Environ

Skin Abrasion

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Skin Abrasion, Road Rash

  • Signs
  1. Evaluate Skin Abrasion as a friction burn
  2. Estimate depth of injury (First Degree Burn, Second Degree Burn, Third Degree Burn)
  3. Estimate total body surface area involved
  • Management
  1. As with Burn Injury, for extensive involvement, replace fluids, and burn center referral
  2. Wound cleaning
    1. Anesthetize area (Topical Anesthetic, Local Anesthetic or Field Block)
    2. Scrub wound with soapy water to remove as much particulate matter as possible
    3. Irrigate wound
    4. Scrape wound with #10 blade to remove additional particulate matter
    5. Residual matter within wound results in Tattooing
  3. Dressing
    1. Apply Topical Ointment (Bacitracin, petroleum jelly)
    2. Apply Absorptive Dressing and changed dressing twice daily until drainage ceases
  4. Additional skin protection
    1. Apply sun screen (SPF 30 titanium or zinc oxide) to scar to prevent permanent darkening
  • References
  1. Orman and Swaminathan in Herbert (2017) EM:Rap 17(11): 1-2