# Open Wound



## BrynCP (20 Mar 2016)

I had a minor operation (incision and drain) four weeks ago which results in an open wound. This was on my back.

I have been advised to not cycle as the wound is still open and the moisture caused by sweating could cause reinfection.

Does anybody have experience of this and at what point during the healing process it's safe to cycle again?

I want to go  but not risk my recovery! I've had I&Ds before, but before I was cycling, and they've taken 2.5 months to heal entirely.


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

Do as the medics advise. How big is the incision?


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## midlife (20 Mar 2016)

Infected sebaceous cyst?

Have a word with the Nurse Consultant next time it is dressed when you can start.

Shaun


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## RedRider (20 Mar 2016)

Pure anecdote but I had a " classic" boil on my breast incised and drained last year. It was in an easy position for me to clean and dress on a daily basis myself and to keep an eye on. I continued cycling, even riding back from the hossy after the op. though cut back on longer rides. Not saying I was sensible but I did get away with it.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (20 Mar 2016)

http://www.advancedtissue.com/can-exercise-accelerate-wound-healing/


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

just_fixed said:


> http://www.advancedtissue.com/can-exercise-accelerate-wound-healing/


Or cause infection as the OP's HCP has warned


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## jefmcg (20 Mar 2016)

RedRider said:


> Pure anecdote but I had a " classic" boil on my breast incised and drained last year. It was in an easy position for me to clean and dress on a daily basis myself and to keep an eye on. I continued cycling, even riding back from the hossy after the op. though cut back on longer rides. Not saying I was sensible but I did get away with it.


This seems OK. If the problem is sweat, then don't exert yourself. If you work at about the same pace as brisk walking, you shouldn't have sweat running down your back.

Of course, individual results may vary. I went riding with someone in about 5 degrees, and he was dripping sweat onto the road - it was a 200km ride, he was fit, just sweaty. He probably shouldn't ride at all under these circumstances.

OP, listen to your doctors. This is really one that no one can help you with. If you aren't sure and you have been discharged from the hospital, make an appointment with a doctor or nurse at your GP. They'll give you correct advice based on your wound.


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## BrynCP (20 Mar 2016)

Thanks All.

I did ask the nurse, it's 2 weeks every time I ask 

I am obeying their advice, there is no question about that, just wondered if anybody had a better estimate.


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

Somewhere between 2 weeks and 2.5 months from what you've said


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## mjr (20 Mar 2016)

midlife said:


> Infected sebaceous cyst?
> 
> Have a word with the Nurse Consultant next time it is dressed when you can start.


It never occurred to me *not* to cycle with one. I rode to the surgery for them to examine and they dressed it and prescribed stuff. They didn't mention not cycling either  Distances around here are too far to walk, buses aren't frequent and the roads are congested 

Oh and it healed up nicely. By the time they were going to operate, they couldn't find it!


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## mjr (20 Mar 2016)

jefmcg said:


> This seems OK. If the problem is sweat, then don't exert yourself. If you work at about the same pace as brisk walking, you shouldn't have sweat running down your back.


This is a very good point. I've caused a few problems pushing too hard immediately after minor procedures. Allow plenty of time and pedal softly. Do not give yourself a tight schedule that doesn't allow for headwinds and the like. A few extra minutes each ride now is worth avoiding extra treatment.


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

mjray said:


> It never occurred to me *not* to cycle with one. I rode to the surgery for them to examine and they dressed it and prescribed stuff. They didn't mention not cycling either  Distances around here are too far to walk, buses aren't frequent and the roads are congested
> 
> Oh and it healed up nicely. By the time they were going to operate, they couldn't find it!


Except the OP has had the operation and has an exposed wound so not the same is it


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## mjr (20 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Except the OP has had the operation and has an exposed wound so not the same is it


That reply wasn't in reply to the OP, was it? But mine have burst which I'd expect to be even worse tbh.


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## jefmcg (20 Mar 2016)

mjray said:


> That reply wasn't in reply to the OP, was it? But mine have burst which I'd expect to be even worse tbh.


but (warning: i have already proven to be a medical ignoramus today), surely it depends on your dressing as much as your wound. An open wound that is exposed to the air would need much more circumspection than wound covered with a waterproof dressing (even if the wound under the dressing was much worse).

But in these circumstances everyone should take the advice of the person applying the dressing. Which everyone has done 

@BrynCP , go for a walk. I did that quite a few times when I broke my clavicle. It was quite a pleasure, and a change of pace.


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## midlife (20 Mar 2016)

The wound most likely will be covered by a film / gel dressing and not open to the air. Whilst sweat itself is sterile it carries skin bugs with it and best kept away from any sort of wound.

Shaun


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (20 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Or cause infection as the OP's HCP has warned


Not with good care and cleansing. Read the article.
TBH IME with wound care and evidence based practices, the biggest risk is stressing the wound or sutures, I.e., busting it open.


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

Can he effectively clean his back? If not guaranteed, surely it's better to follow medical advice until it's healed?


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (20 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Can he effectively clean his back?


Dunno his social circumstances, do you?


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

just_fixed said:


> Dunno his social circumstances, do you?


No but I did read the article and last line of it...

But remember never start an exercise program before talking with your healthcare provider.


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## jefmcg (20 Mar 2016)

If the OP follows the directions, he'll be back on his bike in 2 weeks. That doesn't seem very onerous. He can still exercise (and he should) just not get too sweaty for a couple of weeks. If the advice is ill-informed, it will cause him little harm.

If he had a life threatening cancer, I'd be inclined to point him in the direction of the latest research. But with this situation, I can't see the down side in a conservative approach.

Still, the OP can read the the article, check the papers it relies on and decide for himself. Or he could go for a brisk walk, stop for coffee and cake and tick off one more day that he is doing more activity than the average UK citizen, if a little less than he'd like to.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (20 Mar 2016)

TBH, I'd be more worried of busting it open and having to revisit a healthcare setting. Hospital Acquired Infections are probably the biggest risk of all which just seems so wrong on so many levels.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (20 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> No but I did read the article and last line of it...
> 
> But remember never start an exercise program before talking with your healthcare provider.


You'd be surprised at how little 'health care providers' actually know.


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## midlife (20 Mar 2016)

OP says open wound so no sutures to burst? May have been marsupialised or cauterised off and the defect left to heal over....

Shaun


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

He's seemingly prone to these infected boils or whatever they are, so sensible to be safe rather than sorry

But whatever


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## vickster (20 Mar 2016)

just_fixed said:


> You'd be surprised at how little 'health care providers' actually know.


Like the ones who wrote your article and they can't spell either


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## BrynCP (20 Mar 2016)

The wound is packed and covered with a waterproof dressing. I can't clean it myself because I cannot pack it myself, partly because of its location, but mainly because it has to be sterile and its important its packed correctly to allow it to heal inside while staying open outside.

Once it doesn't need packing, I can replace the dressing myself easily, but what tends to happen is they swap from waterproof to breathable dressing to encourage the healing and prevent over granulation, which will then prohibit cycling again as the dressing cannot get wet at all.


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## classic33 (20 Mar 2016)

midlife said:


> The wound most likely will be covered by a film / gel dressing and not open to the air. Whilst sweat itself is sterile it carries skin bugs with it and best kept away from any sort of wound.
> 
> Shaun


Having read to the end, it's a waterproof dressing covering it. One thing you can try for yourself, is to place one hand in a plastic bag. It'll soon start sweating more than the other hand. You can't prevent any areas of the body from sweating. With an airtight dressing sweating will be increased, something they're trying to avoid. Main reason would be to prevent an infection starting in an open wound.

The wait as given is the best choice at this time.


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## midlife (20 Mar 2016)

classic33 said:


> Having read to the end, it's a waterproof dressing covering it. One thing you can try for yourself, is to place one hand in a plastic bag. It'll soon start sweating more than the other hand. You can't prevent any areas of the body from sweating. With an airtight dressing sweating will be increased, something they're trying to avoid. Main reason would be to prevent an infection starting in an open wound.
> 
> The wait as given is the best choice at this time.



Could be something like Intrasite..

Shaun


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## classic33 (21 Mar 2016)

midlife said:


> Could be something like Intrasite..
> 
> Shaun


Could be, but I'd still follow the advice given whilst the dressing is airtight.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (21 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Like the ones who wrote your article and they can't spell either


Hmm, not sure why you're badgering me. However, the point of the article, and many others, being that exercise benefits outweighs the risk of sweat infection. 
You say it's a waterproof dressing, that alone will introduce sweating into the wound. If it's a packed wound, it'll be packed with anti microbial dressing and/or Topicals. 
I haven't seen the wound so won't advise as to whether you should or shouldn't ride, that's a personal choice which should be made WITH your healthcare professional NOT by them. Person centred care n all that.


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## fossyant (21 Mar 2016)

I'd wait. Had two ops where the wound was left open. Wait until it's closed. With modern dressings it should heal pretty quickly. I had to wait 5 weeks for one wound to close as it had a minor infection, and was in a position you couldn't cover it. I was cycling within 2 weeks of a shoulder decompression.


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## vickster (21 Mar 2016)

fossyant said:


> I was cycling within 2 weeks of a shoulder decompression.


Arthroscopic presumably though with steristrips and waterproof dressing if anything like mine  no way I'll be cycling within 2 weeks, but that's nothing to do with the incisions


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## fossyant (21 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Arthroscopic presumably though with steristrips and waterproof dressing if anything like mine  no way I'll be cycling within 2 weeks, but that's nothing to do with the incisions



No steristrips, just the waterproof dressing.


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## vickster (21 Mar 2016)

fossyant said:


> No steristrips, just the waterproof dressing.


Interesting just shows to go that surgeons differ. I can remove mine and the dressings on Wednesday. The important needlework is inside


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## sidevalve (21 Mar 2016)

Doc says don't ride for a bit - maybe being a bit over cautious maybe not. Worst case off bike for a few weeks then all is back to normal - ignore advice, worst case major infection and possible blood poisoning result major illness and off bike for months. Seems a bit of a no-brainer to me everything else is a bit irrelevant.


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## Kajjal (21 Mar 2016)

sidevalve said:


> Doc says don't ride for a bit - maybe being a bit over cautious maybe not. Worst case off bike for a few weeks then all is back to normal - ignore advice, worst case major infection and possible blood poisoning result major illness and off bike for months. Seems a bit of a no-brainer to me everything else is a bit irrelevant.



This would be my advice. Any surgery carries a risk due to infection, risking infecting a clean healing wound just to ride a bike a few days / weeks early is not a sensible idea. If it gets infected or has other complications not cycling will be the least of your worries.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (21 Mar 2016)

User said:


> How do you 'bust open' an open wound?


Easily


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## ayceejay (21 Mar 2016)

What was the thing that was lanced (old fashioned me). If it was a boil AND the cause of the boil was external then sweat would be part of that equation and more sweat will definitely make to worse/


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## mjr (22 Mar 2016)

jefmcg said:


> If the OP follows the directions, he'll be back on his bike in 2 weeks. That doesn't seem very onerous.


2 weeks where one's autonomous transport range is cut to between a quarter and a third of what it was seems like a big deal to me. It's bloody annoying if minor medical procedures result in a significant minority being advised in effect to pay for loads of taxis or hire a car for weeks on end (only an option if they hold a current driving licence in the first place)!


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## jefmcg (22 Mar 2016)

mjray said:


> 2 weeks where one's autonomous transport range is cut to between a quarter and a third of what it was seems like a big deal to me. It's bloody annoying if minor medical procedures result in a significant minority being advised in effect to pay for loads of taxis or hire a car for weeks on end (only an option if they hold a current driving licence in the first place)!


Seems a little unfair to quote me to make this point, but trim off this



jefmcg said:


> This seems OK. If the problem is sweat, then don't exert yourself. If you work at about the same pace as brisk walking, you shouldn't have sweat running down your back.



I was crediting the OP with a little intelligence. If I was told not to ride my bike because sweat would be bad, I would either assume that I could ride gently as transport or ask a followup question if I was not sure. As the OP didn't do this, I assumed all his rides are workouts, and wasn't interested in riding without sweating.

When I broke my wrist (not on the bike), I asked the specialist if I could ride. He said "You could, but I wouldn't want to think what might happen if you came off." That gave me all the information to make a decision, that for me was TFL and walking, as I couldn't drive with it either.


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## mjr (22 Mar 2016)

jefmcg said:


> Seems a little unfair to quote me to make this point, but trim off this


I didn't trim it off. You're quoting an earlier post of yours there, with a point that I agree with but you didn't make in the later post.



jefmcg said:


> When I broke my wrist (not on the bike), I asked the specialist if I could ride. He said "You could, but I wouldn't want to think what might happen if you came off." That gave me all the information to make a decision, that for me was TFL and walking, as I couldn't drive with it either.


TFL? Most of us (including Hull, I think) don't have any government mechanism like that even attempting to provide integrated transport, so loss of cycling can be far more onerous. Also, I'd regard broken bones as more serious and necessarily more disruptive than a small wound.


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## jefmcg (22 Mar 2016)

mjray said:


> I didn't trim it off.


You're right,sorry I said (nearly) the same thing in two posts. 



mjray said:


> Also, I'd regard broken bones as more serious and necessarily more disruptive than a small wound.


It was about getting sufficient information to decide for myself. Which the OP also had, from his posting.

That being said, I broke my clavicle last year, which never healed. When I had the followup and it was clear it was not going to heal without surgery, the NHS doctor's eyes widened in horror at the thought of me cycling. A private doctor told me to go for it, that I can't break the same clavicle twice. He also told me not have surgery, which he was also right about.


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## vickster (22 Mar 2016)

Does the OP have a car?


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## mjr (22 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Does the OP have a car?


Even if so, I still think it's a pretty poor show if medics are actually advising people to drive instead of cycling after minor procedures.


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## vickster (22 Mar 2016)

But there is a reason for it. I don't know how minor a packed open infected wound is and how great the risk of repeat infection is. I'm assuming the OP's nurse or surgeon actually does, especially as he has been through this before and it took 2.5 months to heal. Sounds more than a zit

If he has a car, he is not stranded regardless of the perceived lack of green considerations (which for me are always secondary to my health and wellbeing). Ymmv

I'm on a busy bus, with 4 bikes and a car I can't use for 2 months


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## mjr (22 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> If he has a car, he is not stranded regardless of the perceived lack of green considerations (which for me are always secondary to my health and wellbeing). Ymmv


WTF? I think you're the first person considering green? When I've cycled after minor procedures, it wasn't to be green! It's partly prioritising my health, partly about getting places faster than walking with less stress than driving and maybe partly about simply being nice to others.


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## vickster (22 Mar 2016)

mjray said:


> WTF? I think you're the first person considering green? When I've cycled after minor procedures, it wasn't to be green! It's partly prioritising my health, partly about getting places faster than walking with less stress than driving and maybe partly about simply being nice to others.


Except the OP has been advised not to cycle based on his wound and circumstances which perhaps are different to yours, maybe you weren't advised not to cycle. Being nice to others, WTF? Sigh...I'm done


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## mjr (22 Mar 2016)

vickster said:


> Except the OP has been advised not to cycle based on his wound and circumstances which perhaps are different to yours, maybe you weren't advised not to cycle.


Yeah yeah, apparently my worst one was just "a zit" according to you! 

I realise the OP has been advised not to cycle and I agree that they should ask their medics but it does sound an awful lot to me like the medics are being rather cavalier about really rather disruptive lifestyle advice which is probably disruptive to other aspects of their health. I'm shocked you're so keen on supporting pushing people off bikes that you keep nibbling at me and @just_fixed for stating our experiences (edit: as requested in the OP).


vickster said:


> Being nice to others, WTF? Sigh...I'm done


I'm not surprised you WTF the concept of being nice to others


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## jefmcg (22 Mar 2016)

Seriously, before condemning the advice, we really (and I'm not being pedantic) need to know the discussion that took place. i.e. "Can I go for a 40 mile club run on Sunday?" is different from "is it ok if use my bike?"

There are a lot of cyclists who think there is only one speed. Someone on here said they couldn't cycle to work, because there was no washing facilities and when I suggested they just shower at home and cycle slower, that was apparently impossible. I also see a lot of people driving somewhere then cycling at the end, or taking a road cycle 5 miles on the train (yeah, some of them probably have mechanicals, but not all). Not all cyclists consider bicycles transport.

As sweat is the villain in the original post, I hope the OP was advised against running, saunas and energetic marital activities. If not, then there is a solid anti-cycling bias. I haven't got a pitch fork, but is it OK for me to attack the hospital brandishing a gardening fork?


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## BrynCP (22 Mar 2016)

Woah.

I never questioned my medical professional's advice, but was interested in world experience on when it's likely they'd say it's safe being the repetitive 2 weeks. Thanks for all the input.

I only cycle for fitness, hence even a short ride tends to result in sweat. I am mobile otherwise by foot or car.


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