Fall-Down-Go-Boom

I haven’t been around much this week. Part of the reason why is that there are now 3 fewer ninjas in the area. Tuesday morning I met 3 invisible runners on a blind turn on the W&OD and I put the bike in the ditch to avoid hitting them. They were nice. They stopped and helped out. They apologized and all took Bike Arlington leg bands and wore them. They’re now hopefully a bit wiser about their early morning runs.

That brings me to today’s topic. How to deal with road rash.

Disclaimer: I’m not a physician. I had first aid training almost 30 years ago when I was working to be a ski patrol geek. I didn’t even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. This is definitely a good topic for people to chime in on to discuss what works for you! If the injuries you’ve sustained scare you, you’re experiencing numbness or have stuff that isn’t where it usually is, GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM! Urgent care centers have also become favorite places for me too. Over the last 5 years mine has gotten to know me by name.

Some minor stuff can be treated yourself.

Road rash happens when you hit the pavement. It is particularly painful because it combines bruising with scrapes, small cuts and gravel/dirt. It takes all those nerve endings and cranks them up to 11. Road rash is a superficial wound. If there’s anything deep about your wound, then you need more than home first aid. Let a professional deal with it.

There are some basic steps to dealing with road rash: Cleaning, dressing, inflammation control, healing.

Cleaning is the worst part. It just hurts. If I have a clean water bottle, I usually will spray out the wound with it to get the big chunks of debris out of the wound. Do this immediately. There’s a brief period of time where you can clean and it doesn’t hurt so much. Cleaning an hour later is always gonna hurt. When you get home, spend some time in the shower scrubbing it with soap. I run the area under cold water for a few moments… or minutes… it kinda numbs the area a bit. You don’t want to clean it so hard that you’re actually causing more damage, but you really need to get in there and clean out the crap. There are some first-aid washes and cleaning products on the market…. I tend to use soap and hot water… nothing fancy. Hydrogen Peroxide is your friend. Yes it stings. It also helps clean stuff.

Honestly, it takes a special kind of person this themselves. There was a time that I couldn’t. If you can’t clean the wound yourself, get someone to do it for you. Usually that means a health care professional.

Pat it dry with a surgical sponge (available at the drug store) or a very clean wash cloth.

Once you get it clean, it is time to treat/dress the wound. Dressing the wound is the worst part. Basically you gotta put some kind of first aid ointment on it and then find a way to cover it. There is a first aid ointment product called Brave Soldier (google will find it). This stuff is awesome. It is designed specifically for this kind of wound. It has all the right stuff in it and makes the healing process faster and more comfortable. Don’t be stingy. The stuff is expensive and worth every penny. Keep it in the cabinet. I used the last of mine this week and will be ordering more tonight.

Make sure your first aid products are fresh. If you’ve got a tube of bacitracin that has been sitting on the shelf for a decade or two, that probably is NOT the best thing to use. One of the reasons Brave Soldier is so good is that it comes in single use packets that are always fresh.

Part of keeping infection from setting in involves keeping the wound clean. Sometimes I’m able to leave elbow scrapes uncovered if I know I’m not gonna be getting it dirty. That sometimes helps things heal. Most of the time that doesn’t work though. Usually you need to cover it up. Make sure there’s plenty of first aid cream on it and cover up with a non-stick gauze bandage and first aid tape. I’ve gone the extra step for some large areas where putting a disposable diaper over the top of that kinda helps. Makes sure that you don’t get any oozing around the outside.

Here’s an important thing: Change that dressing often…. Really often. More often than you think you should. Doing so helps keep the wound from sticking to the non-stick bandage. Add more ointment and put on a new bandage. Some cases I can get by with changing the bandage 3 times per day. Usually I try to change it 4 or 5 times.

Keep it moist. I use lots of first aid cream on it. When it really gets past the oozy stage, you can switch over to something like bag balm if you are concerned about using so many antibiotics. I know that is a concern for some. Just make sure you’re well into the healing process when you do this… and that your bag balm is fresh and clean.

Inflammation Control is the worst part. I wrap an ice pack in a clean towel and put it over the dressed wound. It feels good. It helps numb and it also keeps the swelling down. Do this for a few minutes at a time. If you are someone who uses over the counter drugs, advil (Ibuprofen) is your friend. Make sure you’ve got a little something in your stomach and chow down. I don’t overdo the dosage without a doctor specifically recommending it.

Letting it heal is the worst part. It just takes too dang long!!!! Why can’t it be over in 6 hours instead of 6 days.

Sleeping at night is the worst part! In my home I actually have road rash sheets for the bed. The ooze that comes out of you doesn’t clean out of your nice sheets. Clean the bed often.

Being sore the next morning is the worst part. You thought you felt bad during day 1? Wait till day2…. And day 3. After day 3 it usually starts getting better. Like any body trauma, you tend to feel sore all over. Moving around… even going for a spin on the trainer can really help get rid of that. Staying still and not moving in bed only prolongs it. If you’re REALLY sore and REALLY can’t move around, it might be a sign of something worse being wrong. With this incident, I felt 10 times worse at the beginning of day 3. I went and got checked out on day 2 and they said I was okay… just the usual. When I felt so bad on Day 3, I went back to see if they missed anything. They hadn’t. I was just really, really sore. Today is day 4 and I feel pretty good. I rode 25 miles yesterday and I’ll ride 40 today… just easy spinning. It keeps me loose and makes it easy to do the things I have to.

Okay. I’ve gone on way too long with this discussion. Please let me know what you do to deal with this stuff.

Hugs and kisses,

Pete