Road Rash/Lacerations - Look up a Wound Care Doc

Discussion in 'Rider Down' started by mrjonger, Sep 10, 2014.

  1. mrjonger

    mrjonger New Member

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    I had no idea, but there are wound care doctors and therapists out there. You don't have to go to the ER or Urgent Care. Depending on your insurance, you may still have to get a referral from your primary care physician (PCP). By the way, just because your PCP says no initially to a referral, you can insist and they generally give in.

    My experience: PCPs don't seem know the most current course of care / products. They also seem to be dismissive of the pain that could be associated from something like road rash (i.e. exposed nerve endings suck).

    In case you're wondering, here's the instructions from my last bout of road rash:

    -Take some ibuprofen (start with 400mg - may use up to 800mg in one sitting if needed)
    -Ill advised alternative - 3 fingers of single malt and a pint of a quaffable carbonated adult beverage (pain seemed to come back with a vengeance after 30 min every time).
    -Irrigate the area with sodium chloride (0.9%) or saline solution available in the eye-care section to remove looser debris
    -Wash the would with a mild soap (i.e. baby bodywash) - make sure you get out all dirt and debris
    -Do not use alchohol, betadine, or hydrogen peroxide - painful and damages healthy tissue
    -Spread a thin layer of triple antibiotic cream / lidocaine ointment (can be prescribed) using gauze
    -Cover with non-stick burn specific pads
    -Secure in place with medical tape and gauze

    -Wash wound and change dressings daily
    -Wet dressings prior to removal if dressings have dried out and are sticking to wound
    -Ibuprofen is not just for pain, it's also for inflammation - which exacerbates the pain as it puts pressure on the wound

    If you can get by with out the lidocaine - alternatives are Medihoney ointment and Wounded Warrior Ointment
    I'm using Medihoney and am astonished at the rate of healing
    If your wound is small enough, look into Tegarderm or Duoderm dressings

    Hope you guys don't ever need this advise.
     
  2. OTHRIDER

    OTHRIDER Active Member

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    I'd never heard of Medihoney before. The medical reviews are outstanding. May I never need any Medihoney in life's travels.
     
  3. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    That is great, but as I found out over the weekend....sometimes you can't use these alternatives for treatment.

    Split my knee open pretty good down at Noble Canyon. Wrapped/taped it up and headed home. However, by the time we got home and showered....all 4 of the Urgent Care centers around here were closed. I ended up in the ER.

    Plus I would not go see a specialist, especially if it's only for road rash.
     
  4. bvader

    bvader Long Live The Gorn!

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    And you didn't invite me for the fun and pain...
    hope your doing OK?
     
  5. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej Well-Known Member

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    Yeah....all is good.

    Sorry about the invite.....my wife's bday ride so she set the invite list. Next time.
     
  6. skflow

    skflow Member

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    +1 On the above. Seems to make the wound not heal as fast and may contribute to lingering scars.

    I found Hibiclens to work great as a wound cleaning and antiseptic agent.
     
  7. mrjonger

    mrjonger New Member

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    mtnbikej, good to hear you're ok. I agree sometimes you have no choice to go to an ER. And for basic roadrash, Google and your local pharmacy are all you need. Unfortunately, I had to go to docs because one incident was a motorcycle crash and I needed an x-ray for this most recent one.

    For anything requiring medical expertise, I'd say check your insurance or get the cash pay cost for a wound care specialist before you write it off...especially vs ER.

    Not trying to knock on primary care docs, but MY experiences and some other experiences I've heard remind me of buying DVD at grocery store bargain bin...yeah you got a DVD for $5, but you just spent $5 on Home Alone 3 in 2014. Sure, some primary docs are awesome, but why gamble when you can go to someone that does only wound care? Given the breadth of medical information, it's understandable that a primary doc isn't caught up on all medical knowledge...but that doesn't seem to prevent them from doling out poor medical advise.
     
  8. fongster

    fongster Active Member

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    Sounds pretty good--just like my ER and wound care follow up people told me. Just to add on more thing, if you see pink or red streaks heading up from the wound or swelling and warmth, that is an infection. You need to go to ER immediately to prevent it possibly going systemic. I've been there myself and that was after two providers cleaned it out. Three courses of IV antibiotics as well as oral ABs and I was ok. Phew!
     

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