Road Rash and Wound Care
Having taken a spill this week at the race, I was challenged with the proper care for road rash and wounds. I started with cleaning with soap and water and applying Neosporin to the wound; then covering with gauze and self stick first aid wrap. While this protected the wounds, it was highly uncomfortable and did not allow very much movement or flexibility. My arms were mummified.
ORBA has written an excellent article at their site. If for any reason, the site’s not available, I’ve made a pdf of the article without permission. I will gladly remove the pdf if they want.
In short, vaseline and the Tegaderm is applied to the wound and left on. It stays on in the shower and allows the wound to heal without scabbing. Scabbing is bad and will leave a scar. The vaseline keeps the skins cells from coming together to form a scab.
I know. Battle scars are cool. It shows where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing. I’d still rather not have scar all over my elbow, arms, and legs from crashing on the bike; preferably telling stories of top three finishes and racing tactics instead of how much I crash.
I hope you won’t need to use the wound care article at any time. But if you do, it’s great information.
As an aside, I did post a picture of the race chart here.
