help - painful bump/cyst in groin from saddle :(

[tan8856]

Hi

Im fairly new to biking and am having the same problem with both my road and mtb. After a ride my groin on one side is sore and over 24h a large painful lump appears under the skin which takes about a week to go. Im training for a tri and this is impacting how much biking i can do. I assume this is some internal injury from saddle rub. How can I prevent it from happening? I already wear cycle short but they are fairly cheap ones. Ive tried wearing 2 pairs which helped a lot but with summer on the way im going to get hot.

I think what i have is a saddle sore but its not an abrasion on the skin, my skin is fine, this is internal beneath the skin and feels like a cyst - a 2 or 3 cm swelling.

All advice welcome. Thanks

[ny biker]

Try doing a search on "cyst" and possibly also one on "saddle sores." There have been a few threads on the topic over the years, with various treatments and preventive measures. I think some folks have used a product called Lamosil (not sure of the spelling) during bike rides to help with saddle sores.

[OakLeaf]

I think it's called a Bartholin's cyst. That might help your search. It's not something I've had trouble with, so I can't really offer any suggestions, but I'm pretty sure there are women still on here who've had issues with them in the past. Hopefully one of them will chime in. Good luck and welcome to TE!

[tan8856]

Hi. Ive just googled Bartholin's cyst and they are located inside the vagina. My cyst is in my groin, where the top of my thigh meets my crotch. Ive been applying heat to it and it is slowly going down, am just worried it will appear again after more biking...

[Awsmile]

Hi. Ive just googled Bartholin's cyst and they are located inside the vagina. My cyst is in my groin, where the top of my thigh meets my crotch. Ive been applying heat to it and it is slowly going down, am just worried it will appear again after more biking...

Have you had any luck getting rid of the cyst/bump/boil whatever it is? Mine is in the same place and sounds the same. It appeared when we were on vacation and riding rented beach cruisers - flat seats, no cutout, lots of discomfort. Now it comes back every time I ride, and goes down if I'm off the bike for four or five days. I'm thinking of trying to modify a chamois by adding a piece of lambswool but can't say it's intuitive how I'd do that! Kind of an awkward spot! Any suggestions?

[azfiddle]

Not sure if it will work for you but a pro cyclist recommended a combo of something like neosporin, a cortisone cream and desitin for saddle sores. I had a problem after I did a 130 mile ride.... it took over a year to completely go away, but I eventually did try this combo.

[kermit]

During my never ending saddle search, I would get similar bumps. I found they were more like blood blisters under the skin. A hot bath and a needle and I was back riding. They are a pain for sure and I would look into a good fitting or different saddle. Also using preparation H helped, it is designed to help shrink inflamed tissue after all. I know an ironman that swims in the stuff.

[nuliajuk]

When I had to have some minor surgery in that area many years ago, I was told to mix distilled water 50/50 with hydrogen peroxide and daub it on the area with a cotton ball after every visit to the toilet. This prevented bacteria growth, which can be a problem in the groin area.
I use the same procedure for saddle boils and it seems to help them clear up faster.

[CAbikechick]

Does anyone have any recommendation on bike pants? I keep getting getting saddle sores/blisters in the area where the leg meets your body ( groin=ish). The padding on my pants covers the center but not that crease. I am wondering is any do?

[azfiddle]

After putting in about 400 miles on my bike in the last 2 weeks, yesterday I had a recurrence of a saddle sore issue in the exact same place as it occurred about two years ago. Although it was in the exact same spot as previously, this time it seemed to include an infected hair follicle- at least there was a small, tender surface bump as was as the lump(s) under the skin.

I happened to have a visit scheduled to a dermatologist today for something on my face (which she removed but thought was benign) and I asked her about the saddle sore. She took a quick look and suggesting giving me a cortisone shot (actually, two) to reduce the swelling. She said it would be 24-48 hours for results but I think it is already seems to be much improved since this morning.

I asked her about the remedy the pro cyclist suggested: antibiotic cream plus a cortisone cream plus diaper cream (zinc oxide) and she said that was a very good suggestion.

And as a bonus, she gave me an overall once over and said although I showed evidence of spending time in the sun, there was nothing to worry about at this time- just get a once a year checkup.

That's what I learned today. Hope that is helpful for someone else.

[zoom-zoom]

I get small bumps like this right in my pantyline area. And they seem unrelated to the # of miles I'm logging or bottoms I wear. Mine seem to be glorified zits. And what works best for the ones I get is old school benzoyl peroxide zit cream or alternating zit cream with antibiotic ointment.

[emily_in_nc]

I am very prone to these types of saddle sores. Sometimes they will come to a head and I can swab them with alcohol and take a sterilized needle to them, which sounds awful but can relieve a lot of pain and pressure if there is pus and blood in there. Sometimes no matter what I do they won't come to a head and become exquisitely painful and inflamed. Twice during two separate summers, I had my dermatologist do a cortisone injection, and that was a miracle cure! A couple of days later they totally shrunk up, and I could once again ride pain-free. I have had these on different bikes and with different shorts, and I think some people are just more prone to them than others (my DH gets them too). The more miles I ride, the more likely I am to get one. The one advantage of my very small weekly mileage right now while we're living in Mexico is that I don't get saddle sores.