Does anyone have some "anti-battle-scar" healing methods??

[light_sabe_r]

On thursday arvo on my commute home I avoided a car but My poor Jamis hit the gutter and went into shock! His chain fell off, and he crashed over. Taking me with him.

I can't remember the details of the car... I'm just GLAD I didn't hit him!

I fell on my right side. The worst thing is the gravel rash the size of my HAND on my right calf.

My helmet is all scratched where I hit my head. LUCKILY I wasn't concust.

AND JAMIS is OK! only lasting damage is that his hand grips are a bit "scraped" but I can fix them later. ^_^ Just had to readjust the seat and put his chain back on.

Now that I don't have to go to the doctor's everyday and get the dressings changed, (it's as apparently as bad as a burn, andI've been given silver cholex cream because of it) does anyone have a good remedy to stop this big red thing on my leg from becomming a scar??

[spazzdog]

keep it clean, use some antiiotic cream. bandage if necessary but air is good if it's not a 'gaper'.

Once the new skin is back, vitamin e cream or oil. Great stuff!

Also works for those 'crinkles' we get o our faces.

** my mom used to put Nivea cream on us if we got burns. once the burn wasn't ooshee anymore, she'd slather that greasy stuff all over it. No scars!

[DeniseGoldberg]

If you hit your head (and your helmet) - please don't forget to replace your helmet too. Our helmets are single-crash items...

--- Denise

[Dogmama]

Huge dittos on the helmet. You may not see the damage, but internally it could be trashed.

There is a cream called Mederma (sp?) that is OTC & supposed to be good for scars. You have to be completely healed up to use it. It is a tad $$$.

Antibiotic cream will help & it WILL eventually fade.

[margo49]

Huge dittos on the helmet. You may not see the damage, but internally it could be trashed.

Siberian oil which is based on a planty- herby-berry thing called
Sea buck thorn.
It was one of the secrets of Ghengis Khan's success. Apparently it is full of Vit E and Mongol hordes were able to continue their rampage(s) despite wounds which would have killed other warriors
I have used it on a *major* wound (open crush fracture) and would highly recommend it
PM me and I will look up the Latin name if you cannot find it - prob'ly at a Natural Health type shop

[mtbdarby]

BACATRACIN!!!! It's amazing. Keep the area clean with soap and water and apply bacatracin - no generic. It worked wonders for me.

[velogirl]

To prevent scarring (which is more than just a cosmetic issue), you want to employ wet wound healing. Unless stitched, this means scrub the daylights out of your wound twice a day. Then, cover it in neosporyn or bacatracin or brave soldier and keep it covered. I prefer to use Saran Wrap to cover road rash (you can wrap it right around your leg or arm -- even joints). Some folks will purchase expensive burn bandages or tegaderm, but I think good old fashioned plastic wrap works just as well.

The secret to good healing is that you don't want a scab to form. Scabs cause scars. Wet wound healing is a process where the wound heals from the inside out, so you need to keep the skin surface moist.

In ten days, you'll have pretty pink skin and no scabs or scars. Now, you need to zinc the heck out of this or use another powerful sunscreen or it will discolor. If it's extensive enough and you plan to be in the sun for long periods of time, I'd recommend covering it in clothing (arm warmers work on arms, knee warmers on legs, etc).

But don't let it air out. Air = scab = scar.

Pretty pics here -- http://www.bravesoldier.com/1/caring_rr_gallery.php

[SadieKate]

I thought no air = infection. Bacteria lurve no air. I thought the trick was moist and some air, the reason for Tegaderm, Second Skin, etc.

Just googled and found these articles.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/i.../abrasions.htm

http://www.arniebakercycling.com/pub...Rash%20ABC.pdf

I was having a rash of wounds from mtbiking a while back so I bought a bunch of Brave Soldier stuff to try. Haven't needed it since. I probably just jinxed myself.

[SadieKate]

Arnie Baker - I have his Bicycling Medicine book but I didn't know he had this extensive website. Adding it to my bookmarks.

http://www.arniebakercycling.com/

[velogirl]

I thought no air = infection. Bacteria lurve no air. I thought the trick was moist and some air, the reason for Tegaderm, Second Skin, etc.

Okay, maybe NO AIR is a bit of an exaggeration. But you don't want the wound to AIR DRY. The only way to keep a wound wet is to keep it covered (and not in a gauze bandage).

This is the method I was taught in the ER after getting hit by a car in 2002. I had road rash up my entire right side and you'd never find a scar now. And I didn't get any infections. The secret is to scrub it twice a day, put anti-bacterial ointment on the site, and cover it so it stays wet. You can buy expensive bandages (like Tegaderm) if you want, but I found Saran Wrap works just as well and because it's large you can wrap body parts easily. You might have to put an athletic wrap over the Saran Wrap to keep it on.

And you'll crinkle when you walk.....

BTW, this is the standard treatment for road rash, not big gaping wounds. All my racers have used the same method over the years (and no scars).

[annie]

There is a cream called Mederma (sp?) that is OTC & supposed to be good for scars. You have to be completely healed up to use it. It is a tad $$$.

Worth the $$$. You can usually find a generic version. I bought mine at Walgreens (their brand) and it worked wonders. I also second the recommendation for Vitamin E, oil or cream. I crashed a couple years ago...... landed mostly on my face. So the saran wrap wasn't an option. Any bandaging was not really an option. I kept it scrupulously clean. Used topical antibiotice and burn ointment until it began to heal. Then used the Vitamin E oil. After the skin had re-grown, I continued to use the V-E, and added the mederma, to prevent scarring. Now, no one would ever notice the minimal scarring unless I point it out to them. I feel very lucky.

I got the V-E oil from a friend, who had a bad sky-diving jump, broke an ankle, had a line of stiches on her leg, which healed well, and she attributed that to the E. So now I recommend it to anyone who has an injury that could leave a scar.

Here's hoping you heal well and quickly, light_sabe_r!

annie

[Lise]

A covered wound that's not clean is going to be a breeding ground for infection. The secret is keeping it clean, and getting out the dead tissue. I fell hard while running last year, and really scraped my knee. I just gritted my teeth and scrubbed it out well before covering it with triple antibiotic ointment every day. It seemed like it took forever to heal, but it healed well, and no scar.

[kelownagirl]

I am taking copious notes here. I ALWAYS scar and I ALWAYS have some sort of scrape or cut on my legs... Got a terrible case of rope burn when my dog took off after something over a year ago and the scar across my ankle is still there. Think I could it go away at this late date by trying some of the things you have mentioned?

[Geonz]

Okay, what do you mean scrub? How do you scrub an open wound?

[EvilTwin]

I work with a plastic surgeon alot, and his recomendation is Polysporin ointment. Nothing fancy or expensive.