Saddle Sores

[Jiffer]

Yes, another thread about saddle sores. I know there was one recently and that what prompted me to get some A&D ointment today. I was already having some issues with soreness under the labia (sorry so graphic!), but now I'm also experiencing chafing around the outside in a few places. So, I have the A&D on right now, but I'm wondering what the "procedure" is. Those of you who use A&D, what do you do? Seems like a good thing to have on as much as I can stand it during the day with regular clothes on, but I would imagine mostly at night. Basically, as much as possible to promote healing.

And then I figured I'd put some on before a ride (duh!), but also with Chamois Buttr? Or is it fine all by itself? I'm looking into other products to maybe use in place of Chamois Buttr. I've been reading about DZNuts and Nubutte, both with natural ingredients that help promote healing as well as lubrication to prevent further irritation.

Any thoughts on any products are welcome. I'm leaning toward Nubutte right now. It does seem so expensive, though. $20 for 3 oz, but I read you use less than most chamois creams. Does this even out the price difference? Does anyone know? DZNuts is about the same price for the same quantity.

[ilima]

Messy, but I made up a batch of Keith Bontrager's chamois cream as mentioned in Outside magazine. Vaseline is the base, so the stuff isn't water-soluble. I apply in generously to the areas where I need it, and the stuff works.

Tub o' vaseline (13oz)
1oz triple antibiotic
1oz hydrocortisone
1oz lanolin (found in the breast feeding section of drugstores/wally world)

[OakLeaf]

Give me a few days here for a review of Nubutte. I just got a tub of it, but haven't had a chance to ride. I was going to do the club ride today but I got a call last night that one of the aerobics instructors needed a sub this morning As soon as I get a chance to use it (and do the laundry - an essential part of the review!) I'll post my impressions.

ETA: ilima, I definitely would not apply those ingredients regularly! Healing active saddle sores is one thing, but not as a chamois cream to use every ride. Cortisone thins the skin which is already thin in that area anyhow, and it is also absorbed through the skin - in small occasional amounts that's not a problem, but regularly it could be. And as others have said, there's no reason to use an antibiotic when you don't have a stubborn infection, it just kills the natural flora down there and breeds resistant bacteria.

[han-grrl]

I use diaper rash stuff for some prevention

as well as Preparation H...i read it in Bicycling once - i guess it has some kind of shtuff in it to reduce inflammation, i find it does help make them go away...

[Jiffer]

Thanks for the replies. I'd love to wait for the review of Nubutte, but I'm doing a century next Saturday and would like to get something before then, so I just ordered some today and will have to try it myself. Thanks for the comments on not using Cortisone, etc. every day. Makes sense. I guess that's what I like about the idea of Nubutte. It has healing properties about it, but all natural, so I'm guessing you CAN use it every day?

I'd still love to hear other comments. I know someone said they were trying DZNuts and I'd love to hear how that is going.

I do feel like my soreness and chafing are better since using A&D as of yesterday. Haven't ridden yet, but have two long rides over the next two days.

[Jiffer]

A&D is definitely helping heal my sores. Yay! I was going to get a chance to test it out today on a long ride, but my friend fell at mile 13. Went to the hospital instead. Luckily, a friend came with sweat pants and flip flops for my other friend and I so we didn't have to hang out at the hospital with cycling shorts and shoes on! I wanted to get out of my shorts asap. Not only did I have the A&D on, but the Chamois Buttr, so I was nice and greased up down there! Nice! Tomorrow we're doing 65, so I'll report my saddle sore progress after that.

So far, I'm glad I bought A&D.

[ilima]

It's the Vaseline (petrolatum) and lanolin. Those are the key ingredients in the KB recipe & A+D because they're not water soluble so won't wear off when you sweat.

Glad your friend is okay & that she had a well-fitting helmet to protect her noggin.

[Jiffer]

It's the Vaseline (petrolatum) and lanolin. Those are the key ingredients in the KB recipe & A+D because they're not water soluble so won't wear off when you sweat.

Glad your friend is okay & that she had a well-fitting helmet to protect her noggin.

Thanks for your comment about my friend. She's doing remarkably well and cracking the rest of us up. It was scary for a while. Regarding KB, I haven't heard of this one. Can you get it at a regular store like A&D? Does it look, feel or smell any differently? The one thing I'm not thrilled about A&D is the smell stays on my hands after I use it. It's worth it, but I'm wondering if KB is better in that regard.

[OakLeaf]

The one thing I'm not thrilled about A&D is the smell stays on my hands after I use it.

You know what? The smell stays on your cycling kit after it's been in storage for 12 years. I exaggerate not.


ETA: still haven't had a chance to try it out for real, but preliminary observations on Nubutte:

(1) When I opened the tub it had a strong minty smell. I hadn't noticed peppermint on the ingredients list before, but there it is. Hmmmm, I thought. I smeared some on its intended destination - if it burns, better find out now than right before a long ride! It didn't burn or even tingle. So far, so good.

(2) It claims healing properties and says it can be applied anywhere on the external skin. I'd just developed a sore on my lip. What the heck, I thought, and put some Nubutte on it before I went to sleep. Woke up in the morning with the sore completely gone. So far, VERY good. Years ago I used a salve made by a local woman that included olive oil, calendula and comfrey leaf, and it was really great for saddle sores; those ingredients are included in Nubutte.

[DebTX]

I'm an OB nurse so I'm not embarrassed to be graphic about the nether regions (but feel free to skip if you are!)

Been struggling a lot with this especially when we ride on "chip and seal" (rough surface) roads. The irritated tissue has been in many different places (inner labia, outer labia, etc, depending on how I was sitting I suppose.) I tried antibiotic ointment the first time it happened (didn't seem to help), and I've iced my perineum after my rides to diminish swelling and numb the pain (provides temporary relief but little else). Today I tried a different approach based on something DH told me: He said, "Deb, when I ride I have to 'rearrange things' down there every now and then to stay comfortable." Now, we know men 'rearrange things' down there as a way of life, but for women, it's rarely necessary. But on the bike, we have all those delicate folds of tissue and that's where some of my probem was coming from.

When DH went through radiation treatment at MD Anderson, they gave us a huge jar of Aquaphor ointment to use on his burned skin. Before my ride today, I coated my perineum with it (very greasy stuff, admittedly) but I found that the ointment lubed things up a lot down there so all I had to do was "ooch and scootch" a bit on my saddle, and it rearranged my parts whenever I felt a bit of pressure. Voila - I got off the bike, took a shower and NOTHING hurts!

Now, one time is not "proof" - it might've just been a lucky day. But I'm going to keep trying it. It can't hurt. It contains petrolatum and lanolin alcohol (and I had to look up what lanolin alcohol is: Lanolin Alcohol = Highly-refined fatty alcohol emollient, derived from lanolin, rich in skin-softening cholesterol.)

Thought I'd share...

Deb

[ilima]

Sorry, KB=Keith Bontrager, the recipe I posted earlier in the thread.

I think the Vaseline and lanolin are the key ingredients. If you didn't want to use the hydrocortisone & triple antibiotic, just get a tub of vaseline (get the powdery scent if your worried about a funky odor) and lanolin. The lanolin I found is called Lansinoh and is marketed for breastfeeding mothers. Works nice as a lip gloss, too!

[ilima]

Voila - I got off the bike, took a shower and NOTHING hurts!

That's what I notice using a Vaseline-based homebrew chamois cream. I peel off my shorts, get in the shower and no burning sensation from something being chafed raw.

[Jiffer]

Thanks ladies for your posts. Well, today I finally did a long ride with A&D. I put that directly on all the important areas, using a tissue this time, which seemed to work well. No smell on my hands. Then I put Chamois Buttr in my shorts. I rode 65 miles in very humid weather. I am happy to report all is well so far. I do have Nubutte coming, so I'll give that a whirl. However, it's not cheap so, depending on how much one actually uses and how expensive it ends up being ... and more importantly how well it works, I may look into Aquaphor. Never heard of it, so I guess I'll Google it. And possibly the KB concoction, which sounds very inexpensive. Yet, what I'm doing right now might be just fine. But at least I have some options to try if I feel the need to. I'm doing a century on Saturday, so that will be a really good test day.

Regarding "moving the parts around". This is something I have read on this site before, but never think of it when I'm stopped. I only think of it while I'm actually riding and that just, somehow, doesn't work! (Tried it today while drafting ... at the BACK of the pack! I really do feel like I'm having more issues lately with getting comfy on the saddle. It seems that all of a sudden my "left side" is just not situated right and I find myself moving around on the saddle in an attempt to fix it and rarely do I feel I have really fixed it. And then if I do, I end up out of the saddle and starting all over again when I sit back down! Anyways, I do have to try to remember to work on adjusting things more when I'm actually stopped and see if that helps.

[bikerchic]

Okay so it I have to admit it's been a very long time since I've done a long enough ride on my bike to have my neither parts hurt, but I do remember having a problem from time to time. When I had an actual sore I would after my ride shower and put Neosporen on the sore, usually by the next ride it would be healed up.

Now here is where memory escapes me because I used the Chamios Butter as well before every ride but I only put it on my chamios not on me, however and of course it would get on me.

Are you using it on yourself or your chamios? Am I nutz? Oy

[ilima]

Are you using it on yourself or your chamios? Am I nutz? Oy

Both, but not all over the chamois or myself, just where I need it. I haven't had any girly bits issues since I switched from a cut-out type saddle (pinched!), and my issues have mostly been with chafing near the bikini line.