How is Road Rash Defined?

Road rash can be an extremely painful injury, one that in more significant cases may affect you for the rest of your life to one level or another. It seems as though everyone knows or has at least heard of the term road rash being used before, but that leaves the question, how exactly is road rash defined?

The first thing to be aware of is that road rash is more of a slang or colloquial description for an actual medical condition, a condition that involves abrasions to the skin that have been caused by it coming into contact with asphalt usually at a decent amount of speed. This is the term for these kinds of scrapes that normally occur when someone is riding and falls out of some sort of vehicle, whether it be off of a bicycle, motorcycle, skateboard or even roller skates. Depending on the speed in which you were traveling and the specific vehicle you were riding, as well as the condition of the road and your surroundings when the accident occurs, these can all be factors that determine just how bad your road rash injury may be or become.

The term road rash could apply to almost any extent of the type of injuries listed above, which is why it is considered a more general term rather than a specific definition for this type of incident. In addition, the term does not only have to refer to the immediate wounds ones suffers in the accident, road rash can also be referring to scar tissue one may now have to remind them of an older accident that they were unfortunately a part of. The initial incident could have happened some time ago, but the scar tissue is there as a constant reminder that you received road rash at some unlucky point in your life. So whether it is a fresh batch of scrapes you got on your arm that are currently still bleeding after falling off of your bicycle, or if you are showing your friends the scar tissue on your leg from an injury a long time ago, both injuries can be called road rash and they would both be accurate descriptions.

Road rash can refer to a current or past injury and, as discussed previously, there can also be many different levels to the condition from pretty mild to very severe. They can be described as follows:

1. Mild road rash - Also called “First degree” road rash, this can be defined as smaller scrapes one may receive when coming into contact with the asphalt. The skin can become tender to the touch and slight bleeding from the cuts may occur. In many cases this injury does not require a visit to the doctor, as treating the wound and keeping it clean at home is usually enough to suffice.
2. Serious road rash- Second degree road rash area are very painful to touch and has more serious bleeding, swelling, and may expose muscles and tendons. This type of injury definitely requires a doctor’s visit and possible scarring in this instance is unfortunately possible.
3. Severe road rash - Third degree road rash means the skin is basically flayed off and deep wounds and heavy bleeding will occur. The injury can be extremely painful or it might not be painful at all depending on the specific damage that is done to the nerves in that area. Do not touch the area as not to infect it or make it any worse and get yourself to a doctor immediately. Scarring, among other severities, may be possible in this type of road rash accident.

If there is any good aspect of getting road rash, it is that there are several ways to treat it at the time of the injury that do not require medical degrees and can be taken care of by the people around you or hopefully even by yourself if you are in the condition to do so. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your accident you may not be able to do one or even all three of these suggestions, but in most cases the following information should end up being somewhat helpful if not more so:

1. Safety first - Be aware of your surroundings and make sure that everyone involved in the accident is safe and conscious. Get off of the road and to safety if at all possible. If the victim is not in good enough shape to move them, do not attempt to do so at all. Do whatever you can to safely make sure the person is conscious and able to move before attempting to do anything.
2. Take care of any life threatening injuries first - Road rash can look and seem like a very scary condition, especially when there is a lot of bleeding involved. However, in many cases road rash looks a lot worse than it actually is, which is why despite the injury, always make sure the victim is conscious and able to breathe before everything else.
3. Stop the bleeding - Once you have confirmed that the person is able to breathe then you can start to take care of any serious bleeding that may be occurring anywhere on the body and work from there. In typical cases the blood should not be gushing out and rather it may just come out slowly depending on the severity of the abrasions. Hopefully putting pressure on the wound and wrapping it in a bandage will be enough to be able to stop the bleeding.
4. Rinse and clean the area - This is very important in order to avoid infection. The original wounds might not be that serious, but left untreated and not cleaned it is very possible that it could lead to a painful infection and then your situation will end up being even worse. If this is the case however, you must see a physician immediately as to get the proper treatment to make sure the infection does not get any worse.

Road rash is a common injury but that does not mean it is one that should not be taken seriously. Even a minor case can turn into something more severe if you do not pay close attention and give it the treatment it deserves. This is why it's vital to stay on top of an injury at all times. Follow this information and you should hopefully be able to keep it in control and not discover the painful alternatives.