I have been battling a healing cut in my lower leg. The cut is about as round as a penny and is having trouble healing. The main problem is my poor circulation to my left leg (past DVT) and repeated trips to the pool for swimming.
I have taken a couple weeks off of swimming and tried to get it to heal into a hard scab. But dang the fall Tri’s are soon approaching, so on to the question:
How to keep the cut dry while swimming?
Vasiline
super glue
I have tried those water proof bandaids and they dont stay on worth a dang…
New Skin works really well. It comes in both a spray and brush on forms and both do a good job. It will sting like crazy when you apply it though, so make sure there aren’t any little kids around!
Treat it like a case of road rash. Go to the store and pick up some Tegaderm, made by 3M. Tegaderm is a clear adhesive patch that acts like a second skin layer until new skin grows into place. It stays on very well in the pool, bath or shower. It keeps water out, but keeps the cut moist so no scab or scar forms. Just be sure to get the correct size. The box says to make sure there is 1/2 inch of normal skin on all sides of your cut to make sure the patch stays on. That stuff is AWESOME. I hope it works for you.
New Skin? I tried that once. Worst godawful pain I have ever experienced. It has alcohol in it so it dries quickly. Why don’t you just bite down on a bullet and pour whiskey on it, John Wayne?
I completely agree… I had a fall last year, and left half my ass on the road. Cleaned it out, covered it with Tegaderm and it was all better in a week. Just put it on and forget about it.
I’ve also used superglue, but that was for a deep cut that I needed to hold together (should have gotten stickes, but it wasn’t really an option). Works well, but probably isn’t the best in this case because the cut is large.
I’ve used the new skin successfully. It does sting though at first. Also, do not drip it on a linoleum floor. I have a permanent brown dot on our off white floor that my wife will not let me live down. I’ve been banned from using it. Now I keep it at work and don’t worry about a dribble. It does begin to peel after a couple of days so you may need to re-apply.
Tegaderm rocks. This is stuff is something that everyone doing tri and/or cycling should have in their first aid kit. It’s a breathable, transparent film that you can put over cuts and abrasions. I put a pedal into my shin while mountain biking not too long ago and I used this over a steri-stip dressing and it let the would heal and I could still bathe without issue. I don’t know if it’ll perform flawlessly under serious swimming conditions, but it’s worth a shot. It’s also great for road rash in that it helps speed healing and minimizes scaring because scabs don’t form.
Double some Duct tape back on itself and cut a square so its bigger than the cut and the shiny side is over the cut. Then put more Duct tape over that. So nothing actually sticks to the cut. It’s make do - but it works.