Sore spots.

[UKcyclinggirl]

Hi everyone, I have been road cycling on my mountain bike since April this year and everything has been great.
I have found a comfy saddle with a cut out hole and have been using this since May and all has been fine until recently after doing a 26 mile ride I have developed small spots on the outer side of my lady parts nearest the groin.

They have been really sore and are quite lumpy. I did give one a bit of a lancing and it oozed out really horrible yellow stuff but has since felt alot better and seems to be healing.

I now have anther small one on the opposite side. I can feel the saddle pressing on them all the time which seems to aggrevate them. I was thinking they where blocked follicles and if so, what is the best way to prevent developing them?

I wear good padded shorts etc. but I think the saddle pressure is causing them I love my saddle and don't really want to change it.

[Aquila]

I had a couple problems that sound like yours a while back. I'd shaved the area (like a pants line shave) and then went for a long ride, and ouch!

They were like really big pimples or very tiny boils. And they hurt! I, too, lanced the two (they didn't seem that serious, and I wasn't going to wait six weeks to try to get a doctor's appt), and then used ample neosporin (a basic antibiotic cream/ointment) on them morning and evening, and they healed up.

From what I read, mine sounded like blocked follicles aggravated by the shaving and biking that day.

I gave up shaving the area totally, and once they healed up, I've had no repeats at all.

I used A&D ointment both before, on the ouchie ride, and since, regularly, so I have no idea if that had a positive, negative, or no effect.

Good luck with yours. I hope you feel better FAST, because even little sores HURT for riding.

[emily_in_nc]

I get these too. I have a huge "double" one (it's kinda long, like two saddle sores merged together) on the left, and a leftover small one on the right from last year. They take a LONG time to go away on me, if they ever do. I had a really bad one several years ago on the left, and it finally went away, but it took most of the winter off the bike to get rid of it! Hopefully yours will not be that long-lived.

[Warning: grossness ahead!]

If saddle sores like this do come to a head like your one did and you can lance them yourself (I use a sterilized needle) and get out yellow goop, then keep antibiotic ointment on them, they will usually heal, but mine often won't ever come to a head; they're just way down under the skin and are inflamed and sore but purple in color, not white, so there's no pus near the surface of the skin. And every time I ride, the saddle presses on them, and they're very uncomfortable, to be sure.

I had my doctor take a look at my bad "double" one a few weeks ago when I went for my yearly appointment. She said it was a sebaceous cyst and would have to be removed by a dermatologist. She didn't think it would go away on its own. So, if it's still around come January, I'll get it excised; I'm not willing to deal with this again next year. She said that healing time from the incision would be 2-3 weeks off the bike. I only ride on the trainer in the winter unless we have some really warm days, so I'll just have to plan on a break around that time.

Good luck - saddle sores are no fun at all!

Emily

[UKcyclinggirl]

Thanks for the replies. They do seem to have appeared after shaving, which I am not going to do again.
They are feeling alot better this morning but will have to see what they are like after a ride.
I am going to apply some vaseline to the area before my ride and see if it helps.

[OakLeaf]

I've never liked Vaseline as a lube (see the thread about Chamois Butt'r) but as long as you're applying petroleum products, why not use a triple antibiotic ointment? That's what I always use on sores like that (as soon as they appear) and it takes care of them promptly.

[UKcyclinggirl]

I've never liked Vaseline as a lube (see the thread about Chamois Butt'r) but as long as you're applying petroleum products, why not use a triple antibiotic ointment? That's what I always use on sores like that (as soon as they appear) and it takes care of them promptly.

I don't really now of any antibiotic creams here in the UK that you can get without seeing the doc.
The Vaseline did help though, the sore patch was much better today, alot less uncomfy.

[Cataboo]

My brother had one for years on his face cheek - didn't cause any problems, wasn't sore.

We had it removed by a plastic surgeon (since it was on his face), who got it all and it's never grown back. I think they have to remove all of the lining of the cyst or sometimes they will just come back.

When he's stressed, he's had a few more cysts pop up - these ones have gotten really painful & angry and ruptured that cheesey stuff... Then he takes some antibiotics and they go away.

I think it's best to get them removed because they can cause a ton of problems if they get infected or rupture.

[SentryGirl]

Hi all -
I am having similar problems as it sounds many of you have faced. My issues are in the inner area between my thigh and groin area. I have had nodule/boils under the skin but have since lessened. It's unbearable to be on a bike - and I just did a century ride this past weekend. I've been uncomfortable for at last 1 1/2 months.

I just got my bike fitted for me, changed to a narrower saddle, purchased top of the line bike shorts and covered myself in Chamois butter. Had been applying zinc oxide (10%) for a week before the century). After all that, I'm still in pain.

Went to the gyno today - as someone mentioned it could be a bacterial infection. She was stumped and thought the sores were on my pressure points. She recommended I go see a sports med doctor. But I see that many of you are going to the dermatologist?

What is the best doctor to go to? While I don't ride much now that the weather is changing, I don't want to be sidelined from even my bike trainer.

thanks for any advice!
Amy

[jasmine]

I too have problems with bumps, cysts etc--I am trying to wipe off the whole area after I ride with a diluted solution of tea tree oil---jury still out but it makes sense?