Sometimes, you can treat road rash from a motorcycle at home with over-the-counter remedies. For severe road rash, however, you might need professional medical attention. In extreme cases, you might need skin grafts or other types of surgical intervention.

An Overview of Road Rash

Road rash is a type of abrasion, which is an injury that usually does not go deeper than the skin and the tissue underneath the skin. You can get an abrasion from rubbing or scraping. If you receive an abrasion from scrapes you received from the pavement during a motorcycle accident, you might have road rash.

The Trauma and Burn Clinic at the University of Wisconsin (UW Health) says that you might need skin grafting surgery to heal from a road rash if the damage goes through all the layers of your skin. If the harm goes deeper than your skin into your muscle or other tissues, your doctor might have to perform additional procedures to ensure optimal healing.

UW Health recommends these steps for treating road rash at home:

  • Clean the wound every day. Take the prescribed pain medication or over-the-counter pain reliever one hour before every dressing change.
  • Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before you touch the injury, to prevent infection.
  • Remove the previous day’s dressings. You should take off the bandaging dry—without soaking first—to pull off dead tissue and debris.
  • Gently wash the wound every day with a mild antibacterial soap. Use a clean washcloth each time. Many people perform this step in the shower. Rinse the rash area thoroughly.
  • After drying the wounds and nearby areas, apply enough antibiotic cream, like Bacitracin®, to keep the injury hydrated until the next day’s dressing change.
  • Moisturize the uninjured skin that surrounds the damaged skin.
  • Cover the wound with a non-stick gauze and secure the dressing as needed.

Contact your doctor immediately if you see any indications of an infection. Signs of a possible infection include:

  • An increase in redness or swelling around the wound;
  • Worsening pain;
  • Foul-smelling discharge from the wound; or
  • Flu-like symptoms, like fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, or vomiting.

You should also contact your doctor if your road rash wound does not heal within two to three weeks.

When a Road Rash Injury is Eligible for Compensation

You might be able to pursue a claim for damages if you got road rash from an accident that someone else contributed to or caused. If the at-fault person caused you to crash, collide, or wipe out and you sustained road rash as a result, you might be able to go after compensation for your losses.

How to Get Legal Help with Your Motorcycle Accident Road Rash Injury Claim

The team at the Montero Law Center helps people who get hurt because of the carelessness of others. When we handle your accident claim, you can focus on getting well, knowing that we are taking care of everything else.

There is no charge for the initial compensation, and you will not have to pay upfront legal fees. Call us today at (954) 767-6500 to get started before the statute of limitations to pursue justice under FL § 95.11 passes.