Had a bit of a stupid spill yesterday, no real damage but scuffed my hip, shoulder but mainly elbow. Blood etc, stung a bit when I brushed it in the shower but this morning. Bl**dy hell it stings!!
Didn't follow any advice last night and put anything on it but I didn't expect it to get much worse.
So, gravel rash, worse the day after? What about the day after that?
First thing mate is to make sure all the gravel is out. I still have a few bits embedded in my arse from earlier this year.
The day you did it will not hurt as much as day 2 or 3 as any bruising will be out and then you have the good old weeping wound to deal with. Best bet is to leave it exposed to the air for as long as possible to let it crust up as much as it can.
Don't get it wet.
Take some pain killers and rest it.
Bit of antiseptic cream wouldn't go amiss - but as above really. Best thing for it is to let it dry out, and maybe get a bit of sun/fresh air on it.
Do not, I repeat, do not cover with gauze or bandage, and then go camping on Dartmoor, only to discover 3 days later that the scab/skin has grown into and attached itself to the gauze, needing a trip to A&E to have it removed 😯 now THAT hurt.
Keep it clean and dry a bit of sun helps but you want no muck in there to get it to heal properly pop down to your local Minor Injuries Clinic and get it cleansed dressed properly. Antiseptic cream isn't that great to be honest keeping clean is the most important.
It's out and yea, the shower did sting this morning!
Roll on tomorrow and more stinging then 🙂
Thanks!
Have a really good go at cleaning it and removing gravel. Then let it air, weep and scab as quickly as possible.
[bizzarely, I get a kinda rush from the discomfort and am inclined to poke anything that hurts]
A subject I'm qualified to answer 😳
A warm bath, 1/2 a kilo of salt mixed in, two bottles of Organic Cider (for drinking) and a scrubbing brush. Give it a good scrub the more you can get it to bleed now, it will clear out any crap and infection and will heal quicker.
After the bath let it dry in the air or use a hairdryer to dry it out. A certain Mr Merckx gave me this tip, apart from the Cider I added that.
best thing for gravel rash is film or gel dressings. Tegaderm, granuflex thin, opsite are a few trade names. Clean the wound and apply dressing. leave on for a week - healed with no pain and no scarring.
It really does work
[i]A subject I'm qualified to answer
A warm bath, 1/2 a kilo of salt mixed in, [/i]
Clearly not.
I am guessing the salt would sting a little? 😯
As I did it yesterday I suspect I am a little late for film/gel dressings, sounds like something to look out for in a chemists next time I am in I suppose, in a "just in case" way that means you never actually need it. Starting to notice that is probably is a bit bruised as well, still, not swollen much.
Was pretty smooth and grit free tarmac so only needed a short scrub to get it all out, I think.
A salt bath is said to stimulate circulation, hydrate the skin, increase moisture retention, promote cellular regeneration, detoxify the skin and help heal dry,scaling, irritated skin. Salt water bathing reduces inflammation of the muscles and joints, relaxes muscles and relieves pain and soreness and will improve psoriasis.
Given I was a Continental Pro for 14yrs, I couldn't risk using anything that could be on the band list, I had to be very careful to what I could use.
Joxster - is said to yes - in a very 19th century way. Sitz baths I believe they are known as.
However in these days of evidenced based stuff the evidence is that they are useless if not counterproductive.
Moist wound healing as per TJ.
The reason it hurts so much is that since you've taken the upper layer of skin off, your nerve endings are rather more at the surface than they were.
[i]A salt bath is said to stimulate circulation,[/i]
Exactly said to.
[i]Given I was a Continental Pro for 14yrs, I couldn't risk using anything that could be on the band list, I had to be very careful to what I could use. [/i]
Tegaderm isn't on the band list.
Scienceofficer - Member
Moist wound healing as per TJ.The reason it hurts so much is that since you've taken the upper layer of skin off, [b]your nerve endings are rather more at the surface than they were[/b].
Quick experiment (poking) has revealed that
Normal looking skin feels normal.
Deepest grazes feel, well, pretty normal.
Moderate grazes, blimey! That smarts!
Protective thick scab or torn nerves out at the root on deepest grazes? 🙂
p.s. I will take anything on the banned list quite gleefully, in for a penny and all that.
Drac - MemberA salt bath is said to stimulate circulation,
Exactly said to.
Given I was a Continental Pro for 14yrs, I couldn't risk using anything that could be on the band list, I had to be very careful to what I could use.
Tegaderm isn't on the band list.
And I don't think it was around circa 1984-1998. The thinking behind is getting the blood flow to clear out the wound and stopping any infection. It is also slightly more comfortable that iodine patches.
Make sure you're on the guest list.
And I don't think it was around circa 1984-1998. The thinking behind is getting the blood flow to clear out the wound and stopping any infection. It is also slightly more comfortable that iodine patches.
It was. the slat bath thing was well accepted up until the 80's tho
I had a bad fall several months ago and nurse at GP's gave me some Intrasite gel and a few Allevyn adhesive dressings. I now keep all wounds covered and moist (Vaseline, Savlon, etc) and I'm convinced it helps things along - bearing in mind I'm 'special' (Type 1 Diabetes) things take longer to heal at the best of times.
[i]And I don't think it was around circa 1984-1998.[/i]
I know it was and variants of it.
I really buggered up my back/arse with a bad fall at speed on a landrover track some years ago and initially I tried the "let it dry out routine" and when I couldn't stand it anymore (a few days) I went to my friendly doc who tutted lots and said basically it's like a burn so cover, moisturise and get the dressings changed by the nurse every few days. Still got the scars several years later and the advise has stayed with me ever since.
Sunlight is bad as it will damage the skin as it tries to heal as Aviemoron says they should be treated exactly like burns, try hydrocolloid gels or sprays like Burnshiled and keep it covered with a non lint based dressing you could even try some hydrogel dressings.
Apparently honey is quite a good dressing for wounds due to its antibacterial properties!!!
http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/november/Molan/honey-as-topical-agent.html
tegaderm etc are fine but overkill IMO if you've just scuffed yourself up a bit. Good for bigger/deeper scrapes though and do help avoid scarring (I found) but be warned, granulation under film dressings/hydrocolloids makes you smell a bit like a tramp 😳
HH: allevyn - you [u]must[/u] be special (or very dribbly !)
>overkill IMO
Depends on your definition of 'just scuffed up a bit'.
Anything that's worth calling a graze will heal a lot quicker 'cos it's won't go through the crusty-surface-breakup stage. Not to mention it keeps crap out, the messy weaping in, hence keeps yer clothes/bedclothes etc clean. I managed to have a fight with a local bridge via my shoulder recently, the graze under the film healed a treat, the bit *outside* where it didn't quite reach yet healed first (didn't have two dressings to hand) is the section that feels quite bumpy after 4 weeks. (Is that what you mean by granulation ?)
At about 1.60 per dressing from yer local chemist they aren't exactly expensive.
So, even though it will now be 2 days old it might still help to have a suitable "keep it moist" dressing on? Still not sure I will bother with this one, annoying but not that bad.
Bugger, might get something anyway, can't hurt right?
How bad is it really? I did this at Inners last Sunday. Had a TCP bath to scrub lightly then shower and left to scab. It was still a bit juicy before bed so covered area with Savlon and clean t-shirt. Been ok since and picking the scabs is fun. Almost fully gone now apart from couple of the deeper scratches.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]