Has anyone swam with tegaderm? I was in a bad bike crash a week and a half ago. The drainage is finally minimal and most of the wounds are closed, so I’ve been able to switch to tegaderm for the open ones. If well secured, does tegaderm keep the water out?
Yeah, I’ve swum with tegraderm post-crash. It seals fine. I usually have to replace it after a workout or two because the sweat builds up under it and I have to lift it to let it drain.
Is the tegaderm there to protect the wearer from the water…or, other swimmers from the wearer?
I’ve got some small road rash areas that are scabbing (after 1 day). I have a big area on my shoulder that’s going to take a while. I also have a private pool.
Thanks.
Clean the skin around the wound (not the wound!) with alcohol to get off all your skin oil. Make sure you get the Tegaderm on straight and flat, without any wrinkles. If you can do that, it will stay on and keep water out. If it’s somewhere where you can wrap Coban wrap around it, that also helps, but take it off when you get out of the water so the Tegaderm can breathe. If you can find Tincture of Benzoin, you can put that on your skin (again, not on the wound! it stings), that will give your skin a bit of stickiness and the Tegaderm should stay on for days. Some specialty pharmacies carry it; it’s for canker sores.
nc452010, the Tegaderm does both – protects the wound and the water.
put the lotion in the basket
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Freshly applied Tegaderm should make it through one swim, probably not two, though it depends on many factors including how much that particular area moves. If needed, there are adhesive products you can brush on either when first applying or if it starts to peel.
There is a waterproof version of Tegaderm, that would obviously be best for swimming than the non waterproof versions.
Best thing I’ve found post road rash bike crash (and I’ve had some real good ones) is a wound cover called Opsite Post-Op, made by Smith & Nephew. It’s waterproof, has an absorbent pad, flexible and usually stays on until you decide to remove it.
Get some duoderm extra thin dressings. They’re more durable than tegaderm (I started with tegaderm a week ago, it would come off in the water, the duoderm worked much better for me). Buy on amazon. Easy to cut the 10x10cm squares to size.