Abrasion

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Abrasion

In dermatology

Dermatology

Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and Skin disease, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. The name of this specialty originated in the form of the words dermologie and, a little later, dermatologia ....
, an abrasion is a wound

Wound

In medicine, a wound is a type of injury in which the skin is torn, cut or punctured , or where blunt force physical trauma causes a bruise . In pathology, it specifically refers to a sharp injury which damages the dermis of the skin....
caused by superficial damage to the skin

Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
, no deeper than the epidermis

Epidermis (skin)

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In dermatology

Dermatology

Wound

Skin

Epidermis (skin)

The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin, composed of terminally differentiated stratified squamous epithelium, acting as the body's major barrier against an inhospitable environment....
. It is less severe than a laceration, and bleeding, if present, is minimal. Mild abrasions, also known as grazes or scrapes, do not scar

Scar

Scars are areas of fibrous biological tissue that replace normal skin after injury. A scar results from the biologic process of wound repair in the skin and other biological tissue of the body....
or bleed, but deep abrasions may lead to the formation of scar tissue. A more traumatic abrasion that removes all layers of skin is called an avulsion

Avulsion injury

In medicine, an avulsion is an injury in which a body structure is forcibly detached. It most commonly refers to a surface trauma where all layers of the skin have been torn away, exposing the underlying structures ....
.

Abrasion injuries most commonly occur when exposed skin comes into moving contact with a rough surface, causing a grinding or rubbing away of the upper layers of the epidermis.

Types of abrasions

Colloquially, abrasions caused by contact with textiles or carpeting are referred to as rug burn or carpet burn. In vehicle accidents where the skin contacts the road surface, it is known as road rash
Road Rash

Road Rash is the name of a motorcycle-racing video game series by Electronic Arts, in which the player participates in violent illegal street races....
. Slipping on ropes or other surfaces is known as rope burn or friction burn
Friction burn

A friction burn is a form of abrasion caused by friction when a person's skin rubs against a surface. It may also be referred to as "wikt:chafe," or called by the surface which caused the burn ....
. Despite the references to abrasions as burn
Burn

A burn is an injury to the skin caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, or radiation.Burn may also refer to:*Concrete things and phenomena:...
s, an abrasion is less serious than a burn in that a burn destroys the proteins that make up the epidermis and disrupts the function of the epidermal cells, while an abrasion simply removes the outer layers of the epidermis, which is up to 100 layers thick depending on the area of the body.

A corneal abrasion

Corneal abrasion

Corneal abrasion is a medical condition involving the loss of the surface epithelial layer of the eye's cornea....
is another common type of abrasion and occurs when a foreign body (such as a contact lens or a grain of sand) damages the outer layer of the eye. The cornea is similar in structure and function to the skin. As in skin abrasions, corneal abrasions usually do not result in scarring.

Treatment

The abrasion should be cleaned and any debris removed. A topical antibiotic

Antibiotic

In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics belong to the group of antimicrobial compounds used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungus and protozoa....
(such as Neosporin

Neosporin

Neosporin is the product name of an antibiotic ointment produced by Pfizer used in the prevention of infection and speeding the healing of wounds....
or bacitracin

Bacitracin

Bacitracin is a mixture of related cyclic peptides produced by organisms of the licheniformis group of Bacillus subtilis var Tracy, isolation of which was first reported in 1945....
) should be applied to prevent infection and to keep the wound moist. Dressing the wound is optional but helps to keep the wound from drying out which interferes with healing

Wound healing

Wound healing, or wound repair, is the body's natural process of regenerating dermis and Epidermis Biological tissue. When an individual is wounded, a set of complex biochemical events takes place in a closely orchestrated cascade to repair the damage....
. If the abrasion is painful, a topical analgesic

Analgesic

An analgesic is any member of the diverse group of Medication used to relieve pain . The word analgesic derives from Greek an- and algos ....
(such as lidocaine

Lidocaine

Lidocaine or lignocaine is a common local anesthetic and antiarrhythmic agent drug. Lidocaine is used topically to relieve itching, burning and pain from skin inflammations, injected as a dental anesthetic, and in minor surgery....
or benzocaine

Benzocaine

Benzocaine is a local anesthetic commonly used as a topical pain reliever. It is the active ingredient in many over-the-counter anesthetic ointments ....
) can be applied, but for large abrasions a systemic analgesic may be necessary.

Healing

The gallery below shows the healing process for an abrasion on the palm caused by sliding on concrete.