Pressure Band

A pressure streak is a 12-15 cm wide stripe on the skin that represents the imprint of a rail or wheel of a rail vehicle.

The cause of such a stripe is the prolonged pressure of a hard object (rail or wheel) on the soft tissues of the body. As a result, blood circulation in the area of ​​pressure is disrupted, which leads to the death of skin cells and deeper tissues.

As the damaged tissue dries, it thickens and turns brown. This is due to the deposition in the skin of decay products of dead cells, in particular hemoglobin from destroyed red blood cells.

Such stripes most often form on the body of people caught under the wheels of a train. They can remain on the skin for a long time, leaving a permanent cosmetic defect. In some cases, surgery is required to eliminate them.

A pressure band is a strip on the skin 12-15 centimeters long and about 7 centimeters wide, which is located approximately 30 cm from the wrist joint, on the outer side of the forearm. This is the mark that a rail transport wheel leaves on the skin. After the impact site returns to normal, it dries out, becomes very dark, and turns brown. This not the largest mark on the human body serves as a protective measure.

It usually occurs due to the fault of the wheels. To understand the nature of this phenomenon, you need to understand the mechanisms of its formation. In a collision, the wheel surface comes into contact with human skin. The force of the impact in this case is simply enormous, so the skin is flattened to a thickness of 3–4 centimeters. Leaving such a defect is ugly, dangerous and problematic. The color of damaged skin and whites of the eyes turns blue over time, then turns black. Bleeding in this area is intense and can cause subsequent blood loss in people with various types of anemia. Since blood can soak the skin for a very long time, melted snow, and in the warm season, rain can mix with the ichor for a very long time, becoming brown. If during this entire time the area is not covered with clothing to prevent the growth of germs, infection can easily enter the body. This ointment is also used by athletes after blows. From a medical point of view, it is quite difficult to diagnose this element, because its internal structure differs from the skin. It cannot be identified, including as a result of bruise or damage. Today, there are methods for determining this element in cases where the wound site has been exposed to a variety of contaminants over a long period of time. In addition to the problem of wound infection, after removing clothing, inflammation of the lymph nodes or retention of lymphatic fluid can often be detected in the area of ​​contact with the wheel. The saddest thing about the situation with pressure bands is the low likelihood of diagnosing skin defects during a medical examination. Only based on the above methods can the true cause of skin damage and further danger be determined.