Human wound care

[SarahandSam]

Figure this is HR because if you haven't come home with arena dirt embedded in you, you're not a rider, right? (;

Fell last week and scraped my arm up pretty nasty from the arena footing. After I finished riding, cleaned it out as best I could, sprayed horse tea tree oil antibiotic wound spray on it (side note, that stuff freaking HURTS! Never spraying it on my horse's open wounds again), and put some gauze on it. Got home, changed the gauze. Spent a day or two putting antibiotic cream on it and using gauze... but the scrape was weeping and the gauze kept sticking to it. Plus it hurt like hell.

I read online that on scrapes it's better to just clean the wound and use a dressing called Tegaderm, I believe? Went to the pharmacy looking for some but they didn't have it. However, there were a couple new options that seemed to be the same thing. I settled on Johnson & Johnson "Advanced Healing" pads. You put them on and leave them on for a couple of days; they prevent scabs from forming. So I put it on and it got all white and puffy over the scrape, kinda fun to poke at. d; Also seemed to feel less sore almost immediately.

Changed it a day or two later, skin looked a little better but still weeping... took off my second bandage yesterday, a few days later, and it's just plain skin there now! White and pathetic-looking skin, but skin! Just thought that was pretty cool and worked so much better and quicker for the "road rash" type abrasions that I always seem to get when I fall. So if you have to eat dirt, I highly recommend these band-aids!

[ChocoMare]

The "Tegaderms" are put out OTC by NexCare (http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/WW_Nexcare/FirstAidProducts/Products/AfterSurgeryCare/IncisionCareKits/)

They are the greatest and come in many sizes no matter the wound. Totally waterproof, stay put (as long as the skin is clean and dry) and I've seen faster healing.

The blisters I got from a recent massive Paddock Poop Patrol were very appreciative of those bandages :D

[amylmac]

The idea behind the Tegaderm type products is to let your body's own healing mech. do the job. Always make sure you cleanse really well before applying the bandage. Clean with an antibacterial soap and H20,pat dry and apply. Leave it on for at least 24 hrs. Longer if possible, that lets the new skin growth take hold. Trust me I'm a nurse.:)

[trubandloki]

Thanks for the ideas. I splatted and got a nasty 'road rash' on my arm a bit ago. I wish I had known about this then.

Why can't arena footing be made more cushy? Geez. :yes:

[SarahandSam]

Why can't arena footing be made more cushy? Geez. :yes:

LOL... I got all excited a few days ago when it looked like it was going to rain before my lesson; the indoor arena is much softer. Or as I told my trainer, "At least it would be a change of dirt..." ;)

[shakeytails]

I rarely hurt myself and I usually don't use anything but soap and water and a band-aid when I do. If I feel the need to apply goo, I usually have to get something out of the tack room to put on it if we don't have any triple antibiotic in the house. I've used Cut-Heal, Betadine ointment, Corona, Blu-kote, Red-Kote, you name it. BTW, none of the above do diddly-squat for poison ivy. The most common thing I use is ichthamol- it works wonders on drawing slivers out and healing anything small that gets infected. A friend of mine had some nasty cat scratches on his leg that were painful and getting infected. I wrapped him up with ichthamol, gauze and vetwrap (like I would a horse!) and sent him home with supplies to repeat for a day or two. He was amazed at how quickly it healed.

[Jumperprincess]

Please do not put ichthamol on your road rash it can cause burning of the new skin tissue, In the hospital they actually take a wire brush to scrub out the dirt and then recommend that the area is left open to air with just a light covering of bacitracin or triple antibiotic ointment, go ahead and let the shower stream beat on it as well, that will speed the healing process. I work in ED