The Usual Weekend
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It was a normal Saturday, for me anyway.
It started off by going to work, gym then getting ready for some dinner with friends with the plan to go out for some drinks afterwards.
Long story short, we never made it to dinner or drinks.
Free Tattoo Time
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(Do not read on if you don’t like graphic images.)
There were 6 of us going out for dinner, and we were taking 3 bikes. Easy.
So four of us set off a little earlier to meet the others there, and on our drive there I had an accident and received my first free Bali tattoo.
They say it’s not a proper Bali trip without one.
We were driving along a quieter road in the dark, and there was an oncoming car. The headlights were shining in my eyes, and by the time I was passing the car it was too late. My headlights lit up this big gaping hole.
I breaked.
I swore a lot.
*BANG*
My passenger, Danny, and I took a little flying lesson complete with a crash course on how to roll.
Yes, we are both okay. Kinda.
Danny sustained some road rash on his wrist and shoulder while I took the majority of the impact, with road rash on my shoulder, elbow, inside forearm, wrist, thigh, knee, ankle and toes.
Luckily our friends were riding behind us, (maybe not lucky for them having to witness it). We picked up the bike, threw all my belongings back in it then Colly gave me a lift back while Danny waited for Colly to come back.
I was starving and we were all gutted about not getting there.
When we returned to the hostel we cleaned out the wounds then went to medical for a quick check and to make sure we got all the stones and dirt out.
After quickly assessing, cleaning and bandaging me up we were good to go home. Nothing was broken, thankfully!
The boys were gems and bought us dinner and instead we ate at the hostel. I sadly ended up going to bed early while the boys drank away all worries with a big night.
The Experiment
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I have always believed in letting the majority of injuries heal with fresh air instead of covering them, so the next morning with the help from Mimo we removed all my bandages excluding the one on my toe and elbow.
I thought they were healing well, until my shoulder started to look a little bit infected the next morning.
Back to the medical clinic.
It was indeed infected.
The doctor reapplied bandages covering my knee, shoulder and a replacement one for my elbow, while leaving my wrist and ankle open to the air.
After checking online the majority of people were saying to keep them covered and change them every 2 days but we were going to try a little experiment.
Which wounds would heal faster, air drying or bandaged ones?
2 Days After Accident
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Back to the medical clinic I went, bandages got changed and the results so far surprised me.
They were looking 10 times better than before they got put on.
How was this possible?!
I was still going to keep this experiment going. We weren’t finished yet.
Fast Forward 1 Week
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As recommended by the doctor I kept the bandages on, and went back to get them changed every 2 days (£35 each visit).
One week went by and you can see the results above, the wounds were healing well!
After 2 weeks the bandaged wounds had healed, except my elbow due to how deep it was.
My ankle and wrist which were left to air dry however were still healing, although mostly healed.
3 Weeks after the Accident
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I was due to go on a surf trip to Aceh to meet up with Georgia and Ritchie but my elbow still hadn’t healed!
I was still seeing the doctor every 2 days but since I was going to another island and it was half an hour to a medical clinic I was going to have to change it myself.
The medical staff gave me some supplies and on the plane I went.
Georgia and Ritchie met me at the airport and we went to our accommodation.
The first couple of days I was still trying to let my elbow heal as the salt water was just going to make the cut deeper again.
After a couple of days watching them both surf I had to get back in the water myself too. I bandaged up my elbow and applied a waterproofing layer.
It didn’t work, the bandage got wet.
Oops!
I cleaned it out, covered it in antibiotic powder, gauze and bandaged it up again.
This is how I proceeded with the next couple of days with the help from Georgia.
4 weeks after the accident it finally healed!
Aftercare
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As you can see from the pictures above all the wounds healed extremely well. My elbow still has the most prominent scar and I have some issues with shooting pains in it occasionally but I am back to normal!
Since new scar tissue is so easy to get burnt, I was told if it gets burnt a lot it can be susceptible to cancer, not something anyone wants.
Everyday I go outside I have to complete my sunscreen ritual.
Normal sunscreen always worried me incase it would still burn the scars so I opted for surf sunscreen which is thicker and has a skin colouring in it.
Other than that, I don’t apply anything to it, but people have told me there are lotions and potions available to help reduce the scarring.
Will I use them?
No, it’s a little reminder of what happened and it keeps the fear alive!
What Have I Learned?
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Other than not to crash, I learned the quick lesson to keep road rash covered during the healing process.
Afterwards, I found out they advise keeping it covered due to the humidity and the rapid growth of bacteria in a wound, along with all the dirt and bugs in the air.
If you or anyone you know ends up in an accident I would always advise to seek medical help from a professional. And, you don’t have to carry out an experiment on healing times as I have done it for you.
Keep yourself safe, always wear your helmet and be responsible.
Emergency Services, Bali
- Main Emergency Number: +62 361 112
- Police: +62 361 110
- Medical Emergency: +62 361 112
- Fire Department: +62 361 113
- Search and Rescue: +62 361 111, 115, or 151
- Tourist Police Kuta: +62 361 784 5988
- Tourist Police Nusa Dua: +62 361 744 2622
- Tourist Police Airport: +62 361 935 102
