cut by a skate

[lotus 2]

Got pretty frustrated last night and went for a full speed headshot on someone who was taunting our team. He sidestepped it because I was obviously hunting him, and I showed the boards how tough I am. Anyway, I hauled him down with me. Karma is a bitch because he got up by stepping on my quad. It cut through the bottom of my pants and through my sock. It's really not all that bad, about 1/2" inch across at the middle. Relatively deep.

Mostly I just wanted to point out that this is what happened *after* he cut through my pants + sock. I washed it out and threw some bacitricin + bandage on it. Here's what it looks like after a day. There's some crap in there but I'm 99% certain it's just dry blood. I try to clean it out but its stubborn and then I become a little bitch and get woozy (I'm not so good with wounds).

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2212/imag0299k.jpg

Some people are telling me I should take more precaution than I am. Maybe I'll buy a bottle of hydrogen peroxide tonight. Regardless of whether or not it still warrants stitches, I've got an exam tomorrow and I really don't want to spend 6 hours in the ER + hundreds of dollars for precaution + scar prevention.

Anyway, I'm glad I started wearing longer pants this season.

[danno25nh 3]

Peroxide is not ideal in this case. Peroxide will cause necrosis (death) of the tissue in the wound. The goal is to keep as much tissue healthy as possible.

Ideally clean the wound with providone-Iodine (Betadine) and flush with sterile saline. I use a sterile syringe and flush thoroughly with a betadine/saline solution then close the wound with butterflies at home if sutures are not required.

You can get betadine swabs at the drug store. Careful though as it stains pretty bad.

[lotus 2]

I might give this a shot. I'm not closing the wound at all right now, I just have a sterile bandage over it with bacitricin on it. It's obviously gonna scar pretty bad if I don't try and close it but, hell it's on my upper quad. The only time I show that is when the lights are off ;)

I really don't feel much except when I really focus on washing it out. At the time I didn't feel it, just noticed that my sock felt really wet. Shower after the game didn't even sting.

[Steve_v3 289]

If you get a fever or the wound feels warm or hot to the touch go see a doctor.

If you develop an affection it could turn into something much worse if it goes untreated.

[zebra_steve 11]

looks like it was worth 4-6 stitches to me.... and I've had a bit more than a few in my day..Keep it clean.

[skyscrape 5]

Peroxide is not ideal in this case. Peroxide will cause necrosis (death) of the tissue in the wound. The goal is to keep as much tissue healthy as possible.

Ideally clean the wound with providone-Iodine (Betadine) and flush with sterile saline. I use a sterile syringe and flush thoroughly with a betadine/saline solution then close the wound with butterflies at home if sutures are not required.

You can get betadine swabs at the drug store. Careful though as it stains pretty bad.

I might give this a shot. I'm not closing the wound at all right now, I just have a sterile bandage over it with bacitricin on it. It's obviously gonna scar pretty bad if I don't try and close it but, hell it's on my upper quad. The only time I show that is when the lights are off ;)

You should listen to Danno, if I remember correctly you are getting free advice from a Dr. So he just saved you 600+ dollars.

[lotus 2]

I couldn't find betadine swabs and I didn't feel like dropping $25 on a bottle so I bought what appears to be a CVS equivalent, smaller container iodine solution. I'll apply it after a shower (assuming I should let it dry too) and butterfly it closed. It does contain some alcohol, and I know that can kill some of the healthy cells, but it was the best I could find. 6.7% potassium iodine.

[skyscrape 5]

Good way to go. Once it is clean it will heal up quick.

[Chadd 916]

looks like it was worth 4-6 stitches to me.... and I've had a bit more than a few in my day..Keep it clean.

Agreed, I still have a couple scars that should have been stitched.

[lotus 2]

I read that just keeping something on it, and mostly stopping it from going dry will help prevent scarring. Cost and time aside, I probably wouldn't have gotten stitches anyway. I'm really bad with hospitals and especially needles. I wound up in the ER once when I was visitng my grandfather, found out where the IV was, and the next thing I remember I was checked in. Apparently I fainted and hit my head. So I've got plenty of scars from areas that probably should have been stitched, but this one is a little different. Pucks and sticks have broken skin and scarred, they just didn't bleed like this one did.

And my shoulder hurts too haha. I separated my right shoulder earlier in the season, came back for the last few and damn near destroyed my left shoulder + cut myself open immediately. What a season.

[Chadd 916]

My wife is a big believer in using neosporin on any cuts, probably not a bad idea in this case.

[Balmer15 0]

I think that if you cover it when you have trousers or jeans on, and if it's not weeping or anything, when you're at home, try and keep it uncovered, that's what I've always been told, you don't want the cut to be moist or have a bandage hold sweat in.

[lotus 2]

Some blood after walking around all day today. Probably shouldn't have worn hipster jeans. Butterfly guys keep it slightly more closed though. Upon further inspection, the cut isn't near the side of the pants, it's near the front. If a skate got through that and did this damage, I'd be very surprised. That area was probably just exposed as I was down.

This will likely be my new biggest hockey scar. The last one is when I took a one timer right at the bottom of the circles, hit the outside of the post, and had it come back and catch me on the forearm. That's two scars from doing something stupid as hell.

[danno25nh 3]

You should listen to Danno, if I remember correctly you are getting free advice from a Dr. So he just saved you 600+ dollars.

Not an MD

Army Medic, Civilian Paramedic. BioMedical Engineer.

As an Army Medic I sewed up hundreds of cuts worse than that. Keep it clean and barring infection you should be ok. I'd recommend Neosporin on a nonstick gauze bandage for a few days over butterflies. If you keep opening it up it wont heal well.

*Disclaimer* No one can properly diagnose without personal examination. No professional diagnosis is offered or implied. Always consult your physician.

[tareatingrat 4]

I've actually heard that "letting it air" is more of a wives tale than anything.

I clean everything well, slather it in Neo/Polysporin, and keep it bandaged until it closes up.

Also, girls love scars. ;)

[wrangler 157]

Yeah, that's what Taylor Hall's telling himself.

[DigDug 5]

If you develop an affection it could turn into something much worse if it goes untreated.

Most married folks would agree.... ;)

[tareatingrat 4]

Most married folks would agree.... ;)

Well played, sir.

[wrangler 157]

Most married folks would agree.... ;)

I managed to restrain myself, but I knew someone would have to say it.

[hellkitty 0]

I would use some Neosporin for sure.

[chippa13 1844]

To the OP, sometimes the er or urgent care is the right answer. I'd say that a separated shoulder and a cut from a steel skate blade are good enough reasons to put your fear of all things hospital to the side and take care of yourself.

[indaslot 0]

I'm sorry I saw this thread so late, but thought I'd put in my 2 cents. My son has been cut twice by a skate on the ankle. The first cut, much deeper than yours, required 16 stitches and 10 days of topical antibiotics (he guy with the neosporin loving wife might be right) and daily gauze pad changing. He would have needed a tetanus shot but had had one 4 yrs prior. I cant remember if he took oral antibiotics. The second time he was cut, he was not so lucky: the skate blade severed a critical tendon which was repared, necessitating 4 months of immobilization and months of rehab. It re-ruptured a year later the first shift of his first game of College. This time, he needed a total foot reconstruction-won't bore you with the details-and lost another year of hockey. The fallout has been tremendous in every possible way.

Sorry to ramble. This is what I meant to say: never underestimate the damage that can be inflicted by a skate blade. Sometimes the damage is not immediatly visible, especially if it is repaired in the ER. Infection is a serious consequence if it happens. Yours did not appear to be that deep, but I am not a doctor. It is probably too late to close the wound, but I would have a doctor take a look at it, especially if it is seeping.

Here is my second piece of advice: in addition to the longer pants, get yourself a couple pairs of cut-resistant socks. Some brands are Tactic socks, Tuff n'Light and Hogan. They will not protect your quads, though if you wanted to go all out, there is a full length model made by one of those companies. They also make wrist guards.

I hope you are healing well and sorry for the horror story. I have become a bit of an advocate for protective equipement since my son's accident. I know you can't avoid getting hurt sometimes in a sport like hockey, but I strongly believe in preventing the preventable.

[lotus 2]

I just finished my 4th and last year of college hockey, but we were using edge socks almost every year. They seem to get cut up awful easily. I'm pretty sure the knit ones would have prevented a little damage.

Unless I play one final year in grad school (probably not) I won't really have to worry. I've never been hurt in rec hockey :P

The shoulder injury isn't bad. I have full range of motion, and that's usually my guideline. Season is over anyway so it is easy to rest it. If my right shoulder (separated early this year) was a grade 2... well my left shoulder injury isn't even close. Hurts slightly, but can sleep on it and have full motion.

The cut is doing pretty well I think, but I don't really know what a healthy cut looks like. There was a little blood, not much, on the bandage today.

Definitely my least serious injury in my 4 years here, the grade 2 separation and my concussion before that were way worse. This one just bled a hell of a lot =]