Ann McKillop from Medi-K and The First Aid Training Cooperative shares her top tips for dealing with rope burns, wounds and potential infections in an equestrian setting.
Rope burns and other causes of wounds in the stables, yard or paddock can quickly get infected so effective action is key to recovery and minimising nerve damage and scarring. Understanding your body’s response to a burn or wound will help you manage the injury and recover better.
What is a rope burn?
A rope burn is a type of friction burn. It’s caused by the rapid or repeated movement of coarse rope rubbing against skin and consequently removing the skin. The friction is intense and tears the skin away from your hand or arm.
Signs and symptoms of rope burn typically show up as:
- redness
- irritation
- blisters that appear on the surface to protect from infection
- bleeding and broken ragged skin
- lots of pain
What to do first
Assess the wound:
- Determine the severity of the rope burn. The size and depth of the wound determine whether it is a first aid treatment alone or a visit to your GP or a Small Injuries Clinic.
- Any rope burn that is larger than 2 to 3 inches long and/or deeper than the skin’s uppermost layer should be looked at by a medical professional.
- If medical support is necessary, clean and cover the wound to avoid infection and then seek medical help immediately.
Clean the wound
All rope burns should be cleaned using cool running water. This helps remove debris, bacteria, and rope fragments from the wound. Cool running water also reduces the pain as it deadens the pain sensors in the skin. If running water is unavailable, use a cool compress or standing, sterilised water.
Do not put ice on the wound, as this may further damage your skin tissue. If there are rope fragments that don’t rinse out, you can leave them in place for a medic to remove or you can try to gently remove them yourself with sterilised tweezers. Be careful to avoid pulling or further abrading the wound while attempting to remove fragments or debris. If in doubt, leave it in for the professionals to remove.
Fluid in the wound at an early stage is your body’s natural response to fight off any bacteria in the area.
Cover the wound
Keep the wound clean and dry with a gauze bandage or wound dressing. Wrap the wounded area lightly, rather than tightly. You will need to keep the bandage clean and dry. Sterile bandages should be changed once a day or more often if they get wet or become soiled.
Monitor the wound
Continue to assess the wound over time. If redness, puffiness, or signs of infection appear, see a doctor as soon as possible. Signs of infection include increased pain, smell and pus. Burns can typically take up to 10 days to heal so constant monitoring and changing of bandages as required is important. Make sure you have enough bandages to hand.
Seek further medical help if you have any of the following:
- large or deep burns bigger than the affected person’s hand
- burns of any size that cause white or charred skin
- burns on the face, hands, arms, feet, legs or genitals that blister
- a burn that appears to be infected, is oozing, increased pain, smelly, swelling or blistering or if you develop a temperature.
Impact of different ropes
Different types of ropes will cause different levels of damage. Their material, shape and thickness will also create more or less damage depending on the size of your hands too. It’s not always the rough ropes that do more damage as the softer halter and lead ropes can generate heat quite quickly as they run through your hands. The cleanliness of the rope will also have an impact on the potential for infection in a wound.
Be prepared
Make sure your first aid kit is handy and fit for purpose. Are all the dressings in date and suitable for the potential injuries in your yard?
You can purchase specific burns kits which can be used in the event of burns at the stable yards. Some of these include burn gels which help reduce infection and cool the wound. You will still need to clean and dress the wound as above though.
Get some training
We cover burns and wound dressing on all of our first aid courses. You can view our range of courses on our specific equestrian first aid webpage.
We have also produced an equestrian specific Accident Book for horse riding establishments. You can view and buy it here.
Ann McKillop
Follow Medi-K and The First Aid Training Cooperative
