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[treehugger1]

Monday or Tuesday, I tripped while running and fell forward onto the sidewalk. Nothing broken, thankfully. But I did have two badly scraped knees.

I thought I had taken care of the wounds correctly, but now I'm wondering. It's been 5 (or 6) days  and the scrapes still hurt. They also look pussy (Sorry, don't mean to be gross, but ...) and have about 1/4" of red around the edges. It seems like they are at least somewhat infected in spite of my attempts to clean and slather antibiotic ointment on them.

So, what do you think? Is this more or less normal healing? If not, is it not normal enough to go seek out medical attention? Or should I wait until some more dramatic signs of infection show up? Or not, as the case may be? Do you know of some more effective home remedies to use in the meantime?

Thanks,

TH1

[patchouli]

HI Treehugger,

First, sorry you got hurt.  I'm in the humanities, so take my advice with less than a grain of salt, but I sounds like you are on the edge of okay, but not okay.  I don't use antibiotic ointments; I'm much more aggressive with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide ( I know--it hurts.) 

I actually looked up the word "pussy" (and a foolish thing to do in Google if not followed by the word "definition.)

Hope a real doc comes on soon for you.

[history_grrrl]

OP, I did the same thing a few years ago; tripped and fell forward onto a concrete sidewalk. I bled fairly heavily and had very bad scrapes. I used the antibiotic ointment and those big square bandages. I didn't end up seeing a doctor, but I had pain for quite a while and major bruising for many months afterward, and I sometimes wondered if I should have seen someone early on.

I would recommend going to an urgent care clinic just to make sure you're not infected. If you don't want to go right away, draw a line in marker around the outer limit of the red; if in a few days there's red outside the line, get it checked out. But from your description, I think it's worth being on the safe side and getting treatment early if it's needed.

[barred_owl]

TH1, I'm not comfortable advising as to whether or not you should seek medical attention, but maybe I can ask a question or two that might help sort out the factors that would help you decide.  

The first thing that came to mind after reading your description was to wonder whether or not you had any other health issues (e.g., diabetes) that might be affecting the healing process.  You don't have to report here, of course, but that's probably one of the first things you'd be asked if you went to a clinic or ER.  If you have diabetes or some other systemic health issue, I'd say that it would be worth having a doc have a look.

It sounds like all of your immune responses are working, though.  The redness, tenderness, and pus indicate that your immune responses are "online," so to speak--all of those things are exactly what you want your immune system's response to be!  If scabs are developing, that's an excellent sign.  

In the meantime, if you decide to wait things out, I'd recommend the use of hydrogen peroxide, applied liberally, at the site of a wound, followed by a dry sterile compress or bandage.  Once a scab forms, you can remove the bandage (the scab is your body's built-in "band-aid"). 

[treehugger1]

I actually looked up the word "pussy" (and a foolish thing to do in Google if not followed by the word "definition.)

LOL. I did the smart thing and looked it up in that piece of ancient technology, the dictionary, before posting. :-)

I think I'll try some alcohol and/or hydrogen peroxide. I think I have some stashed in a bathroom cabinet somewhere.

history_grrrl: I love the marker idea. I'm going to try it.

barred_owl: No, I have no other health issues -- at least, nothing that would have any effect on wound healing.


This morning, I see a tiny bit of a scab forming (finally) around the edges of the scrape on one knee. The other looks much as it did yesterday -- still raw, bloody and pussy. At least, it doesn't look or feel any worse. I think I'll hold off on the trip to the doctor for now.

[treehugger1]

I just took a look at the wikipedia page on abrasion injuries which includes a visual timeline of the healing process for a third-degree abrasion (what I have). Surprisingly, even at 18 days out the sore is still partly open and bloody. I think I'm good.

[_touchedbyanoodle_]

Sorry about the fall. I have a scar on one knee from a spectacular fall I took while running a few years ago. (I managed to scrape up both knees and both hands.) I slathered myself in Neosporin and used large bandages for several days. The pain from bruising took a long time to heal, so some of the pain may be the bruising, not the scrapes.

Heal up!

[tuxedo_cat]

treehugger, if your co-pay for a simple visit to a clinic or doctor would be less than $25, I would go.  Anything that is inflamed and oozing pus is definitely infected, and it's true that your body will likely eventually heal on its own, but why not have a medical professional check it out for you?  Oral antibiotics might speed up the process (if you don't mind taking those).  You will also get proper advice about what kind of bandaging to use -- or not.

Also, beware OTC antibiotic ointments.  I once ended up at a dermatologist's after a couple weeks of applying Neosporin to cat scratches that weren't healing up and guess what?  I had developed an allergy to the Neosporin, which was inhibiting my ability to heal.

And it might be good to have someone examine the joints, too, given that it sounds like you had some serious impact with the fall.  Hope it all clears up soon!

[msparticularity]

The other thing to keep in mind about injuries on an area like the knee is that healing often progresses more slowly on areas where the skin is relatively thinly stretched over bone. I got a very serious scraping wound on my wrist one time that took forever to heal, was terribly painful for a long time, and left a significant scar. In that way, it behaved more like a burn than a scrape--which sounds rather like what you're experiencing, giving the oozing and pussiness.

[collegekidsmom]

I always liked my kids pediatrician's office because they had a very good nurse standing by on the phone. You could call with any kind of question and ask for the nurse. She would listen to you, and then tell you, yes, this needs a doctor, or no, you are OK but please use this medicine or that. You could sort of cover all the bases so you would not have to be wondering at 3 a.m. whether you really might die from not calling the doctor over something. This week in my house that is a nice tiny ring that looks too much like it might signify a future bout of Lyme Disease.

So, you never had to wonder, and people always do. I fell a couple of year ago pretty badly, and did not realize that an adult who is banged up, but who DOESN"T have messed up knees will get the visit from a social worker- and otherwise the third degree about domestic violence.

It is still difficult for me to visit a doctor about anything except something really horrible, and I wonder if that's a family thing, an age thing or just a stupid thing...

[merinoblue]

It's hard to comment on the infection without seeing it.  I would probably go to a clinic to be sure.

But you should get a tetanus booster if you haven't had one in the last 10 years (that's the recommendation in Canada; I think in the US, the CDC is now advocating every 5 years.)

[treehugger1]

It is still difficult for me to visit a doctor about anything except something really horrible, and I wonder if that's a family thing, an age thing or just a stupid thing...

I'm so with you. I hate going to the doctor. We have a great plan (PPO, or something), so money's not the issue. It's other things -- not wanting to be harassed about getting tests I have no intention of getting, worry about picking up infections in the waiting room, etc.

merinoblue,

I've got the tetanus. So no worries there.

[itried]

treehugger1, something that helps me a lot when I get road rash or gashes from crashing my bikes is keeping Tegaderm on the abrasion / gash at all times. This is a see-through bandage that has strong adhesive around the perimeter; it looks like a little window through which you can see your wound. It's waterproof, and will protect your wound from infection, as well as keep it moist so it heals from the inside out. Because it prevents a scab from growing, it reduces cracking and reopening of the wound, which minimizes scarring. Once, I had a very deep abrasion / gash on my shin from a mountain bike crash on a sharp sandstone rock, and for a week it produced so much bloody pus (sorry) that the Tegaderm bandage ballooned out on my shin like a softball, but the bandages held well while cycling and in the shower, and I never had any infection. I changed into a fresh bandage every three days or so.

You can find Tegaderm with the Bandaids at any drugstore; it's expensive, so you may want to look for a generic brand of the same product - the generic ones work just as well.

Take care!

[jackit_n_tyy]

GO TO URGENT CARE.

TODAY.

There is a world of nasty types of bacteria out there (including on your skin) that didn't exist even 20 years ago.  Believe me, you don't want any of it getting a strong beach-head in your system.

[treehugger1]

Update: One knee's completely healed and the other one's almost there. In any case, neither is bleeding or infected and I've moved past the bandage stage.

Thanks for your concern, guys.