A week and a half ago I crashed during a race and gotten the normal road rash and some deeper wounds in my right arm. I was told neosporin is the best and better to keep it uncover. So that’s what I have been doing except when going to work Iuse large band-aids on the wounds on my arm.
I have been biking and swimming and been to the pool since the injury about 4 times, each about 50min long.
Today, my wife recommended that I go see a doctor because one of the deeper wounds which is a probably about 1/2" in diameter started showing redness around the open area and there is yellow coloring inside. No drainage. I can post photos but didn’t want to gross anyone out.
The doc took a quick look at it and told me it is infected and put me on two antibiotics (Sulfamethoxzole 2x daily, and cephalexin 4x daily for 10 days). She also took a culture to make sure it is not some uncommon bacteria infection, should know in about two days.
For ST docs or anyone who experienced anything like this, is it common to be on that much antibiotics for these type of infections? Do I need to worry about something possibly worst?
I am feeling fine, no fever, or sign of any cold, and been working out daily preping for Ironman Cozumel in late November.
Any recommendation on how to take care of it? Should I keep it covered or just keep applying neosporin and leave it uncovered?
Anything to look for when working out? I am planning on continuing my biking and slowly get back into running. However, I am thinking of totally skipping the pool until this thing is clear.
I’m sure you’ll get varying responses, but my experience from a crash at IMTX is to keep it covered. I went down pretty hard close to the finish of the bike and had some pretty good road rash on my right arm, shoulder, and back. I tried to ignore it for a few days, but I really couldn’t sleep and it was starting to look worse, so I gave in and went to see the doc. They put me on some painkillers and oral antibiotics (I can’t remember the name). They also gave me a prescription for silver sulfadiazine cream (used for burn victims), which really seemed to help the wounds heal faster. I applied the cream and then covered the wounds with NON-STICK pads (be sure to get non-stick). It covered a pretty large area, so I got the largest pads they had (8 x 3) and used a few at a time. I taped the whole thing down using the standard water proof tape or even ace bandages. I changed the dressings 2 - 3x/day for the first few days and then 2x/day after. The doctor also recommended using Hibiclens in the shower to clean the wound (anti-septic soap). I think I took 10+ days off and just let everything start to heal. When I felt better, I started running again, then added biking (being in the aeros stretched everything out which seemed to slow down healing), and finally got back into the pool 30ish days after the accident (I don’t really like swimming so it was a good excuse).
There are lots of other remedies out there and folks always talk about using Tegaderm, but my road rash covered a pretty large area and the largest pads they had at the store were 4x4, so I never tried them.
Dude…not a doctor but have had my fair share of road rash.
Number #1…pools are disgusting. Have you ever seen wads of hair, strands of snot, etc floating by you whilst you swim? Also, most pools have policies of “people with open wounds, not allowed”. That’s for your fellow swimmers safety just as much as yours.
But seriously, look into tegaderm. Think of it as a medical grade saran wrap. They sell OTC at places like CVS. It also minimizes the scarring and helps keep the crap out of it.
This made me think… why am I wearing my tri kit when I’m training? I could put on MTB armor. It is cold enough here at least 9 months a year to not overheat wearing that stuff.
First, what pool do you go to so that I can make sure to never visit it? And second, I had an infection the diameter of a golf ball on my hip after a bit of road rash got infected. The doc drained it and put me on antibiotics 3x daily for about a week and a half.
Ok they were not really open wounds, I won’t do that to my poolmates!
Mosltly just surface road rash that was healing fine. The big one was healing fine or looked like it was healing fine until couple of days ago. Also I was covering them with waterproof bandages.
Also I did do a search on ST on road rash and most STers seem to go back swimming couple of days after a crash so blame it on them
The MD was covering you for both gram negative and gram positive bacteria, including MRSA.
Take your antibiotics and I would probably take stock in yogurt and probiotics to keep your gut healthy. She may well call you back to tell you to stop one of the antibiotics when the cultures come back.
Silvadene is handy, but on deeper wounds irrigation, debridement (which HURTS) and keeping it cleaned out and covered up with silvadene/bactroban ointment works like a charm.
Pool swimming should probably be held off until you are scabbed over or healed up to protect you and others. Last thing you want is some odd fungal infection, giardia, hepatitis, crypto or e.coli among a few…being introduced into your body due to an open wound. Gag.
I’m assuming that you’re on Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole DS along with the cephalexin (trade name Keflex) . The thought behind both drugs is to cover two major species of bacteria that live on your skin and cause infection – Staph Aureus and Streptococcal species. Trim-Sulfa should have good activity against the Staph (including the majority of MRSA isolates) but has less robust coverage against the Strep species; hence, the Keflex. Anytime we break our skin, there’s an opportunity for skin flora to invade and infect the wound.
The only thing I might be worried about is gram negative organisms, given the pool exposure. Trim-sulfa has some activity (as does Keflex) but potentially doesn’t cover some of the bugs that you might acquire in a public swimming pool (bugs like Pseudomonas and Aeromonas). I’d take the meds and watch for signs of worsening. If it’s not getting better in a few days, go back to your doctor for a re-evaluation and make sure to mention your exposures. I’d avoid the pool until after the wounds have healed up.
Finally, the culture result may not yield the actual organism (a lot of times this type of culture merely shows non-infectious skin flora).
