early Jan. major RR on the right side, especially her shoulder, and upper arm. I found your thread and we used Hypafix (same as Fixomull I believe) along with the other advise you gave and people were dumbfounded by how fast she healed. When she saw the Osteopath a little less than two weeks later, he figured that she would have taken about eight weeks to get to where she was healing-wise.


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## WingNut (Oct 12, 2005)

*Thanks*



esenkay said:


> I found your thread and we used Hypafix (same as Fixomull I believe) along with the other advise you gave and people were dumbfounded by how fast she healed.


Pleased to have been of help, it's a simple but very effective treatment, thanks for your feedbak, nice to know someone reads the posts.


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## WingNut (Oct 12, 2005)

*Moist wounds heal best*

There are comments here and elsewhere about letting wounds breathe to enhance healing, this suggests drying them out - current evidence is that keeping wounds moist is the quickest way to heal.

What follows is a quote from Dr Karl, a Dr and physicist who has a radio show in Australia, you can listen to the short (5 minute) MP3 or podcast on this at the link also, worth it I think

http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1811582.htm

"Between 1948 and 1951 various doctors explored the “moist chamber effect”. They covered wounds with various materials including adhesive tapes, permeable and non-permeable nylon films and transparent plastic films. In 1958, Dr Udland discovered that wounds covered by blisters healed better and more quickly when the blister was intact, rather than broken. It began to look as though as though moist wounds healed more quickly and better.

In 1962 George Winter, now famous as the Father Of Moist Wound Healing, finally proved that wounds that were kept moist, healed better than those that were exposed to the air.

The “perfect” dressing should be able to remove toxic chemicals and secretions, while keeping the wound humid. It should allow gases to enter and leave, but still provide thermal insulation. It should also protect the wound from infection and be easily removable. There is no single dressing that can do all of these.

We have learnt more about wound care in the last two decades than in the previous two millennia. 

So now I know that wounds should be dressed for healing success"


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## WingNut (Oct 12, 2005)

More from Dr Karl, the same article as above:

"'Immediately after a cut in the skin, blood clot and debris fill the gap. Within three hours, you get inflammation, and migration of surface cells across the narrow gap. Around two to three days, immune system cells start removing the clot, and a protective scab starts to form. After about ten to fourteen days, the scab becomes loose. The surface skin cells have joined up, and the fibrous tissue is holding the wound together, but it is still weak. It takes months to years to get back close to full strength and a minimal scar.

The scab acts as a semi-permeable membrane, providing a moist environment that encourages the surface skin cells to migrate across the gap and join up. But you still need to cover the wound because you don’t always get a protective scab forming – sometimes because of infection, or the gap being too big, or accidentally knocking the scab off. 

Which is why people have been trying for at least 7,000 years to work out how best to treat wounds. The ancient Egyptians used a combination of animal grease (which doesn’t stick), honey (which is an osmotic agent and antibacterial chemical) and lint (to absorb secretions). By the way, in some wounds, a mixture of one third honey and two third animal fat can drop the bacterial count of Staph and E. coli from 100,000 down to 100 in only twenty four hours.""


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