Heat rash

[thekarens]

Ever since it started to get hotter I've been getting a rash on the top of my thighs between where the cycling shorts end and my knees.

I use sunscreen, but that's it. Usually takes a day or so and it goes away.

Thoughts/ideas?

[thekarens]

No, with a 1600 deductible and a 3500 out of pocket I don't go to the doc unless it's absolutely necessary.

[Skippyak]

Try a different sunscreen.

[OakLeaf]

I'm prone to heat rash too, although typically I get it under close fitting clothes (bra and socks, and kinesio tape) and only running, when I don't have the wind chill of the bike. Maybe try pouring water on your legs periodically to help them cool?

[ny biker]

Does it itch?

I agree that the place to start is a different sunscreen.

As a separate experiment, try an antihistimine (Zyrtec, Claritin or Allegra) and see if that makes the rash go away faster.

You might also find it helpful to search some reputable sites for info on skin rashes, hives, angioedema. Such as this one:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hiv...SECTION=causes

Ultimately you might find it helpful to invest in cycling clothes that cover more of your legs in hot weather, such as DeSoto leg coolers or Terry's summer knickers.

[thekarens]

Nope, doesn't itch. I'll try another sunscreen and if that doesn't work I'll try the antihistamine. I really should invest in the coolers. I'm just not convinced that they wouldn't make me even hotter.

[Catrin]

The coolers rock, and they do NOT make you hotter. I was suspicious about that last summer but bought a set of arm coolers - it did help. I am in the Midwest and it might be different in a hotter/drier climate.

It looks like the heat rash I can get from my PI grippers - back when I could actually ride for longer than an hour... but you said this was exposed skin so it isn't the same thing. Have you tried squirting a bit of water on your thighs from time to time?

[thekarens]

I haven't, but I'll put water squirting on the list of things to try too :-)

[OakLeaf]

I think the arm coolers would probably work better in a drier climate. They get waterlogged pretty quickly in humidity, the way I sweat. At that point they don't help cool me, but they definitely are no hotter than bare skin. I have tried taking them off when it was unbearably hot, and it did not help. When they're not waterlogged, it's uncanny how much cooler they feel.

[withm]

I get it too, but I typically get it under my shorts on the tops of my thighs. It looks just just like yours. It doesn't hurt, does not itch. And it goes away in a day or so. Since I put sun block on my whole legs, and only get the rash in the area covered by my bike shorts, I'm thinking that it is just a simple heat rash and that nothing really needs to be done. But if anyone has found a way to prevent it, or to make it go away faster, I'd love to hear.

[marni]

I recently started developing the same thing. Since the first time it showed up was with a new pair of shorts, I thought I might be developing an allergy to the silicone in the gripperbands or something like that. Took a baby benedryl, rinsed it off with cool water and put aloe vera on it and it was cleared up by the next day. Since I got it again with an old familiar pair of shorts yesterday, I guess it is heat rash and will start putting on an allergy cream before I put on the shorts- good to know what it is.

[Bike Writer]

Have you recently started taking any new medication? Sometimes medicine will make you hypersensitive to the sun and rashes even if you normally aren't prone to that.

[thekarens]

Have you recently started taking any new medication? Sometimes medicine will make you hypersensitive to the sun and rashes even if you normally aren't prone to that.

I started taking birth control and thyroid medicine about 2.5 months ago.

[Norse]

I get it too sometimes. Aloe vera gel helps. So do diaper rash products like Desitin.

[MommaB]

You may want to check with your physician if it continues. Some thyroid medications and birth control pills can cause users to have photosensitivity reactions.