Road Cycling - sore and desperate

OK, it is time to get my "rash" sorted out. If you are squeamish or averse to personal posts, go-back in your browser now.

It has been living with me for more than a month now. It looks like lots of red lumps, very itchy, like masses of blind pimples. They only form on my seat area - as in from the crease underneath the bottom and heading down the back of the leg towards the behind of the knee, for 1/2 as far as the nicks go. The area that you would sit on if you sat directly on a table. This area is subject to `scrunching' by the nicks - as your leg comes around the circle, the area in question stretches and contracts with the lycra. Even though the lycra is a nice snug fit it still irritates like crazy. It feels like dozens of needles are being stuck in. A silicon topical barrier cream (Silcon) that many cyclists use doesn't help.

So far an antifungal for a month has done nothing. So it is unlikely to be a fungal infection as I have had in the past (but different symptoms and location - sorry, are you at the "too much information" stage yet ?). It gets red raw after even just 1 hour riding.

The doc took a swab to see what grows but this will take a few weeks. He suggested infected hair follicles. This could be the case but almost 2 weeks of antibiotics (and just 2 rides) has seen no relief yet. The skin can be quite clear and calm, but go out for an hour and whammo.

I'm worrying about a sudden allergy to lycra, or contact dermititis or leg transplants :( I have used antibacterial soap, and alcohol rub for quite a few weeks thinking that this was keep the bacteria at bay - perhaps this has made the skin extra sensitive now.

Please help your fellow roadie who is desperately missing his fix.

holy geez, that sounds nasty.
I'm thinking bacterial infection, possibly Staph?
(hey cbhungry want to back me up on this!)
Other than saying hang in there
I haven't got a clue as to what to do,
I don't think I'd want to irritate it by riding in Lycra,
can you wear anything else (i.e. mtb shorts which
wouldn't put as much direct pressure on the area?
Are your Lycra nicks trapping sweat?
It sure doesn't sound like a saddle sore, not extending
that far down your leg.
If your doc doesn't have answers go see a dermatologist.
I know I didn't help much, but I feel for ya. . .

Marty

Do you shave your legs up to the point to where you are getting those bumps?

I'd get some ingrown hairs every now and then from shaving up high - especially when my jeans would rub on my legs. Now I just shave up to just past where my shorts come down, and then take clipper with a number 1 guard and trim the rest of the way.

I've had two similar conditions which had simple cures, so here goes.

(1) The first one was on the same area of the body as yours. It ws also itchy and irritable. It did not respond well to antifungals and antibiotic creams. It was late winter at a time when I was living in Michigan. The doctor said that it was a contact dermatitis that would be cleared up as soon as we got some bright sunny days in Spring. As soon as I could get some good sun exposure, I did some nude sunbathing in the backyard and the condition went away quickly. I know that getting sunshine is not a problem in Perth, but you still might want to head on down to the nude beach.

(2) The other rash occurred when I was living in Los Angeles which has a climate like Perth. I had a rash that occurred in any "warm" area of the crotch and legs. It was horribly itchy. It went on for a month and I tried everything. One morning, I was meditating and I was very still. I felt this persistent sting on my inner thigh. I switched on the light and didn't see anything. When I used a magnifying glass, I saw this incredibly tiny bug biting me. They weren't lice because they didn't appear to be bloodsuckers. Within a day I had found the connection. I had this small bathroom where the sink, toilet, TP roller and window sill were all close together. I saw the bugs on the window sill and around the sink. They came in from the garden. They were easily transferred to my hands and then . . . you know where. It seems that they did not really like warm areas of the body and they showed it by biting. The problem was solved by an insecticidal scrubbing of the bathroom. Never had such a problem again. So you might want to check out the bathroom and the areas where you store your riding clothing.

Rich

Probably stay off the bike for a while till the problem subsides, then take steps to avoid re-infection.
I suffered a much lesser type of saddle sore, but managed to put them "behind" me by being really careful about hygene.
If your shorts are carrying any bugs or spores, then rinse them in a disinfectant solution, and dry them under sunshine if you have it. I find tea-tree oil to be a very effective broad spectrum germ-killer.
Shower or wash before you ride as well as after.
use clean shorts and wash them after every ride.

make sure your shorts are a good design and fit and your saddle is well shaped. One withe a cutout may help.

Consider changing your clothes washing detergent, or use a lot less.

Dave

It might be erythrasma http://emedicine.com/derm/topic140.htm

caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium minutissimum,

Lotek was not too far off.

Thanks for the replies. I like the treatment idea of having to get some sun, have given that some serious effort today. I will persist with the antibiotics and stay off the bike for the next 2 weeks to see what happens. When you are used to riding every day, 2 weeks seems like an eternity.

I have been trying to be extra clean and careful in the last month, so I hope it is not just from lax hygene. Normally the antifungal cream works in a week but not this time.

I just got over a case of contact dermititis. The dock put me on a dose of prednisone. It cleared it up in 4 days. You might ask him if it will help.

I have used antibacterial soap, and alcohol rub for quite a few weeks thinking that this was keep the bacteria at bay - perhaps this has made the skin extra sensitive now

Be careful with the overzelous cleaning. Antibacterial soap has been shown to induce bacterial resistance to standard antibiotics. The alcohol, etc. may be inducing skin sensitivity as you postulated which would make possible contact dermatitis even worse. The sun idea isn't bad since ultraviolet radiation is a potent bacterial and fungalcidal agent that would kill any fungal or bacterial infection that may be resistant to the treatment you have (Yes, even fungi and candida have developed resistance to antifungal creams in much the same way bacteria have towards antibiotics) By the way, they use ultraviolet radiation in operating rooms to dissinfect the general surgical field.

How about going to a tanning booth? If you get the ultraviolet rays concentrated, that may help.

Besides, no one has to see your backside, and you can salute the ceiling without having to deal with those prying eyes....

~LongRider~,

was the prednisone oral or topical ? how is it supposed to work helping contact dermititis ?

contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction. the most famous contact dermatitis is poison ivey where you are allergic to the poison ivey oil off its leaves. Longrider may have developed a sensitivity (allergy) to the combination of sweat and whatever material his skin was in contact with ie: lycra etc. Oral prednisone works the fastest but topical is also used. The problem is if you have a fungal infection it will make it worse. Prednisone shuts down the T cell lymphocytes which are believed to play a role in contact dermatitis.

Now I'm curious.... cbhungry, would he have to get rid of the shorts he's been riding in, or just clean them with boiling water or what? How does something like this develop? Is it catchy?

http://my.webmd.com/content/healthwise/41/10311.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348**

Contact dermatitis can develop over time and not necessarily with the first contact. As the link shows, contact dermatitis is an allergic or sensitivity reaction. Is he allergic to the combination of sweat and lycra all of a sudden? (Peolple develop poisosn oak or ivey contact dermatitis later in adult life and not always as a child). Is he allergic to the new detergents being used to wash the bike shorts? You can also develop "contact dermatitis" after a prolonged fungal reaction due to your body's reaction to the infection by mounting a T-cell mediated response. Sometimes, prednisone as well as antibiotics and fungal medicines are used together.. It is not catchy. If this contiues to be too much of a problem, I agree with seeking the help of a dermatologist since this is their expertise.

I was on oral pred. It took care of the rash in about 3 days. See your doctor. He'll be able to fix you up very quickly.

here's an update: I'm hoping that these messages in the archives will help the next person.

I have had occlusive folliculitis confirmed by a dermatologist. He has confirmed that I should keep taking the antibiotics. He used phrases like "you should be able to control it" and "it is one of those things that might not really go away". This didn't encourage me all that much :(

So I'm taking the riding easy for now, hoping some good healing time will get back on track. He has also got me using a chlorhexidine and salicylic acid in alchol and a sulphur in calamine - 2 topicals to help to exfoliate the dead skin and dry out the pimple looking bumps.

If anyone has done battle with folliculitis in the past I'd be stoked to hear from you !!

Originally posted by MichaelW
Probably stay off the bike for a while till the problem subsides,

I'm not so concerned that you stay off your bike, just stay off of MINE!

Doc should put you on Medrol Dospak. as an aside, do you have hayfever or moderate to severe allergies? many times people with these types of allergies are prone to more severe types of atopic dermatitis.

more than likely was several rides/weeks/months in the making. do you dry completely before dressing after the shower? the motto is: dry skin is healthy skin.

oral steroids and an oral antihistimine (benadryl or Rx Zyrtec or Atarax) is needed. This issue is more than one skin layer deep, so topical applications will do little good and only serve to further irritate.

cbhungry is on the right track here.

Originally posted by cbhungry
http://my.webmd.com/content/healthwise/41/10311.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348**

Contact dermatitis can develop over time and not necessarily with the first contact. As the link shows, contact dermatitis is an allergic or sensitivity reaction. Is he allergic to the combination of sweat and lycra all of a sudden? (Peolple develop poisosn oak or ivey contact dermatitis later in adult life and not always as a child). Is he allergic to the new detergents being used to wash the bike shorts? You can also develop "contact dermatitis" after a prolonged fungal reaction due to your body's reaction to the infection by mounting a T-cell mediated response. Sometimes, prednisone as well as antibiotics and fungal medicines are used together.. It is not catchy. If this contiues to be too much of a problem, I agree with seeking the help of a dermatologist since this is their expertise.

This is what happened to me. I developed an allergy to poison ivy and poison oak a couple of years ago after not being allergic to it all my life.


Originally posted by Trekaholic
I'm not so concerned that you stay off your bike, just stay off of MINE!

:roflmao:

OK, just following up on this thread for the benefit of those who drop by later and search for answers. There are lots of good posts archived here.

I got over the rash in a couple of weeks - in time to finish training and ride across Australia. It didn't resurface, thankfully.

It looks like the diagnosis of occlusive dermatitis was accurate. A couple of weeks of antibiotics, staying off the bike and using better quality nicks was what sorted me out. I bought a couple of pairs of nike shorts - made of dri-fit which seems to be tougher and more comfortable than lycra.

I think the new shorts irritated my skin less and also the extra dryness was a bonus. Following the usual cleanliness routine and using a starch `baby' powder after riding was also important, I reckon.

GO See A Doctor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!