Haha, got you guys! I’m not including pics of my crotch even though I know you guys would love them.
I went riding on Saturday and I’m still feeling the pains of it. I have a bright red bump in my crotch. It almost looks like an infected hair follicle or something like that. It’s getting better, but it hurts. I rode yesterday and I had to be a little “off kilter” to ease the pain a bit. Now, I’ve had chaffing in my crotch and other sore spots from biking, but this is the first raised redness that I’ve experienced and I’m trying to figure out what it is and if it’ll go away on it’s own or not.
It’s probably a hair follicle that is infected. A and D ointment or Bacetracin works well.
Do you wash your shorts after every ride and scrub really well down there too? If you said no to either of these, then you’re probably asking for another one.
Yes, a folliculitis is what you probably have and that is what a saddle sore basically is. If not dealt with, they can progress to a localized skin abscess that may need drainage.
Treat by keeping area clean and dry. If it becomes a big boil, soaking in a warm bath may help it. If it doesn’t improve over a couple of days, you may need to see a doctor for antibiotics.
For what its worth, one of our local cyclists had a saddle sore a few years back, and, like some saddle sores, it was in fact a staph infection. Mid week it was a saddle sore. By the weekend it had spread to his spine. Surgeons made a choice to save his life, and he is now paralyzed from the chest down. In short - saddle sores seem pretty commonplace and minor…but you might consider treating it with seriousness.
I agree completely that this needs to be addressed fairly vigorously. Given that a I have a CRNP nearby me most times, I was able to get mine treated easily.
I tried popping it last night and it didn’t pop. Right now, it’s getting better on its own but I’ll keep an eye out for it. Well, not that good of an eye because it’s in an area that I don’t look at often.
I tried popping it last night and it didn’t pop. Right now, it’s getting better on its own but I’ll keep an eye out for it. Well, not that good of an eye because it’s in an area that I don’t look at often.
Wow…I would think you have read Triathit’s post. Personally I would not try squeezing any type of infectious sores, the risk out weighs the thought of doing it.
I see now. Good luck & keep it clean with hydrogen peroxide. I’m so glad you didn’t post these pics. But maybe after everything is “A” OK… you can post a few.
Here is something I found that is a good read:
Bacteria from a boil can enter your bloodstream and travel to other parts of your body. The spreading infection, commonly known as blood poisoning (septicemia), can rapidly become life-threatening.
Initially, blood poisoning causes signs and symptoms such as chills, a spiking fever, a rapid heart rate and a feeling of being extremely ill. But the condition can quickly progress to shock, which is marked by falling blood pressure and body temperature, confusion, clotting abnormalities and bleeding into the skin. Blood poisoning is a medical emergency — untreated, it can be fatal.
Another potentially serious problem is the emergence of a drug resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus. Once mainly confined to hospitals, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) now affects increasing numbers of military recruits, prison inmates, athletes and even children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 percent of Americans carry MRSA on their bodies.
MRSA is highly contagious and spreads rapidly in crowded or unhygienic situations, or where athletic equipment or towels are shared. Although it responds well to several antibiotics, MRSA is resistant to penicillin, and can be very difficult to treat.
I think it’s really funny that this thread has gotten nearly 400 views now and only 7 replies that aren’t me because I threatened pictures of my boil infested crotch.
If it’s going in the direction of getting better then likely you are fine. Like others have said, if it looks like a pimple (whether it can be popped or not) its probably folliculitis. Folliculitis can be a bit painful and annoying but not a big deal and clears up on its own within a week.
If it’s a staph infection (FWIW this is coming from someone who’s had staph twice ), it will never go in the direction of getting better, only worse, and rapidly. Further more, staph infections are EXTREMELY painful. If the pain isn’t too bad you don’t have much to worry about. If you have a staph infection, you can count on your body to tell you to get to the doctor immediately, they really are unquestionably painful at all times, whether you are putting pressure on it or not.
Another sign to determine whether its seriously infected or not would be the local temperature of the infection. With infection the skin becomes very hot.
Keep the area clean and dry, apply a little bacitracin to soothe it, and stay out of the saddle for a couple days.
Also, for future reference, you never want to “pop” something you might suspect could be an infection. That can spread the infection subcutaneously to surrounding areas by putting pressure on the fluid in your skin and spreading it outwards. If you have a non-infected blister/pimple/inflamed hair follicle you can steralize the area with 91% alcohol or hydrogen peroxide and steralize a needle under a flame and pierce the area, allowing fluid to drain and relieving pressure/pain on/in the area.
I solved my saddle sore problem by applying neosporin (or other antibiotic cream) followed by some desitin (baby rash cream). Worked like a charm. I use this mix after every ride. If you keep trying to pop this thing make sure that you follow up with the above…especially the neosporin…because essentially you are spreading the infection.
Damn you Eric! I was looking forward to seeing this thing. I have a bizarre zit-popping fetish. I recently developed what I thought was a boil/saddle sore on my taint about a month ago. It was a raised bump and appeared to be full of fluid, and hurt when I pressed on it. So, naturally, I got a mirror and inspected it, and decided it was poppable and the pain would be worth the payoff. Lo and behold, after much squeezing and significant pain, I felt that sweet “pook” sound that you feel when something like that pops. Blood drained out of that sucker and the bump immediately went down. It refilled a few times, but I’d just go right back and pop it each time, and it got smaller and smaller and finally went away about a week ago.
Enjoy your lunch everyone!
I clicked here expecting to see a face shot of someone you didn’t like, which would have been funny. I’m not disappointed that your nasty crotch’s image is absent.
Brian