You expect your car to protect you in the event of an accident.īut, you can take some precautions to protect against road rash when riding a bike or motorcycle, such as: There might not be much you can do to prevent road rash that might occur if you’re in a car crash. Some studies recommend that serious road rash victims be treated by burn experts to improve healing. Untreated infection can be serious and can even result in death. It’s best to err on the side of caution if you have any doubt about seeking medical advice. Pus or other discharge is coming from the abrasion.If you see any signs of infection, seek medical attention. Check the wound for infection until it is fully healed.Cover the wound with a clean bandage or gauze to help prevent infection.Apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to the wound.Be sure to remove any debris from the wound, such as dirt or pebbles.Carefully rinse and clean the affected area as soon as possible – don’t scrub too hard.Wash your hands before touching the wound.Some steps to treat minor road rash can include: Always keep an eye on the wound to watch for signs of infection. For obvious superficial wounds with little to no bleeding, you can take several basic first aid steps to treat at home. If you have any doubt at all about the severity of your wound, you should seek medical treatment.
Anytime you’ve had contact with pavement, there’s a possibility you could also have a broken bone, concussion, sprain, or other injury. If you’ve been in an accident that caused road rash, it’s important to be aware that there could be underlying injuries that aren’t visible.
HOW TO TREAT ROAD RASH SKIN
Because road rash can leave a large surface area of skin open to bacteria, it’s important to watch for signs of infection. Even mild cases of road rash can be extremely painful because it affects many nerve endings. These injuries may be able to be treated at home with basic first aid.ĭeeper abrasions can be more serious because they involve multiple layers of skin. The top layer of skin, called the epidermis, is peeled off, and there may be minor bleeding and exposed tissue. Road rash injuries are also sometimes called “friction burn,” or “strawberries” due to the appearance of the skin after such an injury. Any contact of bare skin with pavement or gravel is likely to cause road rash. It doesn’t take much for the rough surface of the road to take off some of your skin. In addition to a bike crash or a motorcycle accident, there are any number of ways you could get road rash. Road rash can occur with even the slightest fall. If you’re injured in an accident where your skin has had direct contact with the road, you may suffer from road rash in connection with other, more severe injuries. On its own, road rash can be a minor injury. But road rash is quite common in car accidents as well. It’s often thought of in connection with bicycle accidents or motorcycle crashes. Road rash is a skin abrasion caused by scraping your skin against a rough surface, like a road.