burning knee
 

Hi,

Not urgent, but when i was playing soccer yesterday i grazed my knee (quite severly) over the whole knee cap. Its grazed because there is also sand on the field. It hurts more than a graze should though and i think it might be burnt (a bit like a carpet burn.) The only problem is i cant move my knee without extreme pain (it brings tears to my eyes), it is also red and swollen and there is alot of heat coming off it. I have put anti septic cream on it and a light plaster. This kinda helped except now it feels like there are shards of glass being pushed into it?
Any suggestions as to what i should do?
Greatly appreciated:-)

Clean it as best you can either with water or wound wash. I'd say as it is cheaper it is probably better to run LOTS of water over it first. Then clean it with damp cotton wool and some water with a mild soap on it or some wound wash, clean it as best you can with them and then the best thing is probably one of the spray-on plasters you can get from chemists/supermarkets as these are fine with grazes. Otherwise, another option is get a non-adherant gauze pad dressing such as Melolin, cover it in and then place it over the graze. This can either be the normal 5x5cm size of the bigger 10x10cm size depending on the size of the wound. You can then hold this in place with a Tubigrip bandage as trying to hold it on with medical tape won't work on a joint such as that very well. The size of Tubigrip you'll need depends on the size of your knee. A medium size need should be bandaged with Size E. This will also help support your knee and take down any swelling. At night though you shouldn't leave a Tubigrip on so as there is less movement then you can try holding it in place with medical tape.

I does sound like a carpet burn- what you've done is essentially stripped off the top layer of skin, and yes, that hurts way worse than a straight cut that closes in on itself. As stated, wash thoroughly with soap and water, and then dress it. I used antibiotic and a gauze pad on mine, and found out that I was allergic to the antibiotic. After a day, the reddness should decrease. If it doesn't, try a different medication on it. A graze the 2nd day should look darker (scab colored), but not hot to the touch or red in a large patch. Those symptoms could indicate an allergy to the medicine you used. Try not to move the knee, if possible, for a full day, as that top skin that is trying to mend just isn't as elastic, and that's the sharp pains you are feeling. (Be sure those sharp pains aren't small rocks still imbedded in your wound!)