Dealing with a terrible underwear sore right now. You know the kind you get from riding right where your leg attaches to your body, right where the hem/seam of your underwear is, right where there is a tendon or something that causes you to get those pressure sores or whatever they are. The sores look just like raised bumps, maybe a little red or white and are terribly painful when you ride, put pressure on them, or have your underwear cut into them. Supposedly they are ‘boils’ that some people say you have to pop to feel better, I have only had one that I could pop (the rest went away on their own when they had enough time where they weren’t irritated). The one I popped just leaked a clear liquid. The one I currently have (got it Thursday) may be one that pops too as it feels like it might but it isn’t to the surface enough.
I thought this style of underwear I bought was gonna help. I has big ‘bands’ of soft fabric around the leg holes with no seams in that area. At first they seemed to help prevent them I thought but it seems now that I just got lucky for a bit not to get them cause every style of underwear I own I think has caused it.
So what style of underwear do you use to help prevent these? What else do you do to prevent them? And if you do have one, what’s the best way to get rid of it or find a way to stop them from hurting, especially while riding?
Not looking forward to tomorrow’s ride.
Thanks!
Maybe Wear boy short underwear? or men’s boxer briefs?
This is a common problem for runners, and they’re the ones who taught me the solution.
For healing an existing sore: diaper rash ointment. Anything with zinc oxide in it is fine–Desitin, Balm X, whatever. Try to get the area some air–for example, sleep with a clean, dry towel between your legs.
To prevent sores, find the right underwear (you’re already on that), evaluate whether the saddle is contributing, and consider a variety of anti-chafing products to apply as a preemptive measure. Petroleum jelly, body glide, Bag Balm (which is basically petroleum jelly + lanolin + a mild antiseptic), baby powder, give them a whirl until you find one that works.
Also, just speaking from personal experience–on the rare occasions that I’ve experienced this, it was because I was riding crooked/with too much weight in one stirrup.
Go commando. Or wear compression shorts instead of undies. As soon as I stopped wearing undies, that problem which plagued me regularly, went away.
Theres a product for runners called “that Butt Stuff” that I bought that’s awesome. Monistat also makes a chafing cream .
Find the right underwear. I’ve tried several types (endurance and long riding camping trips). My favorite is seamless compression shorts, usually sold for cycling. The padded compression shorts with chamois lining are nice too. Also, Body Glide is great.
Pant liners -no seams like these http://www.onestopplus.com/Product.aspx?PfId=109169&ProductTypeId=1&affiliate_id=049&affiliate_location_id=01&mr:trackingCode=3D84472A-654C-E211-9A4A-90E2BA0278A8&mr:referralID=NA&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=24321758035&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=49027048915 , or commando.
Paula
Ditch the underwear.
I wear something like this: http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1C1LENN_enUS465US465&biw=1241&bih=577&tbm=isch&tbnid=_guT3lLijqawkM:&imgrefurl=http://www.zodee.com.au/berlei&docid=LHs-3uKh0sIjxM&imgurl=http://media.zodee.net/products/34182-22497-150-berlei-thigh-shaper.jpg&w=150&h=150&ei=OoTpUOTIB5LQ8wS4hYDQBA&zoom=1 with a lower waist, wont ride in anything else now! I never had the problem you have, but my problem was underwear trying to creep up behind, drove me crazy! Now I can have a peaceful ride!
Cotton kills! If you are going to wear undies, go for something sleek and slippery as suggested.
I second the diaper rash cream. I used to have a terrible time with sores like that when hunting, exercising hunt horses, & riding my own. The right undies make all the difference!
Skip the undies. Except at shows. At shows, wear undies just in case you split out your breeches or have to go to the hospital. <—experience.
Under Armour compression shorts. http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/womens-ua-ultra-7inch-compression-short/pid1216685-001
13 replies, and no one has mentioned “Invervess”!
[QUOTE=Janet;6766958]
13 replies, and no one has mentioned “Invervess”![/QUOTE]
Exactly! Which is where I learned to use anti-chafe cream. I swear by it!
http://www.rei.com/product/628122/paceline-products-chamois-buttr-8-oz
I’m with the group that rides FREEE… except on crankypants Friday. Then I need something to get in a twist. 
If you aren’t comfortable riding sans panties, perhaps try either a thong (there are really nice workout style ones that feel a bit less like butt floss) or compression shorts.
BuddyRoo… know how you feel. Got bucked off and my pants caught on a sprinkler head. Breeches ripped, panties did not. I was hanging upside down by my panties. My Dad finally had to cut them off, much to my 12 year old mortification.
Jockey microfiber thong worked for me.
I don’t think I’d pop the “boils” if I were you. I wouldn’t accidentally want to get an even worse infection there from dirty fingers poking at it!!
Like others have said, the spanx type things work nice. Or you could google no panty line underwear and find some super soft styles of underwear that are really comfy.
I had this problem too. Boy short underwear helped. But when I got my really awesome custom Antares saddle the problem miraculously disappeared and has not returned. I tried all sorts of creams, lotions, underwear, and expensive painful laser. It NEVER occurred to me that it was my saddle but that’s what finally fixed the problem.
