How should road rash be treated?I got some road rash on my chin and wasn't prepared to treat it.All i did was clean it aggressively using alcohol which burned like hell(i know thats not the best thing to do),covered it in neosporn then a cottonball and taped it.Now i been reading about tegaderm and second skin and all that good stuff.Is there anything like that i could find instore like walmart?Whats the correct way to use it?

Here's how we clean road rash in the emergency room:

1. Shur-Clenz and sterile saline on an optipore sponge. If you get a nice doctor that day you might get Lidocaine jelly beforehand. If not, HTFU.
2. Bacitracin (All the docs say to not use Neosporin but I've never asked them why.)
3. Telfa or adaptic dressing, then gauze padding, and if you're a cyclist on the way through with a tour, I'll secure them down with acewrap instead of kerlix so it stays put better because I know you're not going to listen to the instructions to stay off the bike for a week. Also then you can reuse the wrap.

You can replicate this approximately at home by cleaning the wound with cool running water, mild soap, Bacitracin, and a large bandaid. Telfa is pretty much the same thing as is on the pad of the bandaid, just something that the wound bed won't stick to.

EDIT: just looked up the active ingredient in Neosporin, it says its active ingredient is Bacitracin. Hmmm... will have to ask the docs at work today why they say no neosporin but then have me slather on the Bac.

could i just put neosporn or bacitracin and put a gauze pad with vasaline on the bottom to prevent stick to the wound and tape it?I have trouble finding band-aids that are the ride size.

Depends how bad it is. For the most part, I just wash, dry, and let it scab up like normal. Some bacitracin type stuff can't hurt.

Here's a whole thread on the subject.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-rash-question)

You'd be better off cutting a large bandaid down to size. Sure, it'll look outrageously nerdy on your chin, but so does pretty much everything about cycling.

Bacitracin contains a good spectrum of coverage without the side effects of Neosporin. The Neo part of Neosporin is Neomycin Sulfate which seems to have had it's fair share of adverse effects.

On someplace like a chin I just wash it thoroughly, pick out any boulders, and let it scab over.

Second Skin and such is great for big, flat areas like the side of the thigh, but too much of a PITA to deal with on small curved and/or articulating places IMO.

+1



why do that?if you let it scab over doesn't it scar a lot more?If you ask me i'd rather not have a giant scar on my chin.I been keeping it moist by just coating it in neosporn with no bandage

Not necessarily. I have spots I let scab over and I can't see them anymore. I have spots I treated with Second Skin and they still show, 20 years after the fact. And vice-versa.

For my money, Second Skin and the like have great value in that wounds heal much more quickly with them. But for me, they're just so annoying to use on certain areas that it's not worth the effort. YMMV, of course.

Dr. Arnie Baker, MD, is a cyclist and writer. A free .pdf download on treating road rash is at https://arniebakercycling.com/article..._road_rash.htm . I used it when I had my first instance of it, and it worked the way he said it would. Even if you don't use it on your chin, I'd download it for when you really do need it.

Excellent article by Dr. Baker that says it all.

Thanks!

Neosporin is also a brand name... bactraban and bacitracin are not.

... just dab on the bacitracin and let it go. don't rub your chin on the pillows, it will stain the fabric.

major issue is i sleep face down almost.I got my hands on some tegaderm so now it's just covered in neosporn and tegaderm.Almost gone for 2 days so i assume what im doing is working.also cant notice any scaring