Heat rash

[thekarens]

Ever since it started to get hotter I've been getting a rash on the top of my thighs between where the cycling shorts end and my knees.

I use sunscreen, but that's it. Usually takes a day or so and it goes away.

Thoughts/ideas?

16404

[thekarens]

No, with a 1600 deductible and a 3500 out of pocket I don't go to the doc unless it's absolutely necessary.

[Skippyak]

Try a different sunscreen.

[OakLeaf]

I'm prone to heat rash too, although typically I get it under close fitting clothes (bra and socks, and kinesio tape) and only running, when I don't have the wind chill of the bike. Maybe try pouring water on your legs periodically to help them cool?

[ny biker]

Does it itch?

I agree that the place to start is a different sunscreen.

As a separate experiment, try an antihistimine (Zyrtec, Claritin or Allegra) and see if that makes the rash go away faster.

You might also find it helpful to search some reputable sites for info on skin rashes, hives, angioedema. Such as this one:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hives-and-angioedema/DS00313/DSECTION=causes

Ultimately you might find it helpful to invest in cycling clothes that cover more of your legs in hot weather, such as DeSoto leg coolers or Terry's summer knickers.

[thekarens]

Nope, doesn't itch. I'll try another sunscreen and if that doesn't work I'll try the antihistamine. I really should invest in the coolers. I'm just not convinced that they wouldn't make me even hotter.

[Catrin]

The coolers rock, and they do NOT make you hotter. I was suspicious about that last summer but bought a set of arm coolers - it did help. I am in the Midwest and it might be different in a hotter/drier climate.

It looks like the heat rash I can get from my PI grippers - back when I could actually ride for longer than an hour... but you said this was exposed skin so it isn't the same thing. Have you tried squirting a bit of water on your thighs from time to time?

[thekarens]

I haven't, but I'll put water squirting on the list of things to try too :-)

[OakLeaf]

I think the arm coolers would probably work better in a drier climate. They get waterlogged pretty quickly in humidity, the way I sweat. At that point they don't help cool me, but they definitely are no hotter than bare skin. I have tried taking them off when it was unbearably hot, and it did not help. :p When they're not waterlogged, it's uncanny how much cooler they feel.

[withm]

I get it too, but I typically get it under my shorts on the tops of my thighs. It looks just just like yours. It doesn't hurt, does not itch. And it goes away in a day or so. Since I put sun block on my whole legs, and only get the rash in the area covered by my bike shorts, I'm thinking that it is just a simple heat rash and that nothing really needs to be done. But if anyone has found a way to prevent it, or to make it go away faster, I'd love to hear.

[marni]

I recently started developing the same thing. Since the first time it showed up was with a new pair of shorts, I thought I might be developing an allergy to the silicone in the gripperbands or something like that. Took a baby benedryl, rinsed it off with cool water and put aloe vera on it and it was cleared up by the next day. Since I got it again with an old familiar pair of shorts yesterday, I guess it is heat rash and will start putting on an allergy cream before I put on the shorts- good to know what it is.

[Bike Writer]

Have you recently started taking any new medication? Sometimes medicine will make you hypersensitive to the sun and rashes even if you normally aren't prone to that.

[thekarens]

Have you recently started taking any new medication? Sometimes medicine will make you hypersensitive to the sun and rashes even if you normally aren't prone to that.

I started taking birth control and thyroid medicine about 2.5 months ago.

[Norse]

I get it too sometimes. Aloe vera gel helps. So do diaper rash products like Desitin.

[MommaB]

You may want to check with your physician if it continues. Some thyroid medications and birth control pills can cause users to have photosensitivity reactions.

[thekarens]

You may want to check with your physician if it continues. Some thyroid medications and birth control pills can cause users to have photosensitivity reactions.

Good to know

[Bike Writer]

I started taking birth control and thyroid medicine about 2.5 months ago.

For a brief time I was taking a med for my rheumatoid arthritis that had a warning about avoiding direct sunlight, careful as I was if I got sun it made me nauseous.

[luvmyguys]

I think the arm coolers would probably work better in a drier climate. They get waterlogged pretty quickly in humidity, the way I sweat. At that point they don't help cool me, but they definitely are no hotter than bare skin. I have tried taking them off when it was unbearably hot, and it did not help. :p When they're not waterlogged, it's uncanny how much cooler they feel.

I got the Craft arm coolers on the recommendation of the sage voices here, and last Saturday, they were much cooler when they were sprayed down. They worked great anyway (I could tell the difference when I took them off), but I noticed a positive difference when they were wet.

The only thing I had to get used to was the binding feeling on my arms, but the coolers worked as advertised.


I recently started developing the same thing. Since the first time it showed up was with a new pair of shorts, I thought I might be developing an allergy to the silicone in the gripperbands or something like that. Took a baby benedryl, rinsed it off with cool water and put aloe vera on it and it was cleared up by the next day. Since I got it again with an old familiar pair of shorts yesterday, I guess it is heat rash and will start putting on an allergy cream before I put on the shorts- good to know what it is.

I had something similar happen, in that I was getting some sort of rash right where the gripper bands were. The next time I was out, I noticed that I only had the problem on the top of my legs, and not the back side. I started using Body Glide where the grippers were, and haven't had any problems since. Guess it was chafing in the heat.

(Yours may still be heat rash. But that might be useful for someone else.)

[thekarens]

No grippers on those shorts, but still can't hurt to put it on the list of things to try.

[marni]

just a random thought but artificial sweeteners can cause a sun sensitivity- haven't had much burning since I quit using sugar and sweeteners.

I rode 50 the other day without the heat rash- I gooped up with everything balm (all natural bee wax based with eucalyptus,tea tree oil, aconite, rosemary, lavender aloe and calendula) as a base layer,and then layered sunscreen over that. It worked so will continue and see if it continues to help. I am a very salty sweater so that may be part of the problem as well.

Anyway, thought the thing about sweetener might help as well.

[Aggie_Ama]

Some of my shorts do that, it can get a little irritated on me. Maybe try Body Glide? I use that to help prevent chafing when I run and my big thighs try to rub. I also use it under seams of my sports bra because sometimes those rub.

[thekarens]

I should clarify that I'm getting the rash where nothing is touching it. Today the rash is worse after my ride. It literally felt like my thighs were frying and they are very pretty now. I did change the sunscreen. I tried Neutrogena baby sunscreen today. I'm considering just covering up the thighs and ditching the sunscreen. Sheila, you use the LG Neo shorts, right? I think I've read that they come down to or almost down to the knee?

[luvmyguys]

So here's what I was told today by one of the coaches - the heat rash starts to show up when your core starts to get overheated. I'm still trying to figure out how that happens, but it was at this point that I was handed a baggie of ice to stuff my bra with.

[thekarens]

So here's what I was told today by one of the coaches - the heat rash starts to show up when your core starts to get overheated. I'm still trying to figure out how that happens, but it was at this point that I was handed a baggie of ice to stuff my bra with.

That's interesting! I'll have to figure out a way to carry a bag of ice :-)

[ny biker]

That's interesting! I'll have to figure out a way to carry a bag of ice :-)

If your jersey has back pockets, you can put one there.

[OakLeaf]

So here's what I was told today by one of the coaches - the heat rash starts to show up when your core starts to get overheated. I'm still trying to figure out how that happens, but it was at this point that I was handed a baggie of ice to stuff my bra with.

Did the rash go away then?

[luvmyguys]

Did the rash go away then?

No, it's still there. Like I said, I'm not sure about the connection. Assuming that connection, I'm guessing that once it starts, it's there. That and with triple digit temps today, I wasn't going to cool down all that quickly.

[luvmyguys]

If your jersey has back pockets, you can put one there.

I had a bottle of frozen water in a jersey pocket and a freezer bag of ice stuffed into the front of the jersey.

[ny biker]

Word is that the pros use pantyhose. I don't know if they cut regular pantyhose into sections and tie the ends or if they use knee-highs, but apparently they put ice in them and then put the ice-filled nylons on their backs inside their jerseys. That way when the ice melts there is no plastic bag full of water to deal with.

[thekarens]

Did the rash go away then?

The last one went away a couple days ago. Rode 50 today and it came back with a vengeance

[BikeDutchess]

Word is that the pros use pantyhose. I don't know if they cut regular pantyhose into sections and tie the ends or if they use knee-highs, but apparently they put ice in them and then put the ice-filled nylons on their backs inside their jerseys. That way when the ice melts there is no plastic bag full of water to deal with.

I may just have to try this next time I have to lead my club ride. On Thursday it was 100 degrees when the ride started @ 6 pm, and even though it was only 15 miles and I was wearing a bandana with cooling beads, I had a tough time finishing.

[thekarens]

Word is that the pros use pantyhose. I don't know if they cut regular pantyhose into sections and tie the ends or if they use knee-highs, but apparently they put ice in them and then put the ice-filled nylons on their backs inside their jerseys. That way when the ice melts there is no plastic bag full of water to deal with.

Excellent idea.

[OakLeaf]

The last one went away a couple days ago. Rode 50 today and it came back with a vengeance

I was wondering if the ice made luvmyguys' rash go away. Although, come to think of it, ice baths have not made the heat rash under my socks go away.

[thekarens]

I was wondering if the ice made luvmyguys' rash go away. Although, come to think of it, ice baths have not made the heat rash under my socks go away.

Oopps missed that. My bad. That would have been cool if it had.

[Aggie_Ama]

Word is that the pros use pantyhose. I don't know if they cut regular pantyhose into sections and tie the ends or if they use knee-highs, but apparently they put ice in them and then put the ice-filled nylons on their backs inside their jerseys. That way when the ice melts there is no plastic bag full of water to deal with.

This is common to see in Texas. I think people use knee highs but I could see using the whole thing if you happened to have hose around.

[Aggie_Ama]

I wonder if those instant ice packs would work as well?

[GLC1968]

I used to have this problem when I lived in NC and was often riding in the hottest part of the day. For me, it happened on my thighs, regardless of the shorts, sunscreen or what was covered and what wasn't. Pouring ice water on my legs did nothing to stop it. Some days, it was so violent that they were huge welts for days and a full week before the discoloration went away.

As someone else mentioned, it's your core. Keep the core cool (ice in a buff on my head helped me) by whatever methods possible and you can reduce the effect. BUT, once it starts, there is no stopping it. It has to be prevented to work.

I used to feel this odd tingling feeling when it was happening...minutes later, the welts would start to appear. I was riding this past Saturday in the worst heat I've biked during the last 5 years and I felt the tingling again. Luckily, we were able to immediately move into a shady area and I doused myself with ice water and was able to avoid the reaction this time. I think it helped that relatively speaking...it wasn't THAT hot out this time.

PS - there were a couple of threads about this a few years back if you try searching for something like 'weird rash'.

[ny biker]

So, it's my turn. Last Sunday I rode about 68 miles on a hot sunny day. It was a long, slow ride with various stops for mechanical issues and missed turns as well as scheduled rest stops. Later that day I noticed some red, slightly puffy blotches on my legs, just below the where my shorts ended and just above my knees. At first I thought it was sunburn, but it didn't hurt. It didn't itch, either.

Today (Saturday) I did a 62-mile ride. It was not quite as hot, and though the sky was blue for most of the ride there were a fair number of clouds in the sky to keep the temps in the 80s, below average for July in the DC area. And after the ride I noticed the same red, slightly puffy blotches just below where my shorts ended.

Based on my extensive experience with contact dermatitis, I do not think this is a sunscreen allergy. If it was, I would be covered in an itchy rash, especially on my face.

But -- I also have a history of mystery hives, which my doctor has diagnosed as autoimmune hives. Most commonly this manifests as small red bumps that itch like crazy at first and then slowly fade over several days. Sometimes it is worse than that, with wheals that look like classic hives or angioedema. Anyway I started to experience a flare-up 2 days before the bike ride last Sunday, with small itchy red bumps that mostly have occurred above and below my knees.

So my first thought is that the red puffy blotches are related to the extra histamines that are in my system right now.

I started taking an antihistamine (Zyrtec) every day back in January, and this is the first time since then that I've seen more than an occasional random red itchy bump. Today I stopped at the store to get some Zantac, which is an H2 inhibitor, and I will start taking that to see if it helps the Zyrtec beat down this particular episode. I'm hoping that once these hives fade away then the red puffy patches will also stop appearing.

[thekarens]

That's interesting. For me the rash was completely flat.

[ny biker]

For me there is only a bit of inflammation, hardly noticeable. I think I only saw it because I've had similar bizarre-red-puffy-skin experiences. Like after getting a massage for lower back pain, my forehead was red and inflamed for hours afterwards, in the exact area where it rested on that donut-shaped pillow thing.