Little survey… after riding 108 today, the last 3 standing, and seeing my crotch in the bathroom mirror… what do YOU put on saddle sores, the BAD ones, not the normal ones from riding, I mean the “shit, I cannot sit down” ones…
I like neosporin with the pain reliever myself, adds a little lube too for non-chafing when walking… it beats THE face, you know, now I only do THE face when I have to sit down. I’m sure it will impress at dinner tonight, hopefully I don’t have to pee alot and keep getting up from the table.
How come that skin never thoughens up??? Maybe it could callus (sp?) or something. My feet get tougher, but my crotch stays soft?
I rode with a woman the other day who doesn’t wear bike shorts b/c she doesn’t like the pad feeling. I sat on my seat once without bike shorts and thought I was going to die.
Use the Zinc diaper rash creme that you put on the butt of babies. This stuff works miracles. If it works in a warm, moist, foul, wet diaper, it will work in cycling shorts. I started using this stuff 7 years ago when my son was in diapers. Its worked great since then. You see, parenthood does have its benefits when it comes to triathlon.
My experience says no neosporin. It keeps it damp. Need some sort of drying agent. Of course, some sort of chamois creme when you ride. Keep area dry after washing and use drying agent. I have had luck with hydocortisone creme. Heard of some that use acne drying stuff (Oxy-?)
1-NEVER wear the same unwashed shorts two days in a row.
2-Clean the sitting area and crack with baby nappy wipes before riding.
3-Use rubbing alcohol on the sitting area after showering, this will toughen up the area like you do to toughen up your feet if they are getting blisters from being too soft. Apply the alcohol to the sores if you can handle the pain as this will steralise them.
4-Use a chamois cream before riding
5-Get a Selle Italia flite saddle. This works for me. If you are getting sores then I would look at your saddle. Dont worry too much about the look or the weight of it this is one item that you want to work.
I am with you on the Neosporin. Your skin may not toughen because the area stays moist all the time. That’s just a guess.
At the Olympic Training Center the coaches told us we should sleep without underwear to let our crotches dry out at night and for the skin to toughen. I think that was a good idea.
seat is fine… this was just being in a hurry and forgetting the creme pre-ride… and then remembering at about 40 miles, I think the anticipation of pain was making it worse, but it was still bad… I’ll have to try the alcohol thing
do the no underwear thing all the time, they are alot better this AM, well afternoon… it’s that 12 hour post-ride swelling “aaaaaahhhhh!!!” feeling that sucks… oh well, lesson learned, get ready for 6am ride the night before and don’t forget chamois creme
a+d for the ride and lots of air at night and more air . I got some new sugoi tri shorts and I can feel the air when I ride. They are the very nice for the price.
Have a great time training. Thom
I lowered the seat a tad when we stopped halfway through, so maybe that’s part of the problem… hmmmm, I figured I notice other body problems from incorrect saddle height ie knee, hamstring… maybe I’ll lower it a little more
bag balm…lol…just gotta love that name…did some searching on it…turns out the stuff is made here in Canada…sweet…off to find me some…thanks for the tip
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#2: Apply Assos Chamois cream liberally to the chamois before every ride.
#3: Wash your cycling shorts manually with an anti-bacterial soap after every ride and air dry immediately after washing
#4: To dry out the “area”, use a medicated foot powder after every shower.
#5: Sleep in boxer shorts
#6: Make sure you’re using high quality cycling shorts. This can make a huge difference.
#7: If you have one side that gets saddle sores worse than the other, turn the saddle slightly to that side. And of course make sure your saddle isn’t too high or too far back.