Chafed, scalded groin treatment?



S

Sir Ridesalot

Guest
Hello there.

I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY* hope
someone here can help.

A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
cycling shorts.

Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois, I
got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area. After the
ride and after a good soak and wash with Cepacol (a very mild soap
suitable for babies) I discovered that this area on both sides is
actually raw. These raw areas are fairly large too.

Needless to say it is also very painful to sit on the saddle now for
any length of time.

I do not wish to aggravate this area any further and applying the zinc
ointment alone doesn't seem to be doing much good in the healing
department.

I am really hoping that I don't have to stay off the bike for a long
period of time.

Do any of you have experience with such severe chafing and can you
advise a treatment that will let me get back to my 75 Km rides fairly
soon?

I sincerely appreciate any and all useful advice.

Peter
 
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
> Hello there.
>
> I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY* hope
> someone here can help.
>
> A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
> humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
> cycling shorts.
>
> Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois, I
> got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area.[snip}

Sounds like you've got a problem with either shorts, saddle, saddle
setup, saddle position, or the groin itself.

Stay out of the saddle till you figure out which one it is. AFAIK,
those shorts are diapery (if my memory serves me right) and personally,
I find such shorts to cause much discomfort. It may very well be
something else.
 
"landotter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Sir Ridesalot wrote:
>> Hello there.
>>
>> I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY* hope
>> someone here can help.
>>
>> A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
>> humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
>> cycling shorts.
>>
>> Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois, I
>> got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area.[snip}
>
Bag Balm. Comes in a green can. Walgreens has it. (Yes, it has all that
dairy cow stuff on the directions, but these days that's mostly for show).

Switch shorts. If they occur with this pair, but not with the other type,
abandon this type. There are long threads here on various saddles (notably
the threads of Brooks-lovers versus Brooks haters). It makes sense that
certain styles of shorts might have the same problem.
 
On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 22:59:01 GMT, "Mike Kruger"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"landotter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> Sir Ridesalot wrote:
>>>
>>> A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
>>> humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
>>> cycling shorts.
>>>
>>> Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois, I
>>> got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area.[snip}
>>
>Bag Balm. Comes in a green can. Walgreens has it. (Yes, it has all that
>dairy cow stuff on the directions, but these days that's mostly for show).

As Mike said, bag balm is the way to go. Put it on directly after
showering. Chafing should be gone the next day or the day after.

>Switch shorts. If they occur with this pair, but not with the other type,
>abandon this type. There are long threads here on various saddles (notably
>the threads of Brooks-lovers versus Brooks haters). It makes sense that
>certain styles of shorts might have the same problem.

Wonder if you saddle might be too wide?

Pat

Email address works as is.
 
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
> Hello there.
>
> I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY* hope
> someone here can help.
>
> A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
> humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
> cycling shorts.
>
> Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois, I
> got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area. After the
> ride and after a good soak and wash with Cepacol (a very mild soap
> suitable for babies) I discovered that this area on both sides is
> actually raw. These raw areas are fairly large too.
>
> Needless to say it is also very painful to sit on the saddle now for
> any length of time.
>
> I do not wish to aggravate this area any further and applying the zinc
> ointment alone doesn't seem to be doing much good in the healing
> department.
>
> I am really hoping that I don't have to stay off the bike for a long
> period of time.
>
> Do any of you have experience with such severe chafing and can you
> advise a treatment that will let me get back to my 75 Km rides fairly
> soon?
>
> I sincerely appreciate any and all useful advice.
>
> Peter

Hi again.

To all of you who have advised saddle switching. Thank you very much.

Unfortunately the saddle isn't the problem. At least now it isn't. I
put on an ancient Wright saddle which is built very similar to the
Brooks but is probably lower quality. The Wright did flare but the
lacing of the side-skirts trick really helped. It is extremely
comfortable. With this saddle I can at least ride for about half an
hour at a time if I take a 10 -15 minute break at the 30 min mark.

As someone has mentioned, I do find the Louis Garneau shorts to feel
very diaperish. I am positive they are the culprit. As I rode with them
it seemed I was always pulling them away from the thigh - body trunk
junction.

I'm in Ontario Canada and don't think we have Walgreens here. However
we do have a TSC store. I can get the udder balm there.

Do I apply this very generously to the affected area oe sparingly just
covering it?

How about when I ride?

I guess I'll have to ship my old (25+ yrs) Miele shorts to the US and
get a new chamois put in them. I bookmarked a link to a place in the US
that does that. Now those shorts were very comfortable.

Thanks very much for your suggestions. I'll try some udder balm
tonight. My sister has some.

Appreciatively, Peter
 
I had some shorts where the chamois had "wings" that were on either side of
the main pad. I wore them once and they wrinkled, moved around, and in
general caused all sorts of problems. I got home, got the scissors out and
cut them totally away. Today, I rode in those shorts for the first time in a
long time and had no problems. It was those d#$%#d side panels.

Pat in TX
 
Pat in TX wrote:
> I had some shorts where the chamois had "wings" that were on either side of
> the main pad. I wore them once and they wrinkled, moved around, and in
> general caused all sorts of problems. I got home, got the scissors out and
> cut them totally away. Today, I rode in those shorts for the first time in a
> long time and had no problems. It was those d#$%#d side panels.
>
> Pat in TX


Hi there.

I just checked the shorts and they don't have 'wings' but the area
under the chamois does feel very thick. The chamois is also about 5
inches wide in the area where the chafing occurs. Is 5 inches wider
than many chamois?

I am seriously considering opening up part of the rear seam of the
chamois and removing some of that inner padding. I figure I have little
to lose since the shorts are too uncomfortable to wear with the current
thickness.

Do you think this idea has any merit?

As I understand it the purpose of the chamois is to move the moisture
away from the body. Therefore I don't think I need so much padding
under the chamois.

Thank goodness I bought that ancient Wright leather saddle for $2 when
I saw it. Without it I wouldn't be able to ride at all.

Thanks very much again everyone.

Peter
 
">
> Hi there.
>
> I just checked the shorts and they don't have 'wings' but the area
> under the chamois does feel very thick. The chamois is also about 5
> inches wide in the area where the chafing occurs. Is 5 inches wider
> than many chamois?
>
> I am seriously considering opening up part of the rear seam of the
> chamois and removing some of that inner padding. I figure I have little
> to lose since the shorts are too uncomfortable to wear with the current
> thickness.
>
> Do you think this idea has any merit?
>
> As I understand it the purpose of the chamois is to move the moisture
> away from the body. Therefore I don't think I need so much padding
> under the chamois.
>
> Thank goodness I bought that ancient Wright leather saddle for $2 when
> I saw it. Without it I wouldn't be able to ride at all.
>
> Thanks very much again everyone.
>
> Peter

If I were you, I'd go to the shop and look at the chamois on a few different
brands and try to figure out what exactly is different about the pair you
have. I am skeptical removing padding would make a difference. Your injury
sounds like a shear effect problem...no lubrication to prevent the abrasion
going on. Perhaps this pair of shorts is simply too large and doesn't fit
tight enough and the fabric was moving around?

Pat in TX
>
 
"shear effect problem"?

"Pat in TX" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> ">
>> Hi there.
>>
>> I just checked the shorts and they don't have 'wings' but the area
>> under the chamois does feel very thick. The chamois is also about 5
>> inches wide in the area where the chafing occurs. Is 5 inches wider
>> than many chamois?
>>
>> I am seriously considering opening up part of the rear seam of the
>> chamois and removing some of that inner padding. I figure I have little
>> to lose since the shorts are too uncomfortable to wear with the current
>> thickness.
>>
>> Do you think this idea has any merit?
>>
>> As I understand it the purpose of the chamois is to move the moisture
>> away from the body. Therefore I don't think I need so much padding
>> under the chamois.
>>
>> Thank goodness I bought that ancient Wright leather saddle for $2 when
>> I saw it. Without it I wouldn't be able to ride at all.
>>
>> Thanks very much again everyone.
>>
>> Peter
>
> If I were you, I'd go to the shop and look at the chamois on a few
> different brands and try to figure out what exactly is different about the
> pair you have. I am skeptical removing padding would make a difference.
> Your injury sounds like a shear effect problem...no lubrication to prevent
> the abrasion going on. Perhaps this pair of shorts is simply too large
> and doesn't fit tight enough and the fabric was moving around?
>
> Pat in TX
>>
>
>



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"Sir Ridesalot" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hello there.
>
> I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY* hope
> someone here can help.
>
> A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
> humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
> cycling shorts.
>
> Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois,
I
> got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area. After the
> ride and after a good soak and wash with Cepacol (a very mild soap
> suitable for babies) I discovered that this area on both sides is
> actually raw. These raw areas are fairly large too.
>
> Needless to say it is also very painful to sit on the saddle now for
> any length of time.
>
> I do not wish to aggravate this area any further and applying the zinc
> ointment alone doesn't seem to be doing much good in the healing
> department.
>
> I am really hoping that I don't have to stay off the bike for a long
> period of time.
>
> Do any of you have experience with such severe chafing and can you
> advise a treatment that will let me get back to my 75 Km rides fairly
> soon?
>
> I sincerely appreciate any and all useful advice.
>
> Peter
>

Dr. Chas says: Sounds like it might be a simple case of "Jock Rash"
caused by the same fungus found in athletes foot infections. High heat
and humidity plus antibacterial soap and zinc oxide kills the normal
flora and fauna of skin bacteria that keeps the fungus in check.

There are a lot of different spays, powders and ointments available at
any drug store. They all work pretty much the same way if they contain
an antifungal agent. You can also mix in some cortisone ointment with
the antifungal goop. If that's the problem, should clear up in a few
days.

Now on the other hand, I had been trying on some new riding shorts. A
week later in the middle of a long hot race I discovered that I had a
screaming case of "crotch crickets"! I stopped at a drug store and
bought some A200! Fortunately that was many years ago and it all seems
funny now.

Good luck

Chas.
 
* * Chas wrote:
> "Sir Ridesalot" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hello there.
> >
> > I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY* hope
> > someone here can help.
> >
> > A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
> > humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
> > cycling shorts.
> >
> > Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois,
> I
> > got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area. After the
> > ride and after a good soak and wash with Cepacol (a very mild soap
> > suitable for babies) I discovered that this area on both sides is
> > actually raw. These raw areas are fairly large too.
> >
> > Needless to say it is also very painful to sit on the saddle now for
> > any length of time.
> >
> > I do not wish to aggravate this area any further and applying the zinc
> > ointment alone doesn't seem to be doing much good in the healing
> > department.
> >
> > I am really hoping that I don't have to stay off the bike for a long
> > period of time.
> >
> > Do any of you have experience with such severe chafing and can you
> > advise a treatment that will let me get back to my 75 Km rides fairly
> > soon?
> >
> > I sincerely appreciate any and all useful advice.
> >
> > Peter
> >
>
> Dr. Chas says: Sounds like it might be a simple case of "Jock Rash"
> caused by the same fungus found in athletes foot infections. High heat
> and humidity plus antibacterial soap and zinc oxide kills the normal
> flora and fauna of skin bacteria that keeps the fungus in check.
>
> There are a lot of different spays, powders and ointments available at
> any drug store. They all work pretty much the same way if they contain
> an antifungal agent. You can also mix in some cortisone ointment with
> the antifungal goop. If that's the problem, should clear up in a few
> days.
>
Snipped
>
> Good luck
>
> Chas.


Thanks Chas. Seems you hit the nail on the head with the fungal
connection.

Saw the family doctor this moring. It IS a fungal problem. Gave me some
cream with some Cortizone in it. Told me to apply it sparringly as the
Cortizone CAN cause the skin to become thinner.

Hopefully it will clear up in a couple of days if I stay off the bike
too. Bummer that - not riding I mean.

Apparently Zinc ointment is NOT a good chamois cfream after all.

When this heals I'll use either udder balm or petroleum jelly such as
Vaseline.

Thanks for the heads up on it possibly being a fungal problem.

Peter
 
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
> Sir Ridesalot wrote:
> > Hello there.
> >
> > I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY* hope
> > someone here can help.
> >
> > A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with high
> > humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
> > cycling shorts.
> >
> > Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the chamois, I
> > got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area. After the
> > ride and after a good soak and wash with Cepacol (a very mild soap
> > suitable for babies) I discovered that this area on both sides is
> > actually raw. These raw areas are fairly large too.
> >
> > Needless to say it is also very painful to sit on the saddle now for
> > any length of time.
> >
> > I do not wish to aggravate this area any further and applying the zinc
> > ointment alone doesn't seem to be doing much good in the healing
> > department.
> >
> > I am really hoping that I don't have to stay off the bike for a long
> > period of time.
> >
> > Do any of you have experience with such severe chafing and can you
> > advise a treatment that will let me get back to my 75 Km rides fairly
> > soon?
> >
> > I sincerely appreciate any and all useful advice.
> >
> > Peter
>
> Hi again.
>
> To all of you who have advised saddle switching. Thank you very much.
>
> Unfortunately the saddle isn't the problem. At least now it isn't. I
> put on an ancient Wright saddle which is built very similar to the
> Brooks but is probably lower quality. The Wright did flare but the
> lacing of the side-skirts trick really helped. It is extremely
> comfortable. With this saddle I can at least ride for about half an
> hour at a time if I take a 10 -15 minute break at the 30 min mark.
>
> As someone has mentioned, I do find the Louis Garneau shorts to feel
> very diaperish. I am positive they are the culprit. As I rode with them
> it seemed I was always pulling them away from the thigh - body trunk
> junction.
>
> I'm in Ontario Canada and don't think we have Walgreens here. However
> we do have a TSC store. I can get the udder balm there.
>
> Do I apply this very generously to the affected area oe sparingly just
> covering it?
>
> How about when I ride?
>
> I guess I'll have to ship my old (25+ yrs) Miele shorts to the US and
> get a new chamois put in them. I bookmarked a link to a place in the US
> that does that. Now those shorts were very comfortable.
>
> Thanks very much for your suggestions. I'll try some udder balm
> tonight. My sister has some.
>
> Appreciatively, Peter

I've been using something called "Crotch Guard" that was an ad on
Cyclingnews.com.
With the right seat, right shorts, right fit on the bike, I rode as
many as 129 miles in one day without seat/chaffing problems.

You should not have to suffer.

Gold Bond triple protection medicated powder applied after a shower
will do you a world of good. Keep a travel sized bottle with you in
your backpack.

Perhaps a tube or 2 of Lotramin AF applied for a week might knock out
whatever is taking advantage of the chaffing.

-bdbafh
 
"Sir Ridesalot" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> * * Chas wrote:
> > "Sir Ridesalot" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > Hello there.
> > >
> > > I think this is the proper newsgroup to ask this on. I *REALLY*
hope
> > > someone here can help.
> > >
> > > A few days ago I went on a fairly long ride. It was 85+ f with
high
> > > humidity. I was wearing my clean Louis Garneau 8 panel low gloss
> > > cycling shorts.
> > >
> > > Somehow, despite having applied lots of zinc ointment to the
chamois,
> > I
> > > got severely chafed where the thighs join the groin area. After
the
> > > ride and after a good soak and wash with Cepacol (a very mild soap
> > > suitable for babies) I discovered that this area on both sides is
> > > actually raw. These raw areas are fairly large too.
> > >
> > > Needless to say it is also very painful to sit on the saddle now
for
> > > any length of time.
> > >
> > > I do not wish to aggravate this area any further and applying the
zinc
> > > ointment alone doesn't seem to be doing much good in the healing
> > > department.
> > >
> > > I am really hoping that I don't have to stay off the bike for a
long
> > > period of time.
> > >
> > > Do any of you have experience with such severe chafing and can you
> > > advise a treatment that will let me get back to my 75 Km rides
fairly
> > > soon?
> > >
> > > I sincerely appreciate any and all useful advice.
> > >
> > > Peter
> > >
> >
> > Dr. Chas says: Sounds like it might be a simple case of "Jock Rash"
> > caused by the same fungus found in athletes foot infections. High
heat
> > and humidity plus antibacterial soap and zinc oxide kills the normal
> > flora and fauna of skin bacteria that keeps the fungus in check.
> >
> > There are a lot of different spays, powders and ointments available
at
> > any drug store. They all work pretty much the same way if they
contain
> > an antifungal agent. You can also mix in some cortisone ointment
with
> > the antifungal goop. If that's the problem, should clear up in a few
> > days.
> >
> Snipped
> >
> > Good luck
> >
> > Chas.
>
>
> Thanks Chas. Seems you hit the nail on the head with the fungal
> connection.
>
> Saw the family doctor this moring. It IS a fungal problem. Gave me
some
> cream with some Cortizone in it. Told me to apply it sparringly as the
> Cortizone CAN cause the skin to become thinner.
>
> Hopefully it will clear up in a couple of days if I stay off the bike
> too. Bummer that - not riding I mean.
>
> Apparently Zinc ointment is NOT a good chamois cfream after all.
>
> When this heals I'll use either udder balm or petroleum jelly such as
> Vaseline.
>
> Thanks for the heads up on it possibly being a fungal problem.
>
> Peter
>

Great, glad it wasn't the "other" medical condition.... ;-)

For a long time I've only seen artificial chamois shorts not the real
thing. They look and feel just like the real thing but I doubt that any
kind of grease based potion would help with these.

Also, if the problem continues, you might try briefly microwaving your
shorts to kill any organisms. Some women have resorted to doing this to
their knickers to cure "personal" problems.

Chas.
 
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
>
>
> Thanks Chas. Seems you hit the nail on the head with the fungal
> connection.
>
> Saw the family doctor this moring. It IS a fungal problem. Gave me some
> cream with some Cortizone in it. Told me to apply it sparringly as the
> Cortizone CAN cause the skin to become thinner.
>
> Hopefully it will clear up in a couple of days if I stay off the bike
> too. Bummer that - not riding I mean.
>
> Apparently Zinc ointment is NOT a good chamois cfream after all.
>
> When this heals I'll use either udder balm or petroleum jelly such as
> Vaseline.
>
> Thanks for the heads up on it possibly being a fungal problem.
>
> Peter
>

I used to get gym rash all the time. There's an over the counter
product called Cortaid cream that will keep it check if you use it on a
regular basis. Vaseline did not work for me. It required an active
ingredient. Some stores have introduced their generic products now, but
just using vaseline didn't do it for me.
 
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