With road foolhardy, the affect area normally looks natural and may bleed a little. The wound can be very irritating but typically heals in a couple of weeks with at-home discussion. however, if the injury is deep and has caused damage to the nerve cells, medical care may be necessity .
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Click Play to Learn More About Road Rash
This video has been medically reviewed by Casey Gallagher, MD.
Symptoms
The affect area of skin will appear crimson, natural, and inflamed. Bleeding is besides common. pain and swelling are immediately felt and may last for several days .
It ‘s not uncommon to feel no annoyance at the deepest part of the injure area. however, the skin around the edges of the rash can be highly afflictive .
As with any injury that breaks the barrier of the skin, road rash can lead to infection. Signs of a injure infection admit :
- Increased pain after the first day
- Swelling and increased redness
- Warmth
- Pus or fluid draining
- Foul-smelling drainage
- Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, and body aches
In rare cases, road rash may cause blood poison, a severe infection that spreads through the bloodstream. septic shock, a potentially dangerous condition that causes perilously humble blood imperativeness and organ failure, requires contiguous checkup attention to prevent complications—including death .
Causes
Road rash is normally the result of a fall or being dragged against pavement or dirt, as would happen in a bicycle accident or when playing a frolic. When a person ‘s body comes in contact with the ground, any areas of expose skin are vulnerable to scraping across the rough surface .
If a person falls or drags their sleeve across the tar, for model, the abrasiveness results in the exceed level of skin getting peeled away .
Road rash injuries are more coarse in the jump and summer, as the warm weather encourages more outdoor activity. furthermore, because people tend to wear less and lighter dress during these seasons and when participating in activities where they work up a effort, they have less clamber protection should an accident happen .
diagnosis
Road rash is normally a superficial skin injury that does n’t require any professional treatment. a retentive as you take commodity concern of the wind and keep it clean and jerk and dry, it should heal on its own within two weeks .
however, if you have a more serious case of road foolhardy, the injury may include deeper layers of hide. If road rash takes longer than two weeks to heal, you should seek medical attention .
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Seek checkup attention for road foolhardy if :
- The wound is more than three times bigger than the palm of your hand.
- It is on the face, hands, feet, or genitals.
- Muscle or bone is visible.
- Foreign objects, such as glass or small rocks, are embedded in the affected area.
- There is excessive bleeding.
- You notice signs of infection.
If you go to see your healthcare provider for road rash, they will assess the austereness by performing a simple physical examination of the feign area .
After a more serious accident or injury, specially one that does n’t seem to be healing or is causing a lot of annoyance, the healthcare provider may besides perform X-rays and other imaging to check for other injuries, like a break bone or a extraneous object under the skin .
In rare cases where infection or more dangerous complications are suspected, your healthcare supplier may besides order lineage tests and cultures, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as monitor your critical signs, such as heart pace, pulse, and oxygen levels .
treatment
severe cases of road rash need to be treated by a healthcare provider. however, most mild cases can be treated on the play field, the road, or wherever the wound occurred .
If the wound is not bleeding excessively and the pain is adequate, you may besides be able to wait and treat the weave once you arrive home. A standard first care kit out likely contains all the tools you ‘ll need to treat road rash .
First help
When confronted with the wound, review steps 1, 2, and 3 below ahead making a decision to treat road rash on your own. While road foolhardy can look severe and cause quite a bit of pain, it is not normally dangerous. Do n’t let the presence of raw, bleeding wounds distract you from assessing the injured person ‘s submit :
- Stay safe: If a person is injured and becomes unconscious, do not move them. The only exception is if the area is unsafe and leaving them where they are would be a greater risk than moving them to a safer area.
- Treat life-threatening injuries first: Make sure they are breathing and conscious. Address any bleeding that is bright red or spurts from the injury, which needs to be stopped right away.
- Stop bleeding: Usually, road rash oozes rather than gushes blood. A little pressure with a bandage or any clean cloth should adequately control the bleeding.
Stop and Assess
If the hurt person is unconscious, has problems breathing, or is bleeding badly, call 911 immediately. Follow the advice of the dispatcher before continue. He or she will instruct you on the best next steps to take while you wait for hand brake medical services to arrive. If the injury does not seem serious enough to call 911, continue with the next steps ( some of which may or may not be offered by the dispatcher in the event you do need to call 911 ) .
Rinse the Affected Area
Rinse the road rash with buttery water to help flush any soil and debris out of the weave. It may help to soak the wound in saponaceous water before trying to remove any debris .
To do this, you may need to gently brush any foreign material from the skin. In rare cases, it may be necessity to remove debris with aseptic tweezers ( if possible, this should be done by a medical professional ) .
Cover the Wound
Put gauze on the scent and wrap it to hold it in place. Dry dressings work fine, but you may want to moisten the first layer with saline solution solution or sterile urine. If you use a layer of drizzle dressings, make certain to cover with dry gauze before wrapping .
Tetanus Shot
If the hurt person has not recently had a tetanus photograph, you may need to seek checkup care. The person ‘s healthcare provider or an hand brake room aesculapian professional can provide a booster injection for tetanus —a serious bacterial infection that affects the nervous system and can be dangerous .
Care and Healing
As road rash heals, the pain will lessen—although the area may be sensitive. In severe cases, a healthcare provider may prescribe pain medicine. For balmy cases, an nonprescription annoyance stand-in like Tylenol is likely enough. If the abrasion is at or near a part of the consistency that bends, like an elbow or knee, the joint may feel stiff and huffy .
Road rash normally heals well and clears with minimal scar, but it ‘s a good mind to keep an center on the abrasion as it heals. After the first gear day, you can begin using an antibacterial cream or vitamin E oil to promote healing .
Remove the erstwhile dress and replace with a new one at least once per day. Watch for signs of infection, such as increased red and pain or a fever .
If an infection occurs, treatment normally requires an oral antibiotic. Untreated infections can lead to good health complications that may be dangerous .
dangerous Cases
Severe road rash needs to be treated as a burn, which may mean reconstructive operation is required. Skin grafting uses healthy skin from another part of the body. The donor locate is normally an area easily hidden by clothe, such as the buttock or at the inside of the second joint .
The transplant of healthy skin is transplanted onto the hurt area and kept in place with pacify imperativeness and padded dress, staples, or stitches. As it heals, fresh blood vessels grow to help fresh skin cells form and heal the scent .
While most cases of road rash can be safely treated at home and will heal on their own, more serious injuries may occur. Any road rash injury that is not amply healed within two weeks needs to be evaluated by a healthcare supplier .
frequently Asked Questions
Does road foolhardy leave a scar ?
Yes, it can scar. It can besides leave stain, known as traumatic tattoo, which results when pigment debris international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate washed out of the weave. Scars from road rash may be similar to those left by burns —the worse the cauterize, the more likely the scratch .
What should I put on road rash ?
Put antibacterial ointment such as Neosporin on your scent when you first dress it. Be careful about cream not recommended for burns such as Bactroban. As the weave heals, you can use vitamin E cream to help restore the hide .
