Today morning, i took the bike out for a spin and attempted to negotiate a turn at a speed way inappropriate for the turn. The result was that I ended up landing hard on the road at 40mph.
So naturally, i now have a few abrasions and grazes, the most serious of which is located on my knee. This abrasion is probably 16cm2 in area (imagine a 4cmx4cm wound) and is blackened about it's edges. I remember that this was exactly how it looked immediately after my fall. The road had cut through my light jeans and inflicted damage thus. The abrasion soon bled a while, and assumed a pink hue at it's center. However, I did note a few black spots at the center of the abrasion.
Anyway, so i cleaned it at home with a cotton and diluted anti-septic solution rather gingerly, but not too lightly. After that, I applied an antiseptic cream and fixed an appointment with the local physician at 5 hrs from the time of accident. The man recommended a tetanus shot and waved off the idea of dressing the wound. He sent me home with a couple of antibiotics and a painkiller.
The wound began to ooze brownish liquid which smelled like bad eggs and solidified quickly. The surface got covered by a crusty semi-solid in a few hours and attained a black color. I've washed it twice today with the lotion.
Finally, at night, i've only just covered it with plain gauze and taped it clean.
My fears/questions are:
1.) I may not have cleaned enough initially and hence there is a possibility of the presence of sand grains or small stones.
2.) The scab formation may include these foreign bodies and cause infection.
3.) Should I cover the wound as described or let it breathe free?
4.) Any other suggestions for a healthy and safe healing?
What should I do?
I'm extremely anxious now and keep imagining flesh eating bacteria eating away at my flesh, causing gangrene and leading to amputation.
ouch! dude, that looks painful!
I think I'd try to pour some peroxide on it to bubble out the stuff you might not be able to get!
then maybe rub some neosporin or triple-antibiotic creme on it
ouch! dude, that looks painful!
I think I'd try to pour some peroxide on it to bubble out the stuff you might not be able to get!
then maybe rub some neosporin or triple-antibiotic creme on it
Hey rosequartz, thanks for replying. You know, the pain is actually very less. I have cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide once and also applied neosporin. Thanks for the input! Cheers.
I must now confirm that i don't trust the local doc too much. He suggests leaving my wound uncovered and left to dry. On the internet I read that it's better to use a dressing than to leave it open because a moist environment promotes healing.
Which method do i follow? It still secretes fluid.
I think I would alternate between covering it with a gauze pad with some anti-biotic creme/salve and letting it breathe. I think it needs a little of both
My dh does wound care and he recommends using a moist dressing after a good cleaning with lots of running water. Absolutely no hydrogen peroxide...it kills the cells.
My dh does wound care and he recommends using a moist dressing after a good cleaning with lots of running water. Absolutely no hydrogen peroxide...it kills the cells.
Good luck.
Thanks for replying, Brocallie. Yep, HO2 is a thing of the past.
Today is day 2 for me and I'm keenly tracking my progress. You see, my last wound (another road rash) was on my other knee but quite similar to this one. It was a laceration and was much deeper than this one. My silly doc asked me to leave it uncovered and it got infected. It healed through a month and a half finally and left a keloid scar. That is the reason for my worry. I'm sure I'll be falling again sometime and i must therefore master the right healing practices now.
This time i've dressed it nice and good and I change the dressing every 24 hours. I wash it with a solution of Dettol and water, leave it to dry for maybe half an hour before dressing it again with SteriPads. I think it's healing, but do check out the pics and tell me if it's healing.
Also, there's this black spot where I reckon could be lodged a small stone. Photos are attached.
It looks good. Not sure what the black thing is, but it doesn't look like you have any extra inflammation surrounding it so it could possibly be burned tissue.
It's day 3 and I'm glad to say there are no problems. The healing is happening wonderfully. Only problem was, today i pulled off a little bit of the healing skin while removing yesterday's dressing. Taking off the dressing is a real bother.
You know, when I think of it, this thread is really almost all about whether to dress a wound or not because I hear there's some debate about it. Well as of now i'm completely in favour of dressing your wounds. I've healed much quicker than last time around.
glad to hear and see that it's getting better! Are you also using antibiotic salve on it too? If I were you, I'd invest in a good pair of knee pads and wear them everytime I got on that motorcycle!
The Following User Says Thank You to rosequartz For This Useful Post: lazcomanit (01-10-2011)
Yes, coat liberally with antibiotic ointment. It will keep the moist environment the wound needs to heal and will prevent tearing of the tissue during dressing changes.
Good call on the knee pads, Rose!
The Following User Says Thank You to Brocallie For This Useful Post: lazcomanit (01-10-2011)
Hello again Rose, thanks for the kind words. Knee pads are a must! I'm quite an imbecile for not having bought a pair already. Especially since I'm a beginner with only 14k on the odo.
You know, actually this is day 5 and I've started using this cetrimide in chlorocresol creme for dressing it. Thanks for the input, removing the dressing is so much easier!
I'll post day 5's later through the day. For the complete record.
Cheers.
Thanks a lot, Rosequartz and Brocallie for the talk. I'm almost completely healed now. It's just scab formation and complete recovery from here. I'm thinking maybe in a week I'll be bettering my cornering skills again, with knee guards. A very logical ending lol.
Just one more thing, though. That black dot seems to really be something. It appears as a strange globule in the healing wound. I checked by pressing it slightly but it's neither swollen nor a depression. It's even surfaced flesh.
What are the symptoms of a stone embedded in a wound? Are there curious cases in which, if the wound escapes infection, the embedded stone simply remains underneath the flesh permanently? Does the body have any mechanism to eject such foreign bodies? Should I be worried?
That looks like normal healing to me. The body would eventually push out any foreign body that is trapped. I wouldn't worry about it unless you have pain/swelling/redness/discharge.
Road Rash. 
