crotch on fire in the shower

[diamondcat]

anyone else experience stinging pain when water hits the girly bits down there after a ride?? or is it just me.
its extremely painful, any remedies?

[jusdooit]

Sounds like chaffing to me. Are you using a chamois cream? Also make sure your shorts fit well.

[Grits]

If your saddle isn't the right fit for you, your weight could be going on your soft tissue instead of onto your sitbones, where it belongs. You also might need a cutout. There are many threads on here about saddles including one comprehensive one that Muirenn keeps updated for us. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39475

[Reesha]

Aside from solving the problem to begin with, I always find A+D works well on chafed areas. You could apply the A+D (hydrophobic) prior to the shower, but the stinging sensation and actually getting some soap and water down there is probably going to help prevent infection.

[malkin]

Oh, definately ow.
You need a different saddle, and probably different shorts!

[Crankin]

I get that sometimes, if it's hot out and I've gone for a long ride. What seems to set it off is if I pee during the ride, that seems to irritate the delicate tissues more than normal. I may not feel it until I get in the shower, though. I do use chamois cream, but it doesn't always stop this.
My saddle is fine and I wear 2 different brands of shorts that I love. I just don't let the water hit me near those parts when this happens and definitely no soap near there, ever.
Tea Tree oil helps sooth this.

[laura*]

What seems to set it off is if I pee during the ride, that seems to irritate the delicate tissues more than normal.

Here's a "trick" I discovered at Burning Man:

Instead of wiping with TP after peeing, bring your water bottle and sacrifice some drinking water to instead rinse off any pee residue. The extra bonus is that there is no need to dry off because of the incredibly low humidity on the alkali dry lake bed.

There are two benefits:

Rinsing gets one cleaner than wiping - there are no salty residues left behind to irritate.

Not using TP at all means less frictional rubbing. With hourly peeing, the friction can rub you raw in the harsh desert environment!

Even away from the desert, when wearing cycling shorts, "not wiping dry" is an option. The shorts are probably damp (with sweat) anyway - a few extra drops of clean water won't make a difference.

[Crankin]

Makes a lot of sense.
I have tried various types of wipes, which make it worse.

[westtexas]

I know what you are talking about, it's happened to me too. I also have shorts that fit fine, a great saddle and use plenty of chamois cream. I have always wondered if it wasn't due to the temperature difference of my skin (really hot) and the shower water (lukewarm usually for me) - because it only happens in the summer time. Usually I just try to wash down there as thoroughly and quickly as possible and bite my lip and it goes away eventually. Haven't died yet ;)

[Crankin]

Yup, and come to think of it, when I was on a tour in Spain, I had a severe case of this on the first day. It was 98 degrees out. I was fine until the lunch stop and I peed.
If it weren't for the fact that all of the hotel bathrooms had bidets, I never would have healed, along with the fabulous chamois cream the trip leader got me from an LBS. That nice cleansing stream of water cured me.

[emily_in_nc]

Used to get this frequently when I rode a saddle without a cutout. Once I switched to saddles with cutouts, it never recurred unless I made the mistake of trying (or test riding) a non-cutout saddle.

[diamondcat]

If your saddle isn't the right fit for you, your weight could be going on your soft tissue instead of onto your sitbones, where it belongs. You also might need a cutout. There are many threads on here about saddles including one comprehensive one that Muirenn keeps updated for us. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39475

but my saddle IS a cut out saddle by Terry
http://www.rei.com/zoom/ww/8944c776-7cc5-4b67-8572-cbceff7ee648.jpg/440

[diamondcat]

also let me add my shorts fit perfectly, bike is fitted for me.
I use chamois but iguess not enough in that area...it never happened until now since its getting hotter outside and i ride for longer.

[diamondcat]

I get that sometimes, if it's hot out and I've gone for a long ride. What seems to set it off is if I pee during the ride, that seems to irritate the delicate tissues more than normal. I may not feel it until I get in the shower, though. I do use chamois cream, but it doesn't always stop this.
My saddle is fine and I wear 2 different brands of shorts that I love. I just don't let the water hit me near those parts when this happens and definitely no soap near there, ever.
Tea Tree oil helps sooth this.

wait, so you dont wash your crotch after rides????!

[diamondcat]

Yup, and come to think of it, when I was on a tour in Spain, I had a severe case of this on the first day. It was 98 degrees out. I was fine until the lunch stop and I peed.
If it weren't for the fact that all of the hotel bathrooms had bidets, I never would have healed, along with the fabulous chamois cream the trip leader got me from an LBS. That nice cleansing stream of water cured me.

I SO WISH bidets were an american thing too

[OakLeaf]

but my saddle IS a cut out saddle by Terry

That doesn't mean the cut-out, or the saddle as a whole, is the right size or shape for you. Have you read through the links Grits mentioned?

(PS - without looking it up, that looks like a VERY soft and squishy saddle, which is pretty much a way to guarantee chafing if that's the case.)

[bellissima]

diamondcat, it sounds like you feel good about your bike fit, saddle and shorts, so try a different anti chafe cream, one that is not water based as in my opinion those don't work as good on hot weather. There are several chamois creams that will work. I personally use Endur-It, it works good on hot weather and also outlasts most of my rides with one single application.

[emily_in_nc]

Yes, I don't have any other suggestions since I don't have this problem if I use a saddle with a cutout. That's not to say I don't have ANY saddle problems (I seem to be prone to saddle sores at the crease between leg and crotch), but I don't get the burning that I used to get with non-cutout saddles.

Good luck!

[marni]

another thought if the bike and the shorts fit is to remember that in hot weather, you are more likely to be slightly or not so slightly dehydrated and your pee will be more concentrated. If you are using the "green room" a squirt of water within the labia followed by a brief air dry and a relube. If you are using a real toilet, a bit of a gentle pat down followed by a relube can help. You can buy small packets of chamois butter or carry a small tube of something in your tool kit.

Make sure you alternate plain water and electrolytes and drink drink drink. Depending o the temperature, if you aren't peeing every hour-two hour period, you are not drinking enough.

Speaking from sad and painful experience.

As for showering, a wipe with a aloe wipe or a hemmaeroid wipe before hand can get the inner area clean. Make sure you dry thoroughly afterwards and put on some soothing or antibiotic cream.

[malkin]

Here's a "trick" I discovered at Burning Man:

Instead of wiping with TP after peeing, bring your water bottle and sacrifice some drinking water to instead rinse off any pee residue. The extra bonus is that there is no need to dry off because of the incredibly low humidity on the alkali dry lake bed.

There are two benefits:

Rinsing gets one cleaner than wiping - there are no salty residues left behind to irritate.

Not using TP at all means less frictional rubbing. With hourly peeing, the friction can rub you raw in the harsh desert environment!

Even away from the desert, when wearing cycling shorts, "not wiping dry" is an option. The shorts are probably damp (with sweat) anyway - a few extra drops of clean water won't make a difference.

The Wilderness Bidet!

I love it!

[ny biker]

As for showering, a wipe with a aloe wipe or a hemmaeroid wipe before hand can get the inner area clean. Make sure you dry thoroughly afterwards and put on some soothing or antibiotic cream.

I would not use any of those products on sensitive tissue, and not just because I'm allergic to antibiotic ointment.

A few years ago I asked my gynecologist about post-ride cleanup. I told him I was using Wet-Ones on non-sensitive areas like arms and legs when I knew it would be a while before I was able to shower, but otherwise I just changed into clean dry clothes as soon as possible after the ride. He was very emphatic that I should keep doing what I was doing, and definitely not use any cleaning wipes in the crotch area.

If I had a problem with irritation in the shower, I woud grin and bear it and focus on solving the cause of the problem. There's enough blood flow in that area for any irritation to heal quickly.

With my current saddle/shorts combination I was having a bit of chafing on long rides, but applying Hoo Ha Ride Glide to the chamois has pretty much solved the problem for me.

[diamondcat]

I would not use any of those products on sensitive tissue, and not just because I'm allergic to antibiotic ointment.

A few years ago I asked my gynecologist about post-ride cleanup. I told him I was using Wet-Ones on non-sensitive areas like arms and legs when I knew it would be a while before I was able to shower, but otherwise I just changed into clean dry clothes as soon as possible after the ride. He was very emphatic that I should keep doing what I was doing, and definitely not use any cleaning wipes in the crotch area.

If I had a problem with irritation in the shower, I woud grin and bear it and focus on solving the cause of the problem. There's enough blood flow in that area for any irritation to heal quickly.

With my current saddle/shorts combination I was having a bit of chafing on long rides, but applying Hoo Ha Ride Glide to the chamois has pretty much solved the problem for me.


id rather not "grin and bear it" because it keeps me off my saddle for awhile while i let it heal. not to mention its EXCRUCIATING pain that seems to be avoidable. I seem like the only one who gets this bad of a chaffing :/

[OakLeaf]

Well, your OP did say "in the shower," which plenty of us have experienced chafing that we don't notice until the shower. That kind isn't near as bad as what you describe...

Trust me, you're not the only one who chafes that bad. All the years I raced my nether parts were indistinguishable from hamburger. :( :eek: But if it's that bad, IMO it's almost definitely saddle fit. It's just, in the 1980s, who knew about that stuff? And, cut-outs, which I definitely need, were only invented right around the time I burned out on racing.

There's still a lot of trial and error involved unfortunately, but reading through the saddle fit threads will let you eliminate a lot of saddles right off the bat and possibly zero in on a few that seem likely candidates.

[diamondcat]

i've read on other forums some people actually develop raw calloused areas in the nether region from riding so much, which, actually in turn, helps you not feel so chaffed and sore.

does anyone have this? I really am curious what it feels/looks like, call me gross

[diamondcat]

ps i use Sugoi's RC Pro, but the padded area is REALLY clothy, which no doubt contributed to my chaffed ***.