saddle sore - HELP!!

[rebekah]

All right! Got my first saddle sore. Not bad . . .yet, though getting worse. Top skin rubbed off, but just swollen and red. Not *****. Doesn't have a head. Kinda looks like a bee sting, but hurts!! Hurts to sit, and after sitting a while, hurts initially when walking, then I can forget about it. Haven't cycled since Tuesday morning - first triathlon race for the season is May 11th, so I'm panicking. How can I stay off the bike that long? Anything to speed up the healing process? I've heard of lancing (ouch!! Infection?!), and also just keeping it dry with baby powder, while others say Neosporin. Any suggestions? I need to get back on the bike soon, but don't want to make it worse. Been there for almost 2 weeks now. HELP!!!

[Nanci]

Can you tell if it's an ingrown hair? Otherwise, I'd just put triple antibiotic or whatever you have, or bag balm, or Brave Soldier. (Well, I'd do that anyway.) I don't stay off the bike when I get any sore spots down there, just put some goo on it and keep going. They heal in time. (I'd say even the worst sores I've ever gotten, where skin was actually rubbed off, after a 27 hour ride, healed in about a week and a half.) If it's an ingrown hair, I "do surgery" on it and pop it out. Was it caused by a particularly long ride? I usually get less irritation if I shave down there the night before a big ride, so the hairs don't have a chance to sprout out during the ride. I used to avoid shaving for a few days, but that seemed to cause more ingrown hairs.

Nanci

[CorsairMac]

get one of the steriodal cremes, it should help to reduce the swelling. Do you know what caused it? You didn't say but you need to find that out so you can prevent it from happening again.