My bike riding exploits gave me a few bruises on the leg . The following are my observations on the antiseptic creams and the methods I used to treat the wound.
Type of wound : superficial skin abrasion caused by friction with the road (tar road) . Somewhat similar to a small localized burn injury .
Initial care :
- Generous wash with savlon ( dettol will do) diluted 1:20 . i.e. 1 capfull in a mug of water.
- Cleaning with cotton swabs to remove any dirt and dried blood
- Another wash with diluted savlon
Antiseptic creams :
I had 3 antiseptic creams ,
- boroline ( zinc oxide and boric acid ) .
- calendula ( zinc oxide , boric acid and calendula extract ) . calendula is a species of the rosemary flower. The extract is used in homeopathy and naturopathy medicines.
- neosporin , an antibiotic cream.
Observations :
- The zinc oxide formulations did not seem to make any big difference on the first day and the second .
- I tried the calendula + zinc oxide + boric acid formulation and about 5 min later I had some mild irritation and burning sensation with very mild swelling
- I washed that and applied neosporin . That seemed to work much better . The swelling reduced and the pain was much less ( pain on touching the area)
- Neosporin seemed to work much better.
- I'm uncertain if the adverse reaction was from calendula or if there was a mild infection which got better naturally or with neosporin
- Neosporin has to be applied in a thin layer over the wound . I applied it twice daily, morning and evening ( after washing and cleaning the wound ).
- Neosporin is an antibiotic and so has to be applied twice daily , strictly. Don't miss the "dose"
- There are some contraindications ( side effects etc.) for heavy use of neosporin , which may not be applicable for treating minor wounds so nothing to worry .
- I used neosporin as a preventive antibiotic i.e. to prevent any infections. If the wound is infected , has yellowish discharge is painful or swollen for more than a day , and if you have fever for more than a day, contact your doctor
Update:
- The wounds healed completely in two weeks ( as expected ) . superficial scarring of the skin is still present .