Five Ways Cyclists Can Treat Road Rash

I was on the home stretch of a ride the other day, moving along well coming back from a nice trip down near the ocean, when trouble struck. Headed underneath a set of train tracks, I was well ahead of the car coming up behind me, a big Ford F150 pick up, the kind with those massive mirrors. Let me repeat, I was well ahead of him.

Another car approached in the opposite direction, so I proceeded to go under the bridge at the same time as the oncoming car. No problem so far. Except, all of a sudden, the Ford from behind me speeds up and decides to try and squeeze through. The mirror just grazed my left arm. He was so close I could smell the cigar smoke from inside the truck.

As I came out of the other side of the underpass, I pulled off the side. I had to catch my breath. That was way too close. I got really lucky.

When you ride on the roads in busy areas, a place where so many of us have to, even in order to get to the more remote, easy-to-ride spots, you run the risk of either crashing or having to lay the bike down to avoid getting hit. Sad but true, and again, I was lucky this time.

So, why write this article if I didn't actually crash? Well, a day later I got a text from a friend who had just been out with his riding group when they cruised through a stop sign at the same time a car did. All of the riders had to jam the breaks, with one person going over the handlebars and cracking her helmet, landing flat on her back. My friend took the brunt of his crash on his leg, tearing it up with a serious case of road rash.

This made me think. I have been fortunate to not as of yet crash, but I'm sure the more I ride the greater the chances become. Given this idea, I started to consider how I would handle the road rash injury if and when I must. Now, while I know the best way to treat is to not get it, the realism of the situation is that once you do get, you need to take care of it.

Here are five tips on how to best handle road rash.

1. As soon as possible, stop the bleeding and clean the wound entirely with hydrogen peroxide. Don't be a hero and finish the last twenty miles of the ride. Nope, stop and give the injury the attention it needs. Use a cloth or towel to wipe all the dirt and crud away. Use tweezers to get out any debris that is embedded. This will hurt, but you can't risk infection. Clean it thoroughly. Then, if you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable, do it again. Just do it well.

2. Put on a healthy supply of antibiotic ointment. Rub it on well and then cover it with a clean gauze pad. Be liberal with the ointment, and feel free to use some petroleum jelly on top to keep the pad from sticking directly to the wound. Secure the pad with tape and limit the movement of the area. Again, don't clean and gauze it only to jump back on the bike and damage your work.

3. Change the dressing often, normally two to three times a day. Each time you switch it, wash the road rash thoroughly, reapplying the needed ointments and bandages. If an excessive amount of pain and redness remains over the coming days, or if you see nasty pus or foul smelling drainage, you need to see the doctor, as an infection has probably set in.

4. As it starts to scab, and it will fairly quickly, use a product, probably Duoderm or Tegaderm, to keep the scabs from drying out and cracking. Keeping them moist is important, as the cracking can cause you unneeded pain and delay the healing process. The formulas in these products accelerate the healing process.

5. Be aware of where you are. Keep the wound out of the sun until it has had a sufficient chance to heal. Otherwise, you will have a much more considerable scar, as the sun will make the area darker.

Sources

Velonews.competitor.com

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