Numbness affecting healing after crash?

[lulubel]

I was involved in a collision with a car just over 10 days ago. My knees took the brunt of the impact, with the result that they're badly bruised, still a bit swollen and have a few scrapes and grazes. I've also got some numbness of the skin, although I've definitely got feeling in the deeper tissue because the numb areas hurt if you put any pressure on them. I've read online that the numbness is caused by cutaneous nerve damage that can take months to heal.

There's a graze in the middle of one of the numb areas that scabbed over nicely at first, and the scab has been drying out and shrinking. It's now started pulling away from the skin at the edges and bleeding - there doesn't seem to be any new skin formed underneath. I thought by now, it should have healed, and the scab should be ready to come off.

Has anyone come across this before?

(I'm quite relieved that it doesn't hurt when it gets stuck to things and I have to keep peeling it away, but it does make me feel rather queasy!)

 

[fossyant]

Quite normal.

Road rash is like a burn, so can damage surface nerves a little - this will settle. Hydrocolloid dressings are best for road rash (once cleaned out) as they keep the wound sterile but wet. Letting road rash dry out isn't the best idea as the scabs dry and fall off (or most likely you peal them off).

For bruising try hirudiod cream (used to be called lasonil) or something like witch hazel. The bruising is most likely contributing to the numbness - swelling pressing on nerves (PS I know all about this with my shoulder).

I had a big six inch square patch of nasty road rash on my ar$e some years ago - that weeped for a couple of weeks and took months to finally clear up.

 

[lulubel]

Thanks, that's a relief.

I don't think it's road rash (but graze was the best way I could describe it because it's big but not deep) - my tights over the top of it were totally undamaged - but the symptoms all sound pretty similar to what you're describing. I'll just cover it up and ignore it as much as possible!

I'm getting a bit fed up with being injured now. Feeling sorry for myself was a bit of a novelty to begin with, but it gets boring after a while, and all I want to do is get my new bike and get out on it.

 

[fossyant]

A graze is just like a burn - as long as it's clean, the consensus is to put these dressings on. When I had surgery on my shoulder last year, I had 3 x 15mm long holes in my shoulder. They didn't even stitch them. Just put the clear dressings on and said leave on for a few weeks - we had to change a couple as they filled with blood and fluid, but 1 year on, you'd be hard pressed to see them. I've got worse scars from minor scratches that were 'picked' !

Tell me about injury. 3 years my shoulder's been screwed. Off for steroid injections this afternoon in my back muscles !

Get that bike and ride !

 

[lulubel]

I've decided what bike I'm getting ... well, I think I have, but I keep getting distracted!

I'm now waiting for my new plastic to arrive because my credit card company decided to cancel my card just after my accident because there was some "suspicious" activity on it - probably me getting emergency cash so I could get a taxi!