Comments on: Commuting 101: Dealing with Road Rash

By: Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 04:29:24 +0000

@Kayla: I had a nasty spill recently too, and considered not going to the doctor, but I did. In my case, I think the doctors reduced my risk of infection and helped the wounds to heal much faster than they would have if I’d just treated them myself with first aid.

By: kayla

kayla — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 20:02:46 +0000

i just recently took a horrible spill and everyone says to go to the doc but its far and my mom says that the doc wouldn’t do anything more than what we have done is that true??????

By: Phoenix Patent Attorney

Phoenix Patent Attorney — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:51:04 +0000

Thanks – I went down on wet concrete the other day. I’ll check the Tegaderm out.

By: Noah

Noah — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:14:46 +0000

You’re supposed to remove it, gently wash the wound, and replace the tegaderm every 3 days. The liquid is usually blood plasma and/or serum — the same thing that fills blisters. If it starts filling with pus or smelling bad, you should change the tegaderm earlier, and wash the area VERY well. Also, you can “drain” the tegaderm by lifting a corner to allow some of the fluid out, but it won’t ever quite seal up right. I usually wear a gauze pad over the tegaderm if it starts weeping too much.

By: lisa

lisa — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:55:12 +0000

I used Neosporin and non-stick gauze for the first six days. The weeping finally slowed down so I switched to Tegaderm yesterday morning. 36 hours later and this thing is filling with liquid. Healthy looking stuff but I wonder when I should change the dressing. Just before it bursts?

By: Paul in Minneapoils

Paul in Minneapoils — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:12:03 +0000

On my touring bike (my commuter) I carry 3 bandannas. They are multipurpose; wipe sweat or dripping nose, wetting and washing with, or as a make shift bandage till I can get some where. I got the idea from Hitchers guide to the galaxy, but towels are too big” And I agree about washing out quickly. A few days ago I laid my long haul trucker down, while over 20mph in a turn, my poor baby took more than I did, luckily I was very close to home. All I did was wash it out and it is healing very good, with some scabbing. A co-worker also crashed on a turn, maybe slowing down is the best medicine”.. : / NOT

By: Ryan Keefer

Ryan Keefer — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:11:13 +0000

A guy on Twitter introduced me to Tegaderm a month or so back after I had a race ending crash in a crit. The road rash on my arm, I put the Tegaderm. The road rash on my knee, I didn’t Arm is completely healed, knee still needs some more healing (it scabbed over, while the arm didn’t). I wrote a similar post on my site ’bout the experience.

Another vote for Tegaderm, despite its expense. Hopefully, you don’t need it often.

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:28:44 +0000

What’s wrong with scars and scabs, again? Do they interfere with your Hollywood career aspirations?

I’m going to have to try the “bologna trick”!

By: robgarbo

robgarbo — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:58:29 +0000

I staple bologna over my road rash, no one seems to notice.

By: Fritz

Fritz — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:02:08 +0000

There have been a couple of instances where I wiped out far from home — I’m talking 40 miles away, my shorts are ripped to shreds, small rocks are embedded in my arms and legs and and I’m dripping blood all over everything. I’ve found I strongly prefer washing the wound out ASAP rather than waiting until I’m at home or my destination — the pain is considerably less if I do it immediately. Water bottles work nicely for spraying the dirt away.

I’m another fan of the miracle dressings. Healing is faster and scarring is minimized. Here’s a good idea I’ve seen.