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lena_chita
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Apr 4, 2008, 5:56 PM
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O.K., I know that doing nothing works O.K.
By "nothing" I mean washing the area at the end of the climbing day, or when you first have the chance, to remove most of the grime, and then letting it scab and waiting for the scab to eventually fall off.
But I was wondering if there is anything that actually makes that scabbing&healing process faster.
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Gmburns2000
Apr 4, 2008, 6:02 PM
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Standard first aid cream always works for me. Also, so does keeping it clean the next day, if you can, with a bandaid or some other type of wrapping.
Obviously I don't have any advanced ideas of products like using liquid skin, which I've heard works well but I've never used it myself. But the two points I noted above seem to get rid of scratches and scrapes in a couple of days on my body.
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matterunomama
Apr 4, 2008, 7:35 PM
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Bag Balm-good for swollen cracked udders, good for hands....
Any ointment (vaseline, aquaphor) is helpful, since you don't want a scab. Wounds heal from the bottom up and sides in,the cells try to "reach across" the wound to knit back together, so anything that interrupts their progress like a scab impedes healing. They can grow across under a balm that kept the wound moist.
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irregularpanda
Apr 4, 2008, 7:38 PM
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lena_chita wrote: O.K., I know that doing nothing works O.K. By "nothing" I mean washing the area at the end of the climbing day, or when you first have the chance, to remove most of the grime, and then letting it scab and waiting for the scab to eventually fall off. But I was wondering if there is anything that actually makes that scabbing&healing process faster.
There is this hand balm stuff (cryptic much?) that some joshua tree company makes. Joshua tree hand salve, I believe its called. It works quickly.
Although, 13 bucks per thingy kindaa sucks, whereas just letting it heal is cheap.
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shimanilami
Apr 4, 2008, 7:46 PM
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After a day of crack climbing, my partner pulled a tube of Neosporin out of his pack and slathered it on the back of his hands. He reapplied it every couple of hours. I was, like, "Dude? Is there something you need to tell me?" He told me it made minor cuts and scrapes heal faster.
I decided to test his claim. I put Neosporin on one hand only. That hand healed in about half the time. I now carry Neosporin in my pack, too. It works.
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dingus
Apr 4, 2008, 7:47 PM
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matterunomama wrote: Bag Balm-good for swollen cracked udders, good for hands.... Any ointment (vaseline, aquaphor) is helpful, since you don't want a scab. Wounds heal from the bottom up and sides in,the cells try to "reach across" the wound to knit back together, so anything that interrupts their progress like a scab impedes healing. They can grow across under a balm that kept the wound moist.
Hehe I was gonna wade in with the Bag Balm but you beat me to it.
Ah Mend is also good.
In reply to: A natural, topical, fast-healing salve for minor cuts, abrasions, burns, and irritations. Apply to clean wounds and cover with bandade, replacing at least twice per day. Ah-Mend was given and EDITOR'S CHOICE award from Natural Health Magazine in the May/June 2003 issue (to view this article go here). See testimonials for personal experiences with Ah-Mend .5 oz (15 ml) - $8 --- 1.7 oz (50 ml) - $20 Contents: Sunflower, grapeseed, almond, jojoba, wheat germ oils; Aloe; Beeswax; Honey; Herbal extracts of Marshmallow, Yarrow, Plantain, Comfrey Root, St. John's Wort, Fireweed, Vervain, Star Solomon's Seal; Essential oils of Juniper Berry, Lavender, Clary Sage, Myrrh, Elemi, Chamomile; 6 Flower Essences.
http://www.highsierrabotanicals.com/balms/homeam.htm
Stuff even works for sore, broken necks!
DMT
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reg
Apr 4, 2008, 8:27 PM
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"3 in 1" ointment (bacitracin-neomycin-polymyxin B - i just read that off the package!) but i do like it - wash the wound, wipe with alcohol (not crown royal) dry area, apply 3in1 - (lightly) cover tightly with banbage and leave it on and keep it dry for 24 hrs. or more - if you need to get it wet, re-apply. try to keep it covered and dry for a day or two. stuff works good.
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Fenst
Apr 4, 2008, 9:08 PM
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Climb On bar works well for minor scrapes and it is a antiseptic too. I use that after a day of climbing and to heal tender fingertips after climbing on rough sandstone all day.
Liquid bandage is a paint-on bandage that dries in about 10 minutes and is better for bigger abrasions and nics. I really like it for knuckles and places that bandages have a hard time sticking. It also works well to prevent blisters on your feet when you develop a hot spot. It doesn't sweat off. And if you want to remove it, just apply more liquid bandage and it acts like a solvent. The only bad thing about the liquid bandage is that it burns like alcohol for a few minutes but that is just the antiseptic doing it's work.
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shockabuku
Apr 4, 2008, 9:10 PM
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Somebody gave me some Joshua Tree ointment when I tore a chunk off my palm one day. Seemed to help.
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gblauer
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Apr 4, 2008, 11:48 PM
Post #10 of 35
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I second the neosporin. I experimented in EPC this year and put it on my cuts, scrapes and cuticles. It worked really well.
Also, I used liquid bandage this time, it was awesome. I had some really big rope burns on my legs, used the liquid stuff and it kept the grime out and cleaned up for days. Good stuff and it comes in a little tiny bottle.
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lena_chita
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Apr 5, 2008, 12:52 AM
Post #11 of 35
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Thanks everyone!
I have used neosporin ointment before, if the scrapes were particularly nasty or had a lot of ground-in dirt, but I never thought of re-applying it costantly, it was more of a one-time application followed by regular scabbing.
And the bag balm/Jtree balm/vaseline-type stuff I never thought to put on actual broken skin/bleeding areas b/c I was not sure if sealing the wound off with a water-repellant balm would help some nasty bugs to grow under that greasy cover.
I think I will do the one hand experiment vs. other hand as control and see how it works.
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imcd
Apr 5, 2008, 2:51 AM
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I don't have anything special for deep gashes or cuts, but for minor scrapes abrasions and gobbies medicated blistex works really well. just like on your lips
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Sin
Apr 5, 2008, 5:10 AM
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Aloe vera seems to work aswell, but not the lotion crap. They sell gels that'll help scab it up. Back in the day my grandma used whole aloe sliced in half on everything. Well you can do what my wrestling coach used to tell me, "put some ice on it" But coach i broke my collar bone, "put some ice on it!!!" .......
-Sin
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epicsaga
Apr 5, 2008, 6:54 AM
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Sounds like something you'd make terrible tasting tea out of.
"Contents: Sunflower, grapeseed, almond, jojoba, wheat germ oils; Aloe; Beeswax; Honey; Herbal extracts of Marshmallow, Yarrow, Plantain, Comfrey Root, St. John's Wort, Fireweed, Vervain, Star Solomon's Seal; Essential oils of Juniper Berry, Lavender, Clary Sage, Myrrh, Elemi, Chamomile; 6 Flower Essences."
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epicsaga
Apr 5, 2008, 6:58 AM
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First clean the scrape/cut with Betadine, hydrogen peroxide or other antiseptic. Then put Neosporin on. Then put the new skin or liquid bandage on. The Neosporin protects the would from feeling pain from the New Skin liquid.
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hopperhopper
Apr 5, 2008, 7:28 AM
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neosporin every day has worked wonders for me. even on some scars too
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dingus
Apr 5, 2008, 1:32 PM
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Neosporin is just vaseline with medicine in it Lena. If used straight petroleum jelly on handburger hands a few times and it works well so long as you clean up properly first.
Treated and covered cuts heal much faster than untreated and uncovered cuts, that's a fact.
The Ah Mend stuff is some hippy lala nature granola healing guru balm to be sure... but it works too and there's no nature-killing chemicals in it. Someone gave me a jar of it and I ended up liking it (after not using any of it for a couple of years).
Cheers
DMT
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overlord
Apr 5, 2008, 2:11 PM
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clean well, desinfect.
if you want to put a balm on it, i suggest something with vitamin E to help heal the skin.
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colatownkid
Apr 5, 2008, 2:40 PM
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Quoted directly from Schimelpfenig and Lindsey's Wilderness First Aid:
"Abrasions heal more quickly if treated with ointment and covered with a semiocclusive or occlusive dressing."
and also
"Semiocclusive ([bandaids]) or occlusive ([second skin]) dressings promote healing by keeping the area moist. Ointments (such as [Neosporin]) serve the same purpose."
In plain English, after thoroughly cleaning the wound with water or betadine (but not alcohol or hydrogen peroxide), the wound should either be covered by a bandaid with neosporin or by a product like second skin.
After initial application, the dressing should be reapplied as needed. For a bandaid, this means changing it every day or simply reapplying neosporin without the bandaid. For second skin, this means waiting until the second skin falls off as indicated on the bottle.
As stated above, however, neosporin is simply vaseline with disinfectants (and now also pain killers) in it. After the wound has been cleaned the first time, simply putting vaseline on it a couple times a day will probably due the trick.
(One final note: this only applies to wounds that cover less than 10% of the body. Of course, anything bigger than that and you'll probably need a skin graft anyway.)
Edited to add:
Hydrogen peroxide and alcohol, while both typically recommended for cleaning wounds, are not appropriate. They both actually cause further damage to the wound. Hydrogen peroxide kills skin cells quite violently and alcohol kills your skin cells along with the bacteria it kills as well.
In some instances, alcohol or hydrogen peroxide may be useful if nothing else is available, but "medical science tells us that volume of water is the most important factor in cleaning the wound." Therefore, dumping large amounts of water on the wound is typically the best course of action. (However, alcohol can be used to clean unbroken skin around the wound, if so desired.)
(This post was edited by colatownkid on Apr 5, 2008, 2:51 PM)
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alamuerte
Apr 5, 2008, 4:52 PM
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i highly recommend newskin. put that on a bad scrape or nasty strawberry and it will burn like a mother...but you've now got new skin.
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lena_chita
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Apr 6, 2008, 1:35 AM
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LOL, so many remedies, testing them all wouldtake some time, I guess I'll just have to pick one.
So, I keep thinking about the logistics of actually keeping that vaseline stuff on the scrapes.
Here is the example: day one of climbing-- at the end of the day I had approximately 20 little scrapes on the backs of my hand. seriously. I just counted. it's been a week, so most of them have healed, just pink skin now, except for three bigger ones that still have scabs.
One hand I can explain-- there was a random handjam at the crux of a sport climb, i wasn't expecting it, so didn't have tape. The other hand is a mistery...
But anyway, let's say I actually covered them with vaseline, neosporin, or any of the lotions suggested above. That woud basicly make the entire back of my hand one big grease-land. How would I climb with that on day two? Even if not climbing, i would grease everything around me if i walk around with a layer of grease on my hands... Not to mention all the stuff that would stick to my hands because they are covered with this substance... No way at all I could possibly put 20 band-aids on my hands.
I'll have to check that liquid skin stuff, maybe...
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lena_chita
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Apr 7, 2008, 12:53 AM
Post #23 of 35
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irregularpanda wrote: ...the greasy/slippery factor was surprisingly nonexistent for me after 5 minutes... I regretted saying that almost instantly.............
...but not enough to edit it 
There is no way now I can comment on the length of greasy/slippery feeling I experience... but it seems a lot longer than yours.
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reno
Apr 7, 2008, 2:57 PM
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lena_chita wrote: .... the length of greasy/slippery feeling I experience... but it seems a lot longer than yours.
Something Panda hears with astounding regularity, no doubt. 
Lena, I find that healing cuts, scrapes, and goobies works best when I keep them CLEAN, dry, and use a soft moisturizing lotion or bar (I like the Climb On! bar, but others may disagree.)
I hear anecdotes about how good neosporin is at helping cuts heal, but I just don't see it myself. Again, YMMV.
Big thing, though: Wash with hot soapy water, keep em dry, and a wee dab of lotion.
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khj
May 21, 2008, 8:07 PM
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Hi.
I wanted to mention another product. Katy's Hand Jam. Alright I'm biased because I make it but let me tell you why you should just try it. I'm a climber, I know the toll climbing takes on your hands. I have made something that is based in olive oil and beeswax and I use only organic herbs. I've chosen herbs that are known to help heal skin issues. If you just want to check it out you can go to my website www.katyshandjam.com or email me if you want to know more. I make this as a hobby and sell it across the US. I don't make a profit really, I do it because I believe in the product and want to give back to the climbing community.
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