Author Topic: The embarrassing health problems thread (Read 18949 times)

Ruthie · « **Reply #50 on:** 22 February, 2015, 04:28:34 pm »

Having said that, if anyone has one I can borrow without wasting any more money ... ?

Ruthie · « **Reply #51 on:** 22 February, 2015, 04:36:14 pm »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 22 February, 2015, 03:14:21 pm

Having said that I usually end up making my labia get pins and needles before I do too much frictional damage up front.

Mine just go numb without my realising it - until the first wee of the season. It's like an annual rite of passage. You know it's the riding season when you're squeaking in pain in a public toilet.

DaveP · « **Reply #52 on:** 22 February, 2015, 04:41:21 pm »

New to the forum I may be, but who could resist a thread with "embarrassing" in the title

The problems you describe sound horrendous.
Have you ever seen these? http://www.moonsaddle.com/Default.asp As suggested at the top of the page they are still available at http://www.cyclesense.co.uk/m61b0s82p0/Components/Saddles-Leisure
In fact there is another variation on the theme on the same page. Or just google for "noseless saddle"
I saved the link some years ago, just in case, but so far I've been lucky enough not to need one. I really hope there's a ray of hope here for you.

hellymedic · « **Reply #53 on:** 22 February, 2015, 04:44:28 pm »

I have used a noseless saddle in the Netherlands (sic).
I didn't like the way my pelvis rolled when I used it.

Kim · « **Reply #54 on:** 22 February, 2015, 05:10:52 pm »

I reiterate my point about the darkside. It really doesn't have to be this way, at least for touring.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #55 on:** 22 February, 2015, 05:30:02 pm »

I think life would be much easier if we all had some sort of R&K type system for attaching ourselves to stuff. You know, like ski boots that attach to your legs, a special interface for bicycles instead of your undercarriage, etc....

Kim · « **Reply #56 on:** 22 February, 2015, 05:48:32 pm »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 22 February, 2015, 05:30:02 pm

I think life would be much easier if we all had some sort of R&K type system for attaching ourselves to stuff. You know, like ski boots that attach to your legs, a special interface for bicycles instead of your undercarriage, etc....

Someone will eventually work out how to do bone-anchored abutments without all that messy wound-care faff. Probably by stealing ideas from horned animals. Then it's just a matter of time before someone decides to use it for something other than prosthetics.

Butterfly · « **Reply #57 on:** 22 February, 2015, 11:19:56 pm »

There were a couple of different moon style saddles at the bike show last week. I wish I'd noted their names. One day I'm going to start a saddle library and hire business.

I find assos cream a lot better than sudocrem, although sadly a lot dearer. Expensive shorts helped too. If you want to try some silly shorts, let me know and I'll let you have a go of some of mine.

Otherwise, I reckon Kim probably has the right idea.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #58 on:** 23 February, 2015, 12:55:32 am »

Obviously, blokes have a completely different problem. As a veteran of a number of World Naked Bike Rides, I have noticed that some chaps balance everything on the nose of the saddle whilst others ride to the left, or the right, as the case may be. I am one of the "side-saddlers" keeping my genitals tucked to the left of my saddle nose. I suspect that when everything is wrapped up in padded lycra it's not so clear-cut, but nevertheless, I find that any tenderness during or after riding occurs either behind the scrotum, or to the right side. I suffered a little when I was out a week or two ago, but I put that down to not having ridden much recently and my nethers taking a little time becoming accustomed to the saddle again.

Clearly, testicles are not designed to be load-bearing - we know about it very quickly if, momentarily, they are - but then neither are labia nor clitorides. Is it even possible for a woman to sit slightly off-centre on the saddle for any length of time without causing other discomfort?

hellymedic · « **Reply #59 on:** 23 February, 2015, 03:21:03 am »

I see Mr Wow is a classical scholar!
I could not sit asymmetrically; my os pubis would not allow it.

Ruthie · « **Reply #60 on:** 23 February, 2015, 07:20:24 am »

I always imagined men tucked everything northwards with the aid of tight lycra, the troublesome pressure area being the perineum. Not an option on a naked ride!

Has anyone invented a bicycle side-saddle?

I have various species of short, and I think it's my anatomy combined with my preferred riding style that's the problem. Ultimately, you can ride with painful genitals but backache or sit-bone problems are a deal breaker. And I can't afford another new bike.

peliroja · « **Reply #61 on:** 23 February, 2015, 07:53:00 am »

Have you tried Savlon instead of Sudocreme? It's the only thing that works for me, along with Assos shorts and a cut-out saddle.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #62 on:** 23 February, 2015, 01:25:44 pm »

I would have though Vaseline would be better than most moisturising creams.
Runner rely on it to prevent nipple, thigh and armpit chafe.

an off-the cuff thought - how about tackling this in a similar way that walkers use for shoes? Thin sock inside thick one, thin slides over thick rather than skin over sock.

So you'd need silk or slippy synthetic underwear.

Ruthie · « **Reply #63 on:** 23 February, 2015, 01:44:26 pm »

It would make sense, except I think part of the problem is skin-on-skin, rather than skin-on-fabric.

I'm off to get some Assos cream.

rafletcher · « **Reply #64 on:** 23 February, 2015, 01:50:30 pm »

Quote from: Ruthie on 23 February, 2015, 01:44:26 pm

It would make sense, except I think part of the problem is skin-on-skin, rather than skin-on-fabric.

I'm off to get some Assos cream.

Umm, I think you should be a bit careful...

"The Assos website, for example, specifically advises users of its chamois cream to "avoid intimate areas" when applying the cream directly on the skin. - See more at: http://chamoiscreamreview.com/2011/why-should-you-use-chamois-cream/#sthash.fy1jst5y.dpuf"

Tho obviously Butterfly can advise specifically.

Kim · « **Reply #65 on:** 23 February, 2015, 02:05:15 pm »

Quote from: Ruthie on 23 February, 2015, 01:44:26 pm

It would make sense, except I think part of the problem is skin-on-skin, rather than skin-on-fabric.

Skin-on-skin (both genitals and arse cheeks) gets you irrespective of what you do with saddles and clothing. Indeed, it can still happen on a 'bent if it's sufficiently wet (and sufficiently hot also implies wet). The only solution is lubrication. I haven't tried the Assos stuff, as Conotrane seems to work and is an order of magnitude cheaper.

Basil · « **Reply #66 on:** 23 February, 2015, 02:12:32 pm »

I think your problem is in trying women's saddles. A male saddle would be totally incapable of finding your clitoris and therefore would be unable to inflict damage there.

Sorry.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #67 on:** 23 February, 2015, 03:22:47 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 23 February, 2015, 02:05:15 pm

Quote from: Ruthie on 23 February, 2015, 01:44:26 pm
It would make sense, except I think part of the problem is skin-on-skin, rather than skin-on-fabric.

Skin-on-skin (both genitals and arse cheeks) gets you irrespective of what you do with saddles and clothing. Indeed, it can still happen on a 'bent if it's sufficiently wet (and sufficiently hot also implies wet). The only solution is lubrication. I haven't tried the Assos stuff, as Conotrane seems to work and is an order of magnitude cheaper.

That makes me think that Vaseline would be helpful.

Kim · « **Reply #68 on:** 23 February, 2015, 03:26:13 pm »

Quote from: mrcharly on 23 February, 2015, 03:22:47 pm

That makes me think that Vaseline would be helpful.

Though possibly not for the lycra?

mcshroom · « **Reply #69 on:** 23 February, 2015, 03:32:18 pm »

or the Brooks.

Lanacane do an anti-chaifing gel which is slippier and less gungy than vaseline. I've used it for hiking for different skin on skin rubbing issues and it was pretty effective.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #70 on:** 23 February, 2015, 03:37:45 pm »

I think vaseline is fine with lycra and won't harm a brooks

It's not so great for latex.

Ham · « **Reply #71 on:** 23 February, 2015, 03:42:21 pm »

Chapeau chamois cream is the closest I have found to Assos old style, available in menthol (probably contraindicated for BITS) and non-menthol

Jurek · « **Reply #72 on:** 23 February, 2015, 03:58:11 pm »

Quote from: rafletcher on 23 February, 2015, 01:50:30 pm

Quote from: Ruthie on 23 February, 2015, 01:44:26 pm
It would make sense, except I think part of the problem is skin-on-skin, rather than skin-on-fabric.

I'm off to get some Assos cream.

Umm, I think you should be a bit careful...

"The Assos website, for example, specifically advises users of its chamois cream to "avoid intimate areas" when applying the cream directly on the skin. - See more at: http://chamoiscreamreview.com/2011/why-should-you-use-chamois-cream/#sthash.fy1jst5y.dpuf"

Tho obviously Butterfly can advise specifically.

Alarm bells ring for me at the mention of Assos cream.
As an avid ex-user I developed a *condition* which kept me off the bike and in varying degrees of agony for six months, a couple of years ago.
Turned out, after years of use, I had developed an allergy to Methylisothiazolinone (or MO as it is more commonly known) which is in Assos cream (as well as shed loads of other products) to prevent bacterial growth.
Neither GP or dermatologist twigged this and advised against it's use, so I continued slapping it on, until such time as the cutaneous allergy clinic clocked that it was that which was causing a nasty reaction.
YMMV, but the clinic pointed out that MO is on the verge of being banned by the EU on account of the growing number of people showing adverse reactions to it.
I hope you find a way of being comfortable en velo.

offcumden · « **Reply #73 on:** 23 February, 2015, 04:14:44 pm »

Quote from: rafletcher on 23 February, 2015, 01:50:30 pm

"The Assos website, for example, specifically advises users of its chamois cream to "avoid intimate areas" when applying the cream directly on the skin. - See more at: http://chamoiscreamreview.com/2011/why-should-you-use-chamois-cream/#sthash.fy1jst5y.dpuf"

How, precisely, are you supposed to avoid intimate areas?

I would have thought it reasonable to assume that 'chamois cream' is designed to protect the (human) parts that come into contact with the 'chamois'. Perhaps I've got it wrong; maybe its purpose is to protect the 'chamois'. Doh!

hellymedic · « **Reply #74 on:** 23 February, 2015, 04:26:26 pm »

Quote from: mrcharly on 23 February, 2015, 03:37:45 pm

I think vaseline is fine with lycra and won't harm a brooks

It's not so great for latex.

As any Young Lad ought to kno...