crotch on fire in the shower

[diamondcat]

anyone else experience stinging pain when water hits the girly bits down there after a ride?? or is it just me.
its extremely painful, any remedies?

[jusdooit]

Sounds like chaffing to me. Are you using a chamois cream? Also make sure your shorts fit well.

[Grits]

If your saddle isn't the right fit for you, your weight could be going on your soft tissue instead of onto your sitbones, where it belongs. You also might need a cutout. There are many threads on here about saddles including one comprehensive one that Muirenn keeps updated for us. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39475

[Reesha]

Aside from solving the problem to begin with, I always find A+D works well on chafed areas. You could apply the A+D (hydrophobic) prior to the shower, but the stinging sensation and actually getting some soap and water down there is probably going to help prevent infection.

[malkin]

Oh, definately ow.
You need a different saddle, and probably different shorts!

[Crankin]

I get that sometimes, if it's hot out and I've gone for a long ride. What seems to set it off is if I pee during the ride, that seems to irritate the delicate tissues more than normal. I may not feel it until I get in the shower, though. I do use chamois cream, but it doesn't always stop this.
My saddle is fine and I wear 2 different brands of shorts that I love. I just don't let the water hit me near those parts when this happens and definitely no soap near there, ever.
Tea Tree oil helps sooth this.

[laura*]

What seems to set it off is if I pee during the ride, that seems to irritate the delicate tissues more than normal.

Here's a "trick" I discovered at Burning Man:

Instead of wiping with TP after peeing, bring your water bottle and sacrifice some drinking water to instead rinse off any pee residue. The extra bonus is that there is no need to dry off because of the incredibly low humidity on the alkali dry lake bed.

There are two benefits:

Rinsing gets one cleaner than wiping - there are no salty residues left behind to irritate.

Not using TP at all means less frictional rubbing. With hourly peeing, the friction can rub you raw in the harsh desert environment!

Even away from the desert, when wearing cycling shorts, "not wiping dry" is an option. The shorts are probably damp (with sweat) anyway - a few extra drops of clean water won't make a difference.

[Crankin]

Makes a lot of sense.
I have tried various types of wipes, which make it worse.

[westtexas]

I know what you are talking about, it's happened to me too. I also have shorts that fit fine, a great saddle and use plenty of chamois cream. I have always wondered if it wasn't due to the temperature difference of my skin (really hot) and the shower water (lukewarm usually for me) - because it only happens in the summer time. Usually I just try to wash down there as thoroughly and quickly as possible and bite my lip and it goes away eventually. Haven't died yet

[Crankin]

Yup, and come to think of it, when I was on a tour in Spain, I had a severe case of this on the first day. It was 98 degrees out. I was fine until the lunch stop and I peed.
If it weren't for the fact that all of the hotel bathrooms had bidets, I never would have healed, along with the fabulous chamois cream the trip leader got me from an LBS. That nice cleansing stream of water cured me.

[emily_in_nc]

Used to get this frequently when I rode a saddle without a cutout. Once I switched to saddles with cutouts, it never recurred unless I made the mistake of trying (or test riding) a non-cutout saddle.

[diamondcat]

If your saddle isn't the right fit for you, your weight could be going on your soft tissue instead of onto your sitbones, where it belongs. You also might need a cutout. There are many threads on here about saddles including one comprehensive one that Muirenn keeps updated for us. http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39475

but my saddle IS a cut out saddle by Terry

[diamondcat]

also let me add my shorts fit perfectly, bike is fitted for me.
I use chamois but iguess not enough in that area...it never happened until now since its getting hotter outside and i ride for longer.

[diamondcat]

I get that sometimes, if it's hot out and I've gone for a long ride. What seems to set it off is if I pee during the ride, that seems to irritate the delicate tissues more than normal. I may not feel it until I get in the shower, though. I do use chamois cream, but it doesn't always stop this.
My saddle is fine and I wear 2 different brands of shorts that I love. I just don't let the water hit me near those parts when this happens and definitely no soap near there, ever.
Tea Tree oil helps sooth this.

wait, so you dont wash your crotch after rides????!

[diamondcat]

Yup, and come to think of it, when I was on a tour in Spain, I had a severe case of this on the first day. It was 98 degrees out. I was fine until the lunch stop and I peed.
If it weren't for the fact that all of the hotel bathrooms had bidets, I never would have healed, along with the fabulous chamois cream the trip leader got me from an LBS. That nice cleansing stream of water cured me.

I SO WISH bidets were an american thing too