You never really plan to crash, and it’s a reality that you acknowledge and tuck back into the closet in your mind where unpleasant thoughts vie for space with the Boogey Man, anchovies on pizza and root canal procedures.
And, when it happens, there’s nothing poetic about finding yourself off your bike and on your face, even with Pringles falling like snowflakes that aren’t ever going to melt on the pavement. (If you find this confusing you are not alone.)
I did start whistling “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” when I took stock and figured nothing was broken and that my right thumb had popped itself back into joint. As for my face, well, I never was up for recognition by People magazine, anyway.
At home, careful washing and cleaning revealed a cheek that looked like a map of the Big Island covered coast to coast by an angry lava flow. I tried the usual methods of treatment and resigned myself to a week or two of nagging pain, gauze, antibiotic ointments, seepage, and either only partially shaving or not shaving at all.
And then I ran into a cycling acquaintance who offered an alternative. So here’s a product test. A truly accidental one, in any way you can construe it.
A day later I had a pre-production packet labeled “Road Rash Kit” from a company named Vomaris. Aside from a selection of bandaging there were sealed pouches labeled “Procellera.” Very high tech, and as far as I’m concerned seasoned with a touch of magic (then again, I’m not a biochemist so maybe I’m too easily dazzled).
Jump forward three days: the abrasion has healed so well that I’m able to shave, and a few days after that I was hard pressed to see the scrape.
So what is this stuff?
Briefly, Procellera a highly engineered, thin and pliable fabric that sports a precise pattern of silver and zinc “dots.” When moist, and in close contact with a wound, the pathways of the skin’s natural electrical current (micro-amperes, but measureable) that normally play over undamaged skin are reestablished, and at a much faster rate than you get with traditional treatment regimens and protocols.
And they key words are “much faster.” It is FDA approved, but up to now has been only dispensed by prescription in a clinical environment
If you’re interested in more details, check out this technical information.
According to Vomaris’ Clinical Affairs Manager Amy Ho, the Road Rash Kit should be available over the counter at retail by late April. You can expect to find it at bike shops before you’ll see it at your local pharmacy. Vomaris is in test-marketing mode, and while the MSRP hasn’t been set in stone, expect it to be in the $99 range.
While at first blush this may seem steep, it’s not that much more than you’d spend on assorted and sundry bandages, tape, gauze, ointments and positive-thinking mood music CDs and a “Healing Road Rash for Dummies” manual.
The kit contains the microcurrent-generating wound dressings, activating hydrogel, gauze, waterproof dressings, wipes and tape. It’s enough to get you through several minor scrapes and even a major fubar or two.
I can’t help but steal a line from the old AFLAC commercial that featured the inimitable master of the malaprop, Yogi Berra.
"The one ya' really need to have if you don't have it.
That's why you need it."
While Yogi was commenting on the benefit of having insurance, there’s a parallel to having some Procellera on hand.
Especially because the next road rash you encounter may be your own.
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