After some riding activity at the weekend, I seem to have acquired a new ‘friend’ in the form of saddle sore located where my leg finishes and my lady bits start. Just on the elastic of my knickers. Ouch!

I know it’s totally gross and I probably wouldn’t advertise it if it werent’ an ‘anonymous’ forum.

but the question is: what to do? will it go away? do I need to pop it?(recoil in horror at the thought) Do I need t stop riding?

yerk yerk yerk

Use boxer rather than knickers… it might help.

and in a pure STW fashion
This thread is useless without pictures :-p

About to be inundated with “it’s nowt without photos”

germolene and lots of it

if you ride a bike then germolene before the ride and sudocream during

it’ll go away unless it’s an in growing hair in which case you’ll need to do some rooting around

i feel ill

believe me you don’t want to see it. as I said it’s MEGA GROSS

it just doesn’t go with my otherwise pretty-self ;0)

LOL

Is it a boil or a sore that’s been chaffed? I’d try some Sudocreme or similar for a bit, that always seems to work in that, errm region.

If it’s chaffing on yer pants, it’s commando or racing (short type) grundies for a few days perhaps.

Can’t believe it, giving ladies advice on underwear on an Internerd forum – just don’t tell SWMBO!

And DEFINITELY don’t tell Barnes!! 🙂

Everyone gets saddle sore when they first start. You just have to get through it and eventually it will stop happening.

jackthedog – Member
Everyone gets saddle sore when they first start. You just have to get through it and eventually it will stop happening.

When it gets up to yer neck 🙂

err yeah except I’m not just starting. I’ve been riding a lot, to say the least, for years and never had anything like this. even after some 12hours in the saddle on several occasion.

new fancy knickers maybe 😉

if it were me i’d
a, be very confused as I dont posses ‘lady bits’…… 😉
b. off to visit my GP……. if it needs attention, especially in that erm, region, i’d be wanting it attended to in a ‘sterile’ stylee….., not prodding around with a needle i’d wafted through a candle flame….. 😯

So you mean I shouldn’t put on dark music, turn the lights down adn burn candles and do some ‘self surgery’ ?

You have my sympathy MrsMugsy. I recently experienced saddle sores and, let me put it this way, the seasons changed and they didn’t clear 😥

Do not ignore it like I did!! Eventually I had to visit my GP several times for lots of tablets and lots of cream and they are proving to be rather obstinate. I will not say any more 😳

E-mail in profile, don’t want to be too specific on here!

err yeah except I’m not just starting. I’ve been riding a lot, to say the least, for years and never had anything like this. even after some 12hours in the saddle on several occasion.

My bad, re-reading your first post, I have no idea why I assumed you were a newbie.

Aye , you’re scaring me!!! do I need to pop it with lots of desinfectant?

Give it a squeeze, job done.

saddle sores aren’t gender specific so no need to be bashful. If it’s no bigger than pea sized I would say you can treat it yourself. Keep the area as clean and dry as possible. For treatment of existing sores I find anti-acne medication to work best. It dries them out and clears them up, just as they would spots on your face. You should take a few days off the bike.

Prevention is the next part. What has caused it to appear in the first place? New saddle? shorts? riding position? Any of these (and a range of others which might mean pressure and chafing in areas not used to it) might trigger saddle sores. So look at those things first. The other things are just general good hygiene and common sense. Always wear clean shorts, always use chamois cream, don’t sit around in damp dirty lycra after a ride, clean/wash asap after a ride.

I used to get a saddle sore persistently – it’s not a matter of M/WTFU and they’ll go away as suggested above. If you ignore it it’s likely to just get worse and then get really serious. Give it a week of self treatment, and if it hasn’t helped seek professional advice. Once it’s clear address the cause of the problem – saddle, shorts, position, hygiene.

Good luck, they are a literal pain in the arse!

Sam

In all seriousness I would take a visit to the your GP. If its an abscess then it will require prompt attention and if not you will still probably need some kind of topical or oral antibiotic. Due to the aerea it will be more prone to infection. and no I’m not a woman! 😕

Owww 🙁

is it caused by new saddle / shorts or something? Like mentioned above, I’d consider changing type of knickers for a bit – will shorts avoid chaffing elastic?

I’m lucky enough not to have ever had anything like, so you have my sympathy.

I’ve just had one too. Months off the bike followed by half a dozen rides in the last week or so.

Despatched it last night and it went with a satisfying crack… then I bled like a slaughtered goat.

I hope that this helps.

Without Pics I cannot diagnoses it. 🙂 Chaffing is one thing but I have recently started getting boils in the area. Nowt I have tried has stopped it – Antibiotics clear them up but they reoccur.

Most likely it is not to do with hygiene – its Staf. Aureus which is normally present on the skin not E coli from your botty.

I have tried – padded lycra, cotton grundies, padded saddles, racy saddles etc and not found a solution. Mrs TJ uses “big granny pants” in cotton which she reckons helps. silk underwear might be best.

GP if it doesnt go in a few days

So you mean I shouldn’t put on dark music, turn the lights down adn burn candles and do some ‘self surgery’ ?

LOL. for once I am rendered speechless……. 😳

Well I shall advice not to use antibiotics if you can avoid it. Bacterias are getting more and more resistant to it. So it might work this time, but be useless the next one.

You can try to bath it in salted water. That would help. And If it does not go in the next couple of days consults your GP as it might be something nasty (sorry).

GP, or random advice from internet weirdos….tricky decision…

I think I have to own up and admit that I went riding on saturday… It was just a short ride (as in really short, like 10k on the road, to and from the village). But because I put my son in his bike seat for the first time and basically went for a pootle, I didn’t treat it as a ‘ride’ and was… (say this in a really small voice) was wearing jeans… sorry sorry don’t hit me . I think the lycra gods are punishing me for treason.

Vodka and a needle.

Use the vodka as a joint anaesthetic and sterilising fluid. Then set about it with the needle and some proper hard squeezing.

Just as the coldest hour is just before the dawn, the pain is most excrutiating just before it bursts. May take 2 or 3 evacuations before it gets the message.

Once the discharge slows, pack it with Germoline or Savlon.

Disclaimer: this worked for me. Be prepared that it might not work for you, in which case you may need to see a doctor in which case may i advise that you don’t tell him that a bloke on an internet forum told you to do it. And definitely don’t give him my name.

Knickers? Under cycling shorts? Cycling shorts with chammys are made to be worn without anything else underneath (AFAIK) That could well be your problem. Good quality shorts and lashings of pre-ride savlon (if it’s going to be a long ride) has always been fine for me.

Just as the coldest hour is just before the dawn, the pain is most excrutiating just before it bursts.

You’re not **** wrong. I nearly cracked a tooth.

I wasn’t going to mention my very own little 4077 M*A*S*H routine last night… but somebody else started it.

No knickers under my cycling shorts but definitely under my work trousers while i’m seating at my computer trying not to burst out laughing reading jonv post.LOL

I think we’re all talking about wearing knickers while off the bike DONK 🙂

I’ve had loads of these if you’re talking about tiny little boils which develop.

Most likely it is not to do with hygiene – its Staphylococcus Aureus which is normally present on the skin not E coli from your botty.

correct.
They are caused by excessive sweating (apparently, so my GP said).

What I have found to be effective is Hibi Scrub. Get a bottle of this :

it’s anti microbial skin cleanser. I coat the undercarriage of my pants with the stuff before riding – I’ve also found that wearing padded shorts makes things worse as I sweat more in them, therefore only wear padded shorts in winter time when it’s really cold.

Also go see your GP and ask about Fucidin ointment, it’s what I’ve been using and it kind of works ok. Fucidin ointment.

Fusidic acid is only effective on gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus species and Corynebacterium species.

I find that using both seems to keep them at bay, only use the fucidin when you have to, like when a vistor turns up that proves stubborn to shift. use it on morning, noon and night ’till it goes away.

Be very careful if you decide to lance it… make sure everything which goes near it is very clean, ie use the hibiscrub. I lanced one before and it grew into a cyst which then had to surgically removed. Not a pleasant experience and nor was not being able to cycle for six weeks in the middle of summer.

hope that helps a bit,
Kev

similar thing after a few 24 solo efforts in the past (but obviously not the “ladies parts” issue).

Usually it was fine to wash with disinfectant/anti bacterial soap, use a good chamois cream and to be asiduous about clean shorts etc. also used talc when not riding to keep area dry. This worked fine for all except one time (24 solo followed a few days later by a big epic day ride) woudn’t shift so went to GP – who hadn’t a clue and made up the name “folicosis” (lit. infected folicles) and prescribed antibiotics carried on the anti bacterial soap etc. routine with the antibiotics and it cleared up (but not sure what really helped most).

Knickers off for home surgery though. You’ll never get the stains out otherwise.

Thanks for all the tips. I’m actually scared of the whole thing. looks like i’ve developed a third nipple in the wrong place. my ever encouraging husband has suggested that maybe I’m growing udders.. (shudder).
I’m p*ssed off with myself for going riding on satuday wearing jeans when it was really hot and being me i couldn’t just ‘cycle’, I had to peg it, timetrial style and got very sweaty. silly girl.
after sundays’ 60k on the road, it turned black and now it’s white. LURVELY!! ok, maybe i’ll stop with the details.
I’ll see how it goes and be responsible and see a GP.

I have a poison pump, bought somewhere abroad a few years ago.
Has a selection of suction cups & vacuum syringe.

Afterward’s put some aftershave on it.

Nice hot bath – if it pops easily thats fine – don’t squeeze it hard – causes scar tissue and might push the infection deeper.

thing is that staph boils can turn very nasty. Google for Kevin Randleman’s staph infection pics if you need further evidence 🙂

Both Mrs 83 and myself now have several large + ugly/manly 😉 scars where we got very nasty staph infections. After long-term courses of anti-biotics and religious washing of towels and bedding we have been clear for 6 months (touch wood!).

What I’m trying to say is go to the docs sooner rather than later.

FWIW our infections all started with a red sore circle 1 inch across, round an otherwise tiny pimple.

Be careful when using HIBI scrub as some people can be sensitive to it. This product is commonly used in operating theatres for “scrubbing” before procedures, and I use it on a daily basis for the before said purpose. It may work well for your problem, although I have never used it on such a delicate area and hopefully will never have to! Test it on the inside of your thigh for a day or so and If you develop an eczema type reaction leave it well alone!

Trip to the GP then…..

husband has suggested that maybe I’m growing udders..

followed by a trip to the divorce courts 😆