I seem to have discovered the real reason not pedaling on a fixed gear bike is bad 
After a minor dust up at the track last week, I’m left with some nasty road rash and splinters all down my right side (and a REALLY cool brusie that now takes up my entire right butt cheek, and part of my left. Schweet. :-)). Not that I’m in an allfire hurry to get back in the pool (seriously, I swim like 1500 meters 2x a week), but I do like to at least get in often enough that I don’t forget how to swim.
When can/should I get back in the pool? FWIW, not to be all TMI, but while they are covered in a sort of yellowish, clear, dry “coating”…they are still prone to weeping and still burn in the shower or when I move (which, I’m assuming i b/cthey keep breaking open).
Last time I had road rash, I waited until the open area was small enough to put tegaderm or some other clear dressing over it (i used a 6 x 6 in dressing or something about that size); even with the toxic chlorine levels sported by the pool at the Y where I swim, that the microbiology of any public pool is something you don’t want addressing an open wound. In my case, that was about five days of waiting. If the wound is really oozing, covering with a clear dressing prevents laundry embarassment as well. That steady serosanguinous ooze is a great way to turn a lovely white dress shirt pink.
I was told not to swim by my dr til in got “better”. I decided that was a week. I also used tegaderm by 3 M. I highly recommend the stuff. Not only did it heal very fast, but it also did not hurt once the Tegaderm was on there.
Where can you buy Tegaderm? I noticed on the 3M web site they have a million things in the product line…which did you use, and can I find it at a CVS or Walgreens?
I got the product # 1626W. That covered my road rash completely. That may not be big enough for yours. Also I got it at a CVS.
Rite-Aid, CVS, and Walgreens should carry Tegaderm. I found it at Meijer also. They sell it under the NextCare brand/line. They don’t carry the really big dressings though, I could only find 4 x 3.
