Trail Run Injury Treatment!

[Smelph]

ok so this one is for all you guys who spend most of your time on trails.

I am a newb when it comes to "real" trails barefoot (I have hundreds of barefoot road miles, but only about 8 total miles on trails that aren't "rails to trails" type things). Today I ran into a problem that I was unprepared to fix and honestly I'm not sure how I should have handled it.

About 300' into my run today I stubbed my toe on a tree root. Nothing broken, so that is good, but I managed to take off a piece of skin the size of a dime off the end of my toe. It bled real bad, and I basically drained my water bottle rinsing it off on the walk back to the car. I had no first aid kit with me so all I could do was wrap it as tight as possible in a bandanna I had with me (I could get it to cover the area well because of the location of the wound) and head for home.

Now I've heard from lots of people that they use super glue to seal up cuts, but what do you guys do on a situation where it isn't so much a cut as it is a larger area that got the skin taken off? does super glue still work in a situation like this?

I had planned a couple more trail runs later this week which are now in jeopardy depending on how this heals (I can put weight on it since the wound is on the end of my toe but I am hesitant to go trail running with an open wound or even barefoot with a bandaid on. I may need to resort to my trail gloves if I want to run, which is the lesser of two evils (the other being not running at all), so that's ok I guess. But, I was thinking I would need to put together a first aid kit for running trails and I am trying to figure out the exact loadout. Has anyone ever put together a "barefoot trail runner's first aid kit" list?

thanks for the help everyone!

 

[saypay45]

Superglue works more for

Superglue works more for blisters and cuts where the skin is still intact on your foot. For open wounds it will still work to keep things from getting in the cut and making it infected, but you'll also want something to protect the wound.

I had a big open wound at the beginning of this year on my foot. In order to cover it, I would use Band Aid Advanced Healing bandages, and cover that with KT Tape. Those Band Aids stay on your foot really well, even on the trail. The KT Tape is just to further hold the bandage in place. That stuff wills stay on forever.

 

[skicoach]

I've heard that boiling pitch

I've heard that boiling pitch (tar) does a good job - you can just dip your toe in it and off you go.

Found the following on a medical forum:



To quote, "(Quinn & Kissick, 1994) Current use: Although not labeled as such, over-the-counter Super Glue products contain methyl alcohol, because it is inexpensive to produce. Cyanoacrylates cure by a chemical reaction called polymerization, which produces heat. Methyl alcohol has a pronounced heating action when it contacts tissue and may even produce burns if the glue contacts a large enough area of tissue. Rapid curing may also lead to tissue necrosis. Midwives have not noted such reactions because minimal amounts are being used for perineal repair. Nevertheless, with a greater toxic potential, over-the-counter products are inappropriate for use in wound closure. (Quinn & Kissick, 1994)



Medical grade products currently available contain either butyl, isobutyl or octyl esters. They are bacteriostatic and painless to apply when used as directed, produce minimal thermal reaction when applied to dry skin and break down harmlessly in tissue. They are essentially inert once dry. Butyl products are rigid when dry, but provide a strong bond. Available octyl products are more flexible when dry, but produce a weaker bond. "

I think the point is that you only risk using industrial superglue on small cuts! Apparently the cyanide component is not dangerous because cyanide is only toxic when ingested due to reactions with the stomach acid. The danger seems to be from the heat produced is you use a lot of it - a bit similar to the boiling pitch option perhaps.

Perhaps a medical grade product like "Liquid Skin" would make a suitable temporary solution once the initial bleeding has stopped. http://www.newskinproducts.com/products/liquid_bandage.aspx

It's got me thinking here though. I might leave my pitch boiling kit behind in future which is a shame because I really wanted to find someone to try it out on.

 

[Joshh]

Hey Smelph,Personally I

Hey Smelph,

Personally I wouldn't seal any cut that I got on a trail, on the trail. The chances of entombing some nastiness are too great in my opinion. I might sound soft but I prefer to take time off to let it heal as fast as possible. Get your wound infected and you'll be taking lot's more time off than you'd like.

I'd say plan on running without stubbings instead of planning to stub. I don't mean that in a cheeky way. I'm in the middle of it myself.

I had some injuries to the bottom of my feet this summer and only just am able to run again. I'm doing a crazy 200 mile relay race in 10 days with 8 other people so I'll be attacking with less than two weeks of training but I'm hell-bent on doing it injury free.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

perineal repair  ????!!!! 

perineal repair ????!!!! For some reason, I couldn't get past that statement in Ski's post.



Good point about the infection potential, Josh. He could carry a tiny bottle of sanitizer, but that still wouldn't be good enough for me, as I would want to wash it with soap and water as well.

 

[Smelph]

interesting info, Ski!  while

interesting info, Ski! while when i first heard of using super glue I thought it couldn't be that great for you, I would have never thought it would cause burns! but then it sounds like enough people use it on small cuts that I think it would only do that when used in large doses.

good thoughts on infection, Josh! That was kind of what I was thinking when the injury happened. It was bleeding so much that the blood was kind of washing away all the dirt (is that a good thing?!), so with a good rinse in water it looked pretty clean, but then I was nervous about getting any nasties stuck in the wound like you suggested, so I basically didn't actually do anything serious with it until I got it home and peroxided the heck out of it.

I agree that learning to run without the stubbings is preferable to planning on stubbings. My problem that day was that I was in a fine piece of nature and I was looking around going "ooohhh! Nature!" and didn't see the root coming, after which I cried "Why Nature, whyyyyy!!!!!???"

so I think in addition to any kind of first aid kit, the first thing one needs, One meaning Me, is to learn to pay attention to the trail! It really showed just how much of my running is roads and bike paths compared to real trail running. On the plus side, I was able to do some trail running by the following Thursday, and I was super careful about balancing my need to Ogle Nature with my need to Pay F***ing Attention! :bigsmile:

yes, those all neededto be capitalized

 

[migangelo]

i pay attention when i run. i

i pay attention when i run. i may even look down too much. i see all the roots and rocks and still end up kicking them. luckily i learned a long time ago to lift my toes so i kick everything with the ball of my foot. sounds real nice and the pain is usually gone in an instant.

other times i have been cut i didn't notice until i was done running. i don't run with a kit, just my cell phone and dog. once in a while a few other brs's as well.



Mike

 

[mokaman]

Instead of super glue I use

Instead of super glue I use this stuff called Skin Shield, its like a liquid bandaid that dries quick. I would put some Skin Shield over the scab and then cover with med tape...maybe stay off the trails for a couple runs maybe not.

When starting on the trails you have to lift your feet more than pavement and dodge the roots, rocks etc...its a skill that has to be practiced and will improve. The big risk is when your tired towards the end of a run your form starts going down hill and the chance of hurting your feet goes up...really pay attention when you feel tired.