Road rash is an area on the body where the skin has been scraped off (skin abrasion).

The injury is most likely to happen with outdoor activities that are done on tarred surfaces, like skateboarding.

Road rash on the skin looks raw and may bleed a little.

The injury can be very painful but typically heals in a couple of weeks with at-home treatment.

Youll also learn some tips for preventing road rash.

Common Road Rash vs. Traumatic Tattoos

Road rash can leave discoloration called traumatic tattooing.

This happens when pigmented debris is not washed out of the wound.

Symptoms of Road Rash

Road rash on the skin will look red, raw, and inflamed.

Bleeding is also common.

Pain and swelling are felt right away and these symptoms may last for several days.

It’s not uncommon to have nopainat the deepest part of the injured area.

However, the skin around the edges of the rash can be extremely painful.

As with any injury that breaks the barrier of the skin, road rash can lead to infection.

This can lead to sepsis, a whole-body reaction to a bloodstream infection.

In turn, this can lead to septic shock.

Severe cases of road rash need to be treated by a healthcare provider.

A standard first aid kit has the tools you’ll need to treat road rash at home.

It may help to soak the wound in soapy water before trying to remove any debris.

You may need to gently brush any foreign material from the skin.

Cover the Wound

Put gauze on the wound and wrap it to hold it in place.

Occlusive dressings (which maintain moisture) are superior to dry dressings for wound healing and preventing infection.

You may want to moisten the first layer with saline solution or sterile water.

If you use a layer of moistened dressings, cover it with dry gauze before wrapping.

The person’s provider or an ER provider can give them a booster shot fortetanus.

For mild road rash, anover-the-counter (OTC) pain relieverlike Tylenol is likely enough.

Road rash usually heals well on its own and does not cause much, if any, scarring.

Still, you should keep an eye on the abrasion as it heals.

Be careful about ointment thats not recommended for burns such as Bactroban.

Take off theold dressingand replace it with a new one at least once a day.

While youre healing, look for signs of infection, such as increased redness and pain or a fever.

If you have these signs, call your provider.

If you get a road rash infection, you will probably need to see your provider for anantibiotic.

Untreated skin infections can lead to serious health complications that can even be life-threatening.

If road rash takes longer than two weeks to heal, you should see your provider.

Road rash can scar and look similar to those left byburns.

As with burn scars, the worse the road rash is, the more likely it is to scar.

Severe Cases

Its rare for road rash to be severe enough for a lot of medical treatment.

However, severe road rash injuries may need to be treated like a burn from a heat source.

One possibility is surgery.Skin graftinguses healthy skin from another part of the body to cover the injured part.

As it heals, new blood vessels grow to help new skin cells form and heal the wound.

Most cases of road rash, while painful, are not serious and can be managed at home.

2010 Jul-Aug;31(4):610-5. doi:10.1097/BCR.0b013e3181e4d6b9