I didn't use any, just washed clean and applied. Lighter road rash healed in 5-ish days. Deeper rash took closer to 9, but I washed and reapplied a new patch by day 6 or 7.

You aren't going to hurt anything by using an antibiotic ointment (unlike, say dumping peroxide on a wound which can be extremely irritating to both skin and patient), but I'm a big fan of just lots of water and soap to keep things clean.

Signs of infection:

warmth, redness, swelling, fever, foul smelling drainage from wound.

For this most recent crop, I used an ever-so-thin layer of bacitracin ointment on the rash (do not use Neosporin says Lisa Roazen who is an ER doctor) just to have something antiseptic under the Tegaderm for the several days of healing. I made sure there was plenty of non-greasy skin around the wound to allow the film to adhere properly. I don't know if the ointment was necessary, as I gave it a really hard scrubbing with soap and water (ow) in the shower before application, so it was definitely on the clean side.

While Tegaderm is the quick and easily available fix for road rash/wounds, making it the go to choice for cyclists, Mepilex Border Lite is in a league of it's own. This is what they gave me when I got out of Hopkins for my road rash. You just pop them on and forget about them. Take it off a week or two later and you're back in business. The scab sticks to the absorptive pad and not to your skin. The pad also provided a nice cushion so that belts or clothing didn't bother my hip and knee rash as much. Somehow the hair and skin don't stick to the adhesive when it's time to take it off.

Surgery is booked for 6/3. I'll be back in no time.

Any pro-tips for poison ivy? No idea how I picked this up riding.  Must've been too close to the side of the road. 

Anyway, scoured all the usual internet suspects and was just looking for other tips.  I'm doing the Tecnu, hydrocortisone, calamine, antihistamine combo already.  Seems to keep spreading! 

Maybe wash my sheets for the first time in months?  I kid, I KID!

My poison ivy didn't spread...well, once I realized what it was and stop scratching myself. Strange stuff you appear to have. It sounds like you are doing the right things though.

If it spreads, it would be wise to get a Prednisone prescription from your doctor.

I just scratch the shit out of it in the shower until it's nice and raw, then I make sure to clean it well with soap and water. I then pat it dry and put the calamine on. Stings a little and it's barbaric, but it speeds up the recovery because it dries it out quicker. Just don't let it ooze on its own (i.e. scratch it out of the shower) and it will go quickly.

@Owens. Are you a poison ivy newbie? I got is really bad as a kid on the west coast - where it is called poison oak - and learned to recognize it and avoid it. Also, I think you build immunity (Indians used to eat the berries to build immunity). Speaking of which, I think I read somewhere that it is an allergic response to the toxins. There is not much you can do to make it go away and it is not supposed to "spread", though plenty of people think otherwise. Just put calamine on it, which is soothing and reminds you not to mess with it. Cover it is necessary. Ice is nice. But basically you have to wait a week or two for the rash to crust over and go away. It seems very unlikely you would have gotten it while riding your bike on the road. Dogs are notorious for giving it to their owners.

Haven't had it in 20 years. 

Leroy would never do such a thing.  Ok he would.  Look at the evil lurking in his eyes.  There's a shadow in him.

Just to let you all know, doc says the collarbone is looking good a week post-op. The wire, putty and and plate looks pretty crazy.

Wes is in the house of pain I was in a week ago if you want to give him a shout out.

Oh and to all you titanium laden teammates out there, awesome news:
" It has recently been shown that titanium-based implants both corrode and degrade, generating metallic debris. There is some concern over the increased concentrations of circulating metal-degradation products derived from these implants, and their potential harmful biological effects over a period of time, including hepatic injury and renal lesions...The more invasive implants shed more metallic debris into the blood than the external, superficial designs... "

Source:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00216-011-5232-8

^shit

I'm glad to hear you're on the mend, John, and it sounds like Wes isn't too far behind in recovery - hang in there, Wes.

^ Thanks Bruce! I did a little more fishing and it's more pertinent to invasive pieces such as joints. We ingest titanium as well, so no more licking those Chris King headsets.

Oh Double Shit on the titanium front. It's all Yacks' fault.  I could have had a carbon fiber tibial implant. but I demanded titanium.

Did your doctor use Titanium John? When asked, my surgeon replied "chromium", which is a stainless steel alloy blend if I'm correct.

Chromium is not an alloy!

I was speaking loosely nerd Stokes.

316 stainless steel, also referred to as "Marine Grade Stainless Steel", is a chromium, nickel, molybdenum alloy of steel that exhibits relatively good strength and corrosion resistance.

p.s. I actually have no idea what's in my body... whoops.

I want that job...throwing metal things in MRIs

Update -

Great to hear Wes; the "one weed with the pieces floating around" treatment does seem to be cruel & unusual.  Well, "usual" but pretty cruel.

Question about a more general ailment.  I've been having some lingering tingling/weakness in my left hand after long rides. Particularly my pinky and ring finger.  Has anyone else ever experience this?  I'm wondering if it's a bike fit/form issue that could be causing me to pinch a nerve.

Sounds like ulnar nerve.  I still get it in my right hand after 20+ years of riding.  I've found that even with double wrapping bar tape and using Specialized gloves with a giant ulnar pad, the thing that help the most is making subtle shifts in your hand positioning while riding.  Also, shake it out before it gets bad and do some tai chi-esque stretching of the nerve.  Hard to explain and I haven't tried all of these (and they look super goofy) but the second demonstration (with the woman) is closer to the ones I have used, which worked.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d85QKyWvrbI


Like you said, could also be a poor bike fit or form.  If your fit is aggressive, try to keep a long/flat back and not locked-out elbows.  It requires core strength, which unfortunately many cyclists are lacking.

Also, part of frequent long rides is numbness.  It's kinda par for the course.  Although, don't ignore it.  I ignored it in my groin (I know, TMI) and had some, uh, other issues.  Don't let it go too long, but don't get freaked out by it.  It's called BEING A SERIOUS BIKE RACER!!! ;-)

Emily I once did an MS150 on no training and a 54" frame - I had terrible "pinky and neighbour" pain/numbness for a LONG time afterwards.

Jules said:

Emily I once did an MS150 on no training and a 54" frame - I had terrible "pinky and neighbour" pain/numbness for a LONG time afterwards.

Parts of you should NOT be going numb on a 4 hour ride unless you are sitting on your bike like a statue.

It is very important to stay active on your bike; that means standing frequently, changing hand positions, sitting up etc.

To the "moving around" point, it's been a while, but the last time we rode together Emily, we talked about you relaxing your upper body and working on climbing out of the saddle. Not sure if that's still an issue, but you were certainly "statuesque" on that ride.

^if you *are* on your bike like a statue; there is no amount of fitting, padding or resizing that will stop parts of you from going numb.