Even when the most precautions are taken, it is possible for a motorcyclist to end up injured. This is simply what happens when someone hits the road with very little cover from the vehicle they drive in.
Because of that, it is possible for victims to suffer from traumatic tattoos. But just what are these injuries?
Defining road rashes
Medical News Today discusses traumatic tattoos, also known as road rashes. Road rashes occur when parts of the skin make direct contact with the pavement or underlying road at generally moderate to high speeds. It may even occur at slower speeds, though it will usually be less severe accordingly.
Road rashes often affect the uppermost layer of skin but can extend down quite far. In the most severe of cases, victims may even suffer with road rash damage that goes all the way down to the bone.
Potential dangerous complications
Of course, road rashes open victims up to the possibility of swift infection, especially if the rash takes up a large portion of the body. Gangrene and necrosis of the tissue may occur. In some rare cases, a victim may even deal with sepsis, a blood infection that can prove fatal in less than three days after symptoms begin to show.
In severe cases, victims may need skin grafts in order to repair the damage and diminish the immediate threat of infection, too. The psychological impact that can come from scarring damage is not to be underestimated.
Thus, on a whole, traumatic tattoos can leave a lasting physical and mental impression that can take some time to recover from.