Parents Rip advice

[pavj20]

Need tips on how to heal a rip on the palm of the hand, like today, and cover it up to keep doing bars. Child does not wear grips. Not sure if anyone has used new skin? TIA!

 

[NutterButter]

Warm, wet tea bags for several minutes on each hand followed by Preparation H and RipFix (google it). And make sure to remove any dead hanging skin ASAP (pumice stone and/or nail clippers).

 

[HurricaneLR]

You can make a tape grip that helps to cover the rip. Usually the older girls or the coaches can help make one, but there are also numerous tutorials online that will show you how to make one. It's not an actual "Grip", just athletic tape that helps cover the rips.

 

[pinkytoes]

Rip Fix works great and make a tape grip. That will help with immediate pain!

 

[ryanolympian]

Sorry, but the path here is just work straight through the pain with more chalk to soak up the blood-it’s only for a couple of more turns if absolutely necessary, like finishing a gymnastics meet. The rip can’t heal if she’s still working on it. Tape tricks will just fall off, make for a clumsy distraction, and will probably just aggravate the rip anyway. Grips don’t protect from or prevent rips- they actually create deeper blood blisters because they allow the gymnasts to swing with greater force without peeling off the bars. After practice, run the hand in hot water and soap until the stinging seems to numb, then immediately put it in ice water for a minute. Then you can spray a disinfectant aid with lidocaine to lessen the pain. Finally, place a dab of neosporin, or bag balm with zinc, or corn husker’s lotion on the rip, and then place a sock over the hand (cut holes for the fingers). Wash, rinse, repeat, and change the sock each day. She can do beam, floor, and vault while it heals instead of tearing it up more on bars. In 3-4 days she should have it healed up enough to get back up on bars. After several weeks of consistent rips, she will have some callouses and the wherewithal to keep training through without much trouble.