Encounter with a saddle sore, new saddle & suggestions from a female pro cyclist

[azfiddle]

After my 210k ride in January I had some chafing and abrasions that healed in a few days. But a couple of weeks later I had my first serious encounter with a lump style saddle sore (complicated by also trying out a new saddle). It was near the crease along the panty line and like a lump under the skin- not apparently something that would drain.

Concurrently, I replaced my saddle a couple weeks after the long ride because it was starting to fall apart after 4 years and a lot of miles. I tried the Specialized Oura as a replacement. The shop measured me and suggested a wider model than I had been using - the measurements on the Oura are not the same as the Jett, but it was still physically wider. About the same time as i tried the new saddle, the saddle sore became prominent and painful, but I think there was already something there before the new saddle.

I took a few days off the bike, and by the time I went to the doctor's office and saw the PA, said, "looks like it's healing okay, call back if it gets worse". So I took a chance and rode again on the new saddle and guess what, it got worse.

I took another 5 days off (it started improving within a day) and traded the saddle for the 155mm version of the Oura that is closer to the 143 Jett. I rode 24 miles today and while it's still there, it's not getting worse again, so I think that might have been part of the problem.

Anyway- yesterday I was at a "meet and greet" event with a pro team (Team Cloud) training in Tucson, and I had a long and informative chat about treating saddle sores with one of the pros who told me she has really suffered from them at times. I don't think I will have to try her method this time (hopefully never!) but I thought I'd share what she recommended as helpful for her for treatment:

Prevention - what you probably already knew- use a chamois cream, Bag Balm etc.

Treatment - use a combination of Desitin diaper ointment, Neosporin anti-biotic and a cortisone cream. She said it seemed to help shrink the saddle sore even if it was under the skin and not something that looks like it will drain. She said she had never needed an antibiotic but knew people who had needed one. I shuddered when she told about starting the 500 mile multi-day Cascade Classic race- and "riding through it" - ouch!

Anyway- I hope that info may help someone else .

[Dogmama]

I had a saddle sore while having my annual gyn appointment. Turns out, the doc is an avid cyclist. He said to use a chamois cream every time, even for short rides.

[emily_in_nc]

I have had several chronic saddle sores that would just keep filling up with blood and pus over and over -- right on the infamous leg "crease" area. In two cases I eventually got fed up and asked my dermatologist for a cortisone injection, which provided immediate relief and healing.

When I was in Belize I got another one in basically the same place (sometimes it's on the right, sometimes left, but always in the same approximate place), and having no access to a dermatologist, I just kept draining it (pricking with a sterilized needle, squeezing, then putting a bandaid with antibiotic ointment on it), and it eventually went away on its own.

The past year back in the US I've put in a lot of miles and amazingly have had no saddle sores. There's no good reason why (shorts, saddles all same or similar), just good luck, I guess. And possibly riding in dryer, less humid conditions for the most part.

Saddle sores can s u c k it!

[yoshirider]

I just started to get this leg crease bump recently on my right side. I think it was from wearing an older pair of shorts combined with testing a new saddle. Does saddle tilt help with this or maybe rotating the saddle to one side slightly?

[azfiddle]

I didn't try any change in the title. I don't know if the new saddle I tried contributed to my problem. It has subsided considerably, but is not completely healed. Much less of a bump than before.

[emily_in_nc]

No more than a few days after posting above, I ended up with another saddle sore on the left side. Actually two bumps, very close together. Fortunately, they have stayed kind of small and haven't become a huge problem. I'm riding almost every day, so they really have no time to heal, but they have not become as bad as ones I've had in the past when I was riding less frequently.

[yoshirider]

I'm getting a fitting this week and I told my fitter about this bump. She recommended soaking a black tea bag in water and then applying the tea bag on the bump underneath. The tannins in the black tea is supposed to reduce inflammation.

[azfiddle]

Interesting tip for using the tea bag. My saddle sore is finally almost completely gone and hopefully I won't have another one...but I'll remember that anyway.

Sharon

[marni]

the tea bag treatment also helps for poison ivy around the mouth or eyes or anywhere you can't put the calamine stuff. Also good for sunburn and blisters.

[Stoker D]

I also developed a bump at the panty line discussed here. Turns out in my case it was not a swollen lymph node or
a saddle sore but a callus. I always use chamois cream but this time the area was painful. I didn't ride for a week
and then switched to a saddle with a shorter nose. Really helped "cure" my pain. Hope you get fitted with a
trained fitter and get the right saddle for your body type. Also watch out for seams in bike shorts! Finding the
right chamois (love Shebeest's) can make a difference in many women.

[PortlandKelly]

I'm dealing with a lump at the upper leg crease, panty line area. In the past, I would just wait until winter for it to heal since I wasn't riding so much. This time I decided to go see my dermatologist and she said it's a cyst. She injected it with a few drops of a steroid (triamcinolone). I'm praying this will heal it up!

[emily_in_nc]

I'm dealing with a lump at the upper leg crease, panty line area. In the past, I would just wait until winter for it to heal since I wasn't riding so much. This time I decided to go see my dermatologist and she said it's a cyst. She injected it with a few drops of a steroid (triamcinolone). I'm praying this will heal it up!

I've had that done twice, and it was the BOMB! I wish I still had insurance that covered this type of thing since I have a chronic sore (just a big inflamed boil that won't come to a head)! Hope yours is all gone very soon. When I got mine injected, within 2 days it was healed and didn't come back, at least that year.

Good luck to you.

[Grits]

If you are riding with an existing boil/sore, try covering it with a blister bandaid. Obviously, this won't work on soft tissue areas, but on the pantyline area it is ok. If the skin is dry and oil free, the bandaid will stick fairly well. If I am doing a long ride, I'll take an antiseptic wipe and some extra bandaids just in case I sweat it off.