I picked up a saddle sore from a big bike block a couple of weeks ago. It seemed to come on after the end of the block and I did a hard VO2 ride on tired legs. It got less annoying during the recovery week and swelling went down. But I picked things up last week and it’s aggravated again. It’s a hard lump the size of a big pea. Not sure what to do about it. I’m not going to stop riding. I started applying antibiotic cream to see if this helps. Any suggestions? I haven’t a saddle sore in a long time and this one seems a little different since it’s sticking around longer. It doesn’t feel like puss in there but more like a rock.
I’ve always lanced saddle sores that didn’t go away after a few days.
I’ve had success with it, but kind of a weird thing to advise someone to go stab their nether regions with a needle.
I would leave it be unless it becomes unbearable.
Lancing it could result in an infection and it is not not funny, not funny at all.
Taking a few days off the saddle could help, drawing a nice bath as well (with Epsom salts if you can).
Applying heat (pad, warm compress) is also helpful.
I picked up a saddle sore from a big bike block a couple of weeks ago. It seemed to come on after the end of the block and I did a hard VO2 ride on tired legs. It got less annoying during the recovery week and swelling went down. But I picked things up last week and it’s aggravated again. It’s a hard lump the size of a big pea. Not sure what to do about it. I’m not going to stop riding. I started applying antibiotic cream to see if this helps. Any suggestions? I haven’t a saddle sore in a long time and this one seems a little different since it’s sticking around longer. It doesn’t feel like puss in there but more like a rock.
I had one a week ago. Abandoned the trainer and went to urgent care center. The doctor put me on bacderm, which is an oral antibiotic. A week later it’s completely gone. I think you’ll have to lay off the trainer a lot longer to get rid of a hard abcess. If not it will just get worse.
I’ve found that Preparation H helps my saddle sores to heal faster.
I’ve had success with Oxy pads. They made healing speed up, and I continue to use them after every ride as preventative maintenance.
I went to my dermatologist and got a script for clindamycin phosphate topical cream, which is commonly used to treat acne. It has a lot of good properties to it, like localized anti-inflammation and anti-bacterial. It clears them up in a couple days and no lancing required.
A saddle sore is basically a pimple. You could use benzoyle peroxide or similar. I wouldn’t lance it or you could get an infection. The more you ride on it the harder and more sore it will get or it may pop. I recommend taking a few days off and do some other exercise and let it heal. Make sure to clean & dry your shorts well. Put chamois cream and shower or clean area immediately after your ride. Don’t hang out in wet shorts if you can. I’ve been using these products. Also used Assos and Chamois Buttr Euro.
Doc’s Skin Care Saddle Sore Ointment
https://www.amazon.com/Docs-Skin-Care-Saddle-Ointment/dp/B004DNLKTU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1484753667&sr=8-3&keywords=saddle+sore
Doc’s All Natural Chamois Cream
https://www.amazon.com/Docs-All-Natural-Chamois-Cream/dp/B004DF4WR0/ref=pd_bxgy_468_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EBCVQYXS9J02RYH96ARC
I went to my dermatologist and got a script for Melacare cream, which is commonly used to treat acne. It has a lot of good properties to it, like localized anti-inflammation and anti-bacterial. It clears them up in a couple days and no lancing required.
That sounds amazing. Does it work on dry skin?
When this happened to me I kept riding through it for a while and it kept getting worse and bigger. Finally was too uncomfortable to sit in my chair at the office and went to urgent care and, though humiliating, let them lance it. Big relief. It’s a minor infection in its own way and you got to treat it with respect. Can’t remember if they gave me oral antibiotics or not. Not sure about neosporin type cream… not sure that penetrates the skin layer like the Oxy anti zit cream (benzoyl peroxide), which i have had luck with on little ones.
Subsequently to the big one though i took Slowtwitch forum member advice to liberally apply chamois cream with herbal antimicrobial compounds as a preventative every time i ride (e.g. the excellent Assos Chamois Creme), always start with clean and dry shorts, and take them off and shower as soon as you can after a ride or brick.
Bag Balm!
I find switching bikes for a while if you can. Or drop seat height a little. I can get saddles sores when I ride a lot on my tri bike but not on my road bike.
I’ve had excellent luck with a schmear of neosporin covered for a day or two with a waterproof bandage that seals it in on all sides. The round ‘spot’ style bandaids are my goto. Clean the surrounding area really well with rubbing alcohol first so the bandaid sticks well, don’t let the ointment come into contact with the sticky part of the bandage or else it ruins the stickiness, and reapply right away if it starts to come off. I always try popping it first right after a shower which works about half the time but either way it almost always clears up within 48 hours when it’s completely sealed off with a bit of ointment. I think the mechanism at play is similar to the one that clears up warts by keeping them covered with duct tape. Getting the aim right can be tough so it helps to have a sympathetic ass-istant (har har).
edit
Looks like there is a handy all-in-one version but it may not completely starve the spot of air which I always guessed was a part of how this treatment works, that is a totally nonscientific guess on my part though.
Sounds like you are getting plenty of suggestions, but here’s another. I had the same issue a month ago and tried an over the counter product called Boil Ease. It helped a lot. I also gave Neosporin cream a try, but I think the latter was more effective.
If it sticks around for awhile I’d go to a doctor. I had one that ended up getting pretty big but stopped growing. Ended up being a lipoma they had to remove. It wasn’t awful but not the most fun either. So if it sticks around I’d definitely get it checked.
Amputate!
After tying most remedies mentioned in this thread with varying results, I stumbled upon witch hazel which is a herbal astringent. You can find this in small containers that have little pads that are soaked in witch hazel. If I use these immediately upon the onset of a saddle sore I usually can manage to continue to ride without making the condition worsen. Two or three days of using the pads twice a day (post ride and before going to bed) does the trick.
I’m on my second bout with saddle sores this season, and wondering…what is physically contacting the chaffed area, causing the chafing (not general like the wrong saddle, or saddle position, or not using chamois cream which I am), I mean what is chafing the sore skin area specifically and why? Is it junk getting pressured in just the wrong spot against the seam of the chamois, or is the junk not staying wrapped in material of the chamois and having contact with the inner thigh somehow while in the aero position, so it’s skin rubbing skin?
I want to get to the bottom of what is actually causing the heat buildup, and try to solve that, rather than chasing results and treating them (which obviously has to be done). I’m on my third saddle this season, and will make probably my 5th or 6th saddle adjustment on the current one to try to resolve this…but I want to totally understand the cause, and it’s not clear to me yet. Is this a seam on skin issue, or a skin on skin issue? Reason I’m wondering is because I have ridden road bikes forever with zero saddle sores, but the aero position is not nearly as extreme as on a tri or TT bike. So when getting into the aero position, what is happening to the junk which puts your skin against either a seam or other skin, so we identify the definitive contact/heat contributors to generating the sores themselves.
Thanks for insight if anyone knows 100% on this question.
Witch hazel here too
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Chaffing and saddle sores are not the same thing. Chaffing is rubbing, not pressure.
Saddle sores are a different matter: One of my running partners is a dermatologist. From the horses mouth: 99% of the time the cause is Folliculitis . Folliculitis is an infection of the hair follicles. Bacteria, fungus, or yeast infection is the likely culprit. Wash your nether region carefully and always wash your bike shorts - and quickly. Some people are more susceptible than others, but honestly, if you get them a lot you might have a hygiene problem.