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

[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).