swimsuit question

[lph]

Hi all you swimmers out there

I've been swimming a lot more this winter than before, and my swimsuit while still snug is getting a little sloppy and needs replacing. I also recently noticed I had these strange marks below my armpits/above my ribs on both sides, small skin irritations. Today one suddenly turned into a full skin burn an inch wide and 3 inches long (OW! ) and I realized it was my swimsuit causing them. Is this maybe typical for a swimsuit getting sloppy? I'm getting a new one anyway, but I was wondering if I should be looking for one with a different cut or if I'll be fine once I get a new one.

[pinkychique]

Is your swimsuit polyester or lycra? I usually get some of the rub marks from polyester swimsuits. If it's lycra, my bet would be that it needs to be a bit smaller. As the suit wears out and looses it's elasticity, it will move a lot more. Usually swimmers will tell you to wear 1-2 sizes smaller than you measure, but if it's a polyester suit, then the tightness can actually make sores worse since they don't stretch much at all. I stick to a polyester suit though because they last so so so much longer than the lycra ones.

Hope this helps

[Irulan]

Lycra is the fiber that makes a suit stretchy. It's neither polyester or nylon, it's spandex. Lycra gets blended with other fibers (nylon, polyesters, cotton, wool, rayon etc) to create stretchy fabrics.
I think what she is trying to say is that you might have an allergy to either nylon, polyester or spandex. Elimination may be the only way to figure it out, and it will very difficult to find something that doesn't have spandex in it.

[Zen]

No Spandex here

[Serendipity]

No Spandex here

Zen, too funny!

[smurfalicious]

Lycra is the fiber that makes a suit stretchy. It's neither polyester or nylon, it's spandex. Lycra gets blended with other fibers (nylon, polyesters, cotton, wool, rayon etc) to create stretchy fabrics.
I think what she is trying to say is that you might have an allergy to either nylon, polyester or spandex. Elimination may be the only way to figure it out, and it will very difficult to find something that doesn't have spandex in it.

W00t! Lay it down goddess of the multiple sewing machines! I have to explain stuff like this to people at work all the time. I hate proofing apparel, I might as well do it all myself.

Anyway, it might not be an allergy to the fiber, it's most likely a combo of the poor fit and chemical evils. If you're swimming in a chlorinated pool, while you may not be allergic to chlorine, the chafed/broken skin is going to be much more sensitive and thus the likely cause of your rash.

Obviously you want to rinse your suit after swimming but make sure you don't wring it out because that puts a lot of wear and tear on the fibers. Gentle squeezes are good, wringing bad.

There are some brands that offer different lengths. I tried on a Speedo once and thought it was going to cut my crotchel area open. Then I tried the longer one and it was perfect. So if that's an issue for you look for that because that could be a source of the wear and tear on your suit.

TYR has a super cute new suit called the Lucky and it has flowers and playing card. Love it. Swim crooked as a dog's hind leg, but I love it.

[lph]

Hmm. Not sure of the fabric, will look it up, but it's a Speedo suit in their Endurance fabric. I really hate to dump it because I love the design (dark blue seguing up to medium blue in a kind of Matrix-pattern), but this rash is gonna kill me. I'd think it was the suit being too small, because I've had to struggle to get into it ever since I bought it, but I've used it without problems for over a year and it's fit beautifully once on. I have big shoulders from climbing, but surely that's common among swimmers too. So I think the size is right and it's just the material getting saggy some places and starting to shift a little.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Irulan]

60% Polyester/40% PBT Polyester. Import.

PBT is probably some proprietary polyester. I couldn't find the % of lycra.

[lph]

There are some brands that offer different lengths. I tried on a Speedo once and thought it was going to cut my crotchel area open. Then I tried the longer one and it was perfect. So if that's an issue for you look for that because that could be a source of the wear and tear on your suit.

This is interesting, cause in the name of science I tried on a friends swimsuit today. She has a Speedo suit in the same Endurance material that I have, in what the label said is the exact same size, just newer. But it was far too long for me! She's a bit taller so it fits her fine, but it wouldn't have fit me. Anyone know if the length is on the label too? I couldn't see any difference.

I'm a bit chary of buying a (gorgeous, smashing, cool) swimsuit from TYR over the net if sizes can vary that much. Don't know where I'd find that brand here otherwise.

[Wahine]

The rash you're getting is likely chaffing from the suit no longer fitting you well and not likely an allergy. I base this on the description of where the rash is. I get these all the time whe a suit doesn't fit me properly or wears out and it's just a matter of getting a better fit.

As for sizing issues. Every once in a while I've come across a suit that is supposed to be the right size and is way too long. I had this happen with a TYR suit, I bought it without trying it on because I've bought the same model many times and I know my size. The suit was too long and when I held it up to another suit, the body was a good 3 cm longer than my other worn out suit!! So I would encourage you to go someplace where you can try them on or make sure you find out if you can return it in a sizing issue situation. That's maybe a long shot.