RX for Saddle Sores

If this post looks familiar it's because it's a massive update of an old post. I tried to update it one too many times, and it just got confusing and had become obsolete when Triclosan was banned, Lysol Laundry Sanitizer became available again, and  Dial came out with a new foaming soap I love because it is full of glycerine, which is a moisturizer that is oil, so it will never dry and works wonderfully to keep your chamois interface well maintained. So, without further adieu...

The emergence of saddle sores is often met with macho bravado, and this is a HUGE mistake. Often times, and this was certainly true in my case during MIBM, these are not sores at all, but crushing and tearing wounds that create permanent scars and injury which never fully heal. Such wounds will forever limit your saddle time, and deserve an all-out, maximum remedial effort.

There are distinctions to be made between tearing/crushing wounds, sores/boils attendant with infected pimples, or hair follicles, and chaffing or pressure soreness.You may well need the help of a really GOOD friend to address pimples and in-grown hairs (a surprisingly common problem btw, and look like pimples). Huggies wet-wipe bum wipes for babies are a great idea in general, and will help keep the area very clean and sanitized. You'll be shocked at how much you've been leaving behind after using Huggies, or any other wet bum wipe.

Impossible to find, now back in force killing COVID-19

Of course, the best injury is one that never happens, and to that end here are some good ways to prevent saddle sores.

1. Clean and Sterilize your shorts, chamois and seat. Never use bleach on your shorts, or anything else with Lycra for compression. Bleach kills Lycra! Your shorts will end up ruined. Jerseys, headsweats, etc are much more tolerant of mild bleaching, but much better to use Lysol Laundry Sanitizer.  Yes, it kills COVID-19.
   
2. Wash you bottom side with a good antibacterial soap, like Dial Complete, which contains glycerin (same stuff they put in hand sanitizers like Purell) to moisturize, or for problem areas, use  chlorhexidine gluconate soap like Hibiclens to sterilize your skin for 6-8 hours. Use this RX for road rash as a general guideline. Wallgreen's soap is cheaper and smells better than Hibiclens, but both are excellent. Yes, it too kills COVID-19. The Chinese bought a million gallons of it from Canada to combat COVID-19.
   
3. Keep skin in tear-prone areas elastic by using petroleum jelly based Neosporin, brand name or otherwise. Lotion dries out and doesn't kill bacteria.
   
4. Keep your bottom side dry and ventilated for boils or infections. Save Neosporin for time in the saddle as it will suffocate the wound and retard healing. Apply Hibiclens every 6 hours.
5. Use an alternative short with a different kind of chamois, different shaped seat, or some combination of these to change the pressure points on your bottom.
6. Try a seat with a center channel void to increase ventilation to promote drying and cooling, although at 185lbs, I find a full-contact area seat to be better. 
7. Buy better shorts, and BIB shorts with high compression so they stay put and protect you. The best I have found to date are the Pearl Izumi PRO bib shorts. I can do 2-3 metric centuries in a week with these and rides of 70-85 miles with no problems.
   

Once the sore spot develops significantly, you either need to avoid putting further stress on it, or get off the bike. For boils, use max sterilization protocols, and turn everything up louder than everything else. I caught my boil very early, and stayed off the bike for 5 days, as I also was dealing with a tearing wound.

Dial Complete antibacterial foaming soap

I have not tried talc, cornstarch, or Baby Powder, but have it on good authority that these often work better than chamois butter, lotion, or Utter Butter. I used Utter Butter, and wasn't impressed. Palmer's coco butter lotion was still there and still slick at the end of a bunch of 60 mile rides.

If boils blister, you can pierce with a sterile needle. Using a hemostat and needle, dip the needle and end of hemostat in a small tray/dish of 99% alcohol, and then light on fire with a butane lighter. Let cool and you have a very sterile instrument. Everything that comes out of the boil is infected and full of bacteria, so use Hibiclens to persistently sterilized the surrounding area, and rewash the boil and area after popping it with a sterile needle.

Personally, in a MIBM situation, where you want to minimize the time off the bike, I'd find a good doctor as soon as there is any blistering. Women should be careful not to get Hibiclens on their girl part/s as it has been known to cause numbness. Betadine is a good alternative here, but doesn't have the persistence that Hibiclens does.

Properties of various antimicrobials

 Note that the compound in Dial, and most other antibacterial soaps is now Benzalkonium Chloride, as Tricolsan is no longer legal in the US. These soaps get the big chunks off, so the Hibiclens can soak in and get the deep stuff, and keep on killing pathogens for 6+ hours.

Also note that many of these compounds are partially neutralized by organic material, including the cotton in a cotton washcloth Use a synthetic microfiber washcloth for washing. They are commonly available as microtex dish cloths in the grocery store kitchen cleaning supplies area. Mine is labeled Mr Clean. I bought it at Safeway.

These can be sterilized by washing in bleach(kills almost everything known to man), which insures your washcloth stays part of the solution, and doesn't become part of the problem. Just be very sure you rinse all the bleach out, as it will destroy the action of Hibiclens.