All,
I completed my first race in May and have been training for another in Nov. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve developed external hemorroids and am assuming it’s related to training, specifically cycling.
Would this be common?
Would continuing to train make it worse?
Thanks in advance for the help.
This thread should be fun to watch! You just served up a juicy softball. First your seat is too high, this never happens to a Cervelo owner, its not real without pictures, this is somehow going to be linked to Bush’s war on terror, ect…
Just hit me offline. Not necessarily “common,” but relatively easy to fix. Riding more won’t make life better…
Welcome aboard! First of all, most people here probably don’t have hemorroids, but can be classified thusly nonetheless.
Next, I’ve been riding for many, many years and have never had anything remotely similar. A little saddle sore for a year or two till I found the right saddle for my bottom, but hemorroids, no.
Get thee to a doc.
I hope you get this problem behind you soon.
ohmygod!
one way to end being a novice with a post like that.
more to the issue however. not that i’ve had any personal experience with those things of course but i understand that diet may play a role. do your flinstones.
Come on, please don’t make the newbie the butt of your jokes. These things can be a real pain in the a*%.
Welcome on board Sir (Ma’am? tough to tell here sometimes…). Good to have you here.
Well, I guess it is possible you are using the term “hemorroid” to generically describe some type of ulcer or lession in your crotch area or on your butt. I think the clinical diagnosis of hemorroids is more of a problem that may be not related to cycling.
Anyway, basically you may be dealing with skin ulcers or some type of ingrown hair (ewww…) or both.
Here are some tips for managing the situation and moving toward a cure: Keep the affected area dry during the day by using powder such as Gold Bond Medicated Powder or Prickly Heat Powder. This is a good strategy if you do not have open sores. If you do have open sores- there may need to a different approach. 
When you do ride, be sure you have the highest quality shorts you can afford. Good quality shorts do make a difference. They use stretch fabric chamois pads that stay static on your skin reducing friction and help pull moisture away from the skin maintaining a dryer environment. Always use chamois cream, preferably an astrigent chamois cream such as Assos that uses witch hazel. Chamois cream maintains an environment relatively free from or reduced from bacteria and produces a cooling sensation as well as providing lubricant. It also moderates the degenerative effect of sitting against your own perspiration, which can cause skin to become irritated. It is usually best and most efficient to apply chamois cream directly to the affected areas of your body, not to the pad of the shorts. Never wear anything between your skin and your shorts. Ever. For any reason. This is an invitation for infections and sores. This is especially true for females. When your shorts fit snugly enough the fabric needs to be in direct and constant contact with your skin. At night, sleep with out underwear if practical and use more powder before you go to bed. This will permit air to circulate around the saddle area and enable the skin to recover and acclimate to sitting on the saddle. The European pro cyclists sometimes refer to this process as “getting your seat”- it is the process of adaptation to sitting on a bike seat for long periods in relative comfort (or at least tolerance). If possible, wear underwear during the day that wicks moisture. Avoid cotton, some cotton blends retain 80% of their own fabric weight in moisture. With moisture comes bacteria. For men and women, good brands are Under Armour’s athletic underwear and other technical fabric underwear that helps maintain a dry saddle area. Use powder with this underwear to maintain a dry, perspiration and bacteria free environment.
If you follow those steps it may help your condition improve. If not and it becomes chronic- you know the drill, off to the doctor…
Good luck my friend!
trinovice:
Make absolutely sure that it is, in fact, hemorroids before you treat it. A far more common cycling and/or excessive sweating related problem is *pruritus ani *(latin for “itchy butt,” which does not always manifest itself as itching). If you treat pruritus ani as hemorroids, you will be in for a world of hurt. Go see your doc to make sure.
For pruritus ani, here is an effective treatment (some of it is very counter intuitive, butt trust me, it works):
(1) keep it as dry as possible. Get out of your cycling shorts immediately after riding and go naked or wrapped in a towel (very loose shorts is a second best alternative). Don’t dry it with a towel. Air dry or use a blow dryer. Then apply liberal amounts of unscented baby powder.
(2) don’t soap it… ever. I know it sounds weird, but soap causes/exacerbates the problem. Just clean it out with water.
(3) go really easy on the toilet paper. Again, I know it sounds weird, but it works. Install a bidet or do what I do: Get yourself on a regular schedule such that your BMs are right before your regular shower. Then do the “shower bidet.”
(4) you can also try a daily application of lotrimin cream mixed 50/50 with hydrocortisone 1%. But don’t go overboard with this. Once a day, ONLY. Excessive hydrocortisone use will weaken your skin and make the problem worse.
When my butt doctor told me about (2) and (3), I protested strongly. He said, “cows don’t get it, do they?”
I had massive ones after giving birth.
I used Tuck’s pads by the labels directions for a while, doing me no good. Then a nurse told me to leave the pad up there until I used the toilet again. Worked great. Albeit I had so much other stuff going on, leaving a Tuck’s pad up my rear was pretty easy.
Hope this helps.
If you truely have these (and not saddle sores, ingorwn hairs, chafing etc.) they can be from nutritional deficiencies combined with any kind of stress. (especially if you have them frequently) Have a look at the nutritional make up of your food/diet. (this is based on personal experience)
Good luck …
Excellent advice (as is the rest of it):
(1) keep it as dry as possible. Get out of your cycling shorts immediately after riding and go naked or wrapped in a towel (very loose shorts is a second best alternative). Don’t dry it with a towel. Air dry or use a blow dryer.
If it truly is hemorroids, are you frequently constipated? No reply necessary; just food for thought. If so, consider increasing your fiber intake. This will cause its own problems (gas, bloating, etc…), but things will even out after a few weeks.
While cycling, are you doing the Valsalva maneuver? This is basically trying to breath out while holding your breath and it can put enormous pressure on your internal organs and backside. It can also make 'roids way worse or at least prevent them from healing. Make sure you’re breathing steadily when training, especially during your hardest efforts.
In addition to the other good advice in this thread, don’t spend any more time on the can than you absolutely have to.
It should be easy to tell if you have external hemorrhoids. Spread the cheeks and have someone you know (preferably a wife or husband) look to see if you have anything sticking out back there that is not normal. Some develop after a birth for women or after constipation as well. It is essentially an inflammation and will go down by using various creams/tucks medicated pads. However, sometimes they keep coming back and people decide to have them removed. It “like plucking grapes” is what my old general surgeon told me when I assisted on one. Not fun and painful as hell. Never had one myself, not that I would tell anyone here:) But, the easiest was is to have someone check when it is really hurting. Otherwise, it may just be something else. Good luck.
Jason