Commuting - spilled on the way to work

Just got to work about 15 minutes late. Came around a thankfully low speed and no traffic left hander and went down. Got up confused and saw the front tire was flat. No warning, must have popped the tube in the turn. Culprit was a small piece of glass that made a 1/16th inch cut in the tube. Washed off the rash with some water, changed the tube, and rode the last mile and a half in. Wiped down the rash with hydrogen peroxide and rubbed on some anti-infection stuff from the first aid kit. Has this kind of flat/fall happened to the rest of you? Is it likely to happen again? And is there anything else I can do to make the rash heal faster?

Better luck to you all

Nothing heals like a good pour of Single Malt!!

And is there anything else I can do to make the rash heal faster?

Better luck to you all

I've always been of the opinion that not covering it with bandages makes it heal faster. Of course this leaves the possibility of getting blood on clothes and other things, but if you keep it clean and don't bump against things with it always seems open air helps. No science behind it (that i know), just what I've always done since I was a wee lad.

Clothes are OK, I dress pretty casually for work. Rash is below the shorts. Also, the brake lever that hit the ground got pushed inwards. It actually seems more comfortable there, so instead of fixing it I was going to move the other one to match. Will I have to retape the bar to do this?

By the way, the single malt would be great, but I doubt the boss would approve. I guess it'll have to wait.

Tell him it's for medicinal purposes. ;)

Seriously, glad you're mostly ok. And the bike too.

Triple Malt!!!!!!

Damn - what happened to my all caps?

I've always been of the opinion that not covering it with bandages makes it heal faster.

When I was a kid, they had the bandaide commercial where they put the bandaide over half the cut and showed how it healed faster. Being a dumb kid, the next time I got a cut, of course I was inclined to put the bandaide over only half my cut, and sure enough, it did heal better and faster on the covered side. I would suspect that roadrash would be similar?

I fell and got pretty scraped up a few weeks ago. On the advice of this site:
http://www.freewheel.com/mvw/cure.htm
I got some Tegaderm and applied that to my biggest scrape. It really did heal much better that way. That wound healed before some of the other ones, which I just let scab over as usual. I did find I had to replace the Tegaderm more than I would have guessed. (I think I replaced it every day for 3 days in a row. Then just took it off altogether after 2 more days. In hindsight I probably should've put another patch on then, but there it is.)

Tim

We always used Vitamin E oil when I was a kid... speeds up healing a LOT, but it's messy. Just puncture a capsule of viamin E and smear the goo inside on your rash... as often as you notice it's not coated, do it again.

-chris

Well I've sanded and emory clothed the scratches on the brake lever so it doesn't bother my hand, readjusted the levers, and she's as good as new. Or as close as she'll get anyway. Just a dull spot on the brake lever, some scuffs on the pedal and rear wheel QR. I wish I could do the same to fix the leg, but all in all I won't complain as I just read the post about hitting a dear on the way in. . .

That crash was bad enough. I don't know how to make road rash heel faster, I'd just settle for finding a way to prevent it leaving behind a scar. Still, I hope you heal well, and if you ever discover the secret, please let us know.

Sounds just like my crash a few weeks ago. I got a pinch flat crossing a railroad track then turned right & went down in the middle of the turn. If you're turning & a tire flats, you go down pretty fast. Much better to be riding a straight line.

Thanks for all the suggestions. So far I've just been cleaning it and putting anti-bacterial ointment on it two or three times a day. It looks OK, I'll let you know how it turns out. I had to forego the double malt for a good beer, but that helped a whole lot.

ollo, I've also come to the conclusion that turning while flatting is BAD. From now on, no more turning! Ha Ha!

Hemlock: No way to avoid turning, we're just a bit more paranoid now.

I have ridden motorcycles a good bit, so I'm already about as paranoid as I think I can get about stuff in the road when turning. That's on reason the fall confused me until I noticed the flat tire. I probably have been a bit hesitant to lean the bike into a turn since. It'll pass in a few days I imagine.

Thanks for all the suggestions. So far I've just been cleaning it and putting anti-bacterial ointment on it two or three times a day. It looks OK, I'll let you know how it turns out. I had to forego the double malt for a good beer, but that helped a whole lot.

ollo, I've also come to the conclusion that turning while flatting is BAD. From now on, no more turning! Ha Ha!

Some common sense I learned from my surgery rotation during 3rd year of med school:

1) Wounds epithelialize in about 48 hours, which means the cut should be safely closed enough after 2 days to allow you to take a shower.

2) Assure adequate blood supply. Don't wear anything super tight and don't wrap bandages around your cuts so tightly that you cut off surface circulation.

3) Keep the wound clean. Special antibiotic creams aren't really any more effective than daily cleansing with soap and fresh water in superficial abrasions. Change your dressing at least once a day using fresh, clean dressings/bandages. Tegaderm, Band Aids, brand names in general do not make too much of a difference.

4) Keep the wound moist. This does not mean keep it soaking wet, but definitely try to keep it from drying out completely.

It sounds like you're doing all the right things already; wound healing just takes time, man.

Get well soon,
latortilla

There is an ointment called "Brave Soldier" that is fantastic. I believe you can get it through Colorada Cyclist.

Same thing happened to me last week. I was banking into a left turn, and then all of a sudden the bike gets a "gooey" feeling as the front tire starts to kind of roll sideways off the rim. Luckily there was no traffic and a put my left foot down to keep from falling.
When I looked I saw that I had two big thorns stuck in the tire, probably from the previous day's ride on a trail. Now I make sure to check my tires before going for a ride . . .

Try some petroleum jelly on the road rash. It will prevent scabbing or soften an already existing scab. You may want to keep some kind of dressing on it to keep the goo off your clothes. I've been told this will also prevent or at least keep scarring to a minimum. Of course, some people wear scars like trophies (me included).

I was keeping it moist with that ointment. I think it is petroleum jelly based. As of yesterday I figured it was healed enough for me to lay off. I'll let you know how it scars in a while when all the scab's gone.