Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow It HappensSymptomsTreatmentComplicationsPreventionWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How It Happens
Symptoms
Treatment
Complications
Prevention
When to See a Provider
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. However, if the injury is deep and has caused damage to the nerve cells, medical attention might be necessary.
This article will go over how road rash happens, how to treat road rash at home, and when to see a provider for road rash. You’ll also learn some tips for preventing road rash.
1:10Click Play to Learn More About Road Rash
1:10
Click Play to Learn More About Road Rash
How Road Rash Happens
Road rash commonly happens after a fall or getting dragged against pavement or dirt—for example, in a biking accident or when playing a sport.
When a person’s body comes in contact with the ground, any areas of exposed skin can be easily scraped across the rough surface. For example, if a person falls or drags their arm across the tar, the abrasiveness causes the top layer of skin to get peeled away.
Road rash injuries are more common in the spring and summer, as people are doing more outdoor activities in the warmer months of the year. People also tend to wear less and lighter clothing when they’re doing outdoor activities in hot weather, so their skin is less protected.
What a Grass Rash Looks Like and How to Find Relief
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.
Signs of a wound infectioninclude:
In rare cases, road rash may cause a bloodstream infection, a severe infection that spreads through the bloodstream. This can lead to sepsis, a whole-body reaction to a bloodstream infection. In turn, this can lead to septic shock.
Septic shock (a potentially life-threatening condition that causes dangerously low blood pressure and organ failure) needs immediate medical attention to prevent complications—including death.
Understanding Septic Shock
If the wound is not bleeding a lot and the pain is tolerable, you can probably handle road rash on your own at home. A standard first aid kit has the tools you’ll need to treat road rash at home.
First Aid
While road rash can look severe and cause quite a bit of pain, it is usually not serious and rarely life-threatening.
However, you still need to consider the situation where the injury happened to decide if you can safely treat it on your own or if you need help.
Here are the steps to follow after someone gets road rash:
Stop and Assess
If the injured person is unconscious, is having problems breathing, or is bleeding severely,call 911 immediately.
Rinse the Affected Area
Rinse the road rash with soapy water to flush any dirt and debris out of the wound. It may help to soak the wound in soapy water before trying to remove any debris.
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.
Tetanus Shot
If the injured person has not had a tetanus shot within five years, a tetanus booster is recommended after a dirty wound.Tetanusis a serious bacterial infection that affects the nervous system and can be life-threatening.
The person’s provider or an ER provider can give them a booster shot fortetanus.
When Do You Need a Tetanus Booster Shot?
Care and Healing
As road rash heals, the pain will get better—although the area can still be tender for a while.
For mild road rash, anover-the-counter (OTC) pain relieverlike Tylenol is likely enough. If the abrasion is at or near a part of the body that bends, like an elbow or knee, the joint may feel stiff and sore.
If the road rash is severe or there is also a more serious injury (like a broken bone), a provider may prescribe pain medication.
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. After the first day, you can put antibacterial ointment such asNeosporinon your wound when you dress it. Be careful about ointment that’s not recommended for burns such as Bactroban. As the wound heals, you can use vitamin E cream to help restore the skin.
Take off theold dressingand replace it with a new one at least once a day. While you’re 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.
How to Identify and Treat an Infected Cut
Road rash is usually a simple skin injury that does not need medical treatment and does not cause long-term problems. As long as you take care of the wound and keep it clean and dry, it should heal on its own within two weeks.
However, if you have a more serious case of road rash, the injury could be in deeper layers of the skin. If road rash takes longer than two weeks to heal, you should see your provider.
Severe Cases
It’s 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.
The graft of healthy skin is transplanted onto the injured area and kept in place with gentle pressure and padded dressing, staples, or stitches. As it heals, new blood vessels grow to help new skin cells form and heal the wound.
How to Prevent Road Rash
The key to preventing road rash is to make sure you protect your skin while doing activities that put you at risk for it.
The same steps you’d take to avoid any injury while doing these activities will help prevent road rash—for example, avoiding reckless behavior while on a bike or skateboard and following the rules for playing a sport.
For example, making sure you wear long-sleeved shirts and pants when you’re doing activities on the tar, wearing the protective right gear (e.g., helmets, knee pads), and watching your surroundings for obstacles (e.g., potholes that throw you off your bike) can all help you avoid road rash.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
You should seek medical care for road rash if:
If you go to see your provider for road rash, they will look at the wound to see how serious it is.
After a bad accident or injury—especially one that does not seem to be healing or is causing a lot of pain—your provider may want t doX-raysand other imaging to check for other injuries, like abroken boneor a foreign object under your skin.
In rare cases where there could be an infection or more serious complications, your provider may want to do blood tests and check yourvital signs, such as your heart rate, pulse, and oxygen levels.
Summary
Road rash is a common injury, especially during the warmer months of the year when people are doing outdoor activities. Most cases of road rash, while painful, are not serious and can be managed at home.
However, if the road rash is severe, not getting better, or looks infected, you should see your provider for treatment.
How to Treat Rug Burns Depending on Their Severity
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Vrints I, Den Hondt M, Van Brussel M, Nanhekhan L.Immediate debridement of road rash injuries with versajet hydrosurgery: Traumatic tattoo prevention?Aesth Plast Surg. 2014;38(2):467-470. doi:10.1007/s00266-014-0290-xHavers FP, Moro PL, Hunter P, Hariri S, Bernstein H.Use of tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccines: updated recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - United States, 2019.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(3):77-83. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6903a5Perkins LA, Munter S, Johnston W, et al.Friction burns: defining the rub of road rash after motorcycle trauma.J Burn Care Res. 2024:irae181. doi:10.1093/jbcr/irae181
Vrints I, Den Hondt M, Van Brussel M, Nanhekhan L.Immediate debridement of road rash injuries with versajet hydrosurgery: Traumatic tattoo prevention?Aesth Plast Surg. 2014;38(2):467-470. doi:10.1007/s00266-014-0290-x
Havers FP, Moro PL, Hunter P, Hariri S, Bernstein H.Use of tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis vaccines: updated recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - United States, 2019.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(3):77-83. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6903a5
Perkins LA, Munter S, Johnston W, et al.Friction burns: defining the rub of road rash after motorcycle trauma.J Burn Care Res. 2024:irae181. doi:10.1093/jbcr/irae181
Al-Qattan, MM, et al.Friction burn injuries to the dorsum of the hand after car and industrial accidents: classification, management, and functional recovery.J Burn Care Res. 2010 Jul-Aug;31(4):610-5. doi:10.1097/BCR.0b013e3181e4d6b9
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
