# Chamois Cream and Thrush



## Paul Walters (2 May 2013)

Seeking advice from ladies here.....
My Fiancee is new to cycling and keen to get as much done this year as possible. She's developed soreness in her nethers from the saddle and I've suggested she start using a chamois cream. Unfortunately, she is prone to Thrush, and is concerned that using anything other than Aqueous Cream will cause a flare up. Are there any products out there I can' point her toward?


----------



## fossyant (2 May 2013)

Aqueous creme is fine to use - it's also much cheaper than the branded stuff. I use it or E45 !


----------



## Ningishzidda (2 May 2013)

Shammy cream was formulated to apply to soft leather items and was adopted by cyclists to soften the patch inside bike shorts after it had been washed.

AFAIK, its not medicated. AFAIK, its made of the drippings from abattoirs.


----------



## numbnuts (2 May 2013)

What about Sudocrem ?


----------



## jefmcg (2 May 2013)

How many hours is she cycling for? I would look at shorts and saddle before adding chamois cream. Anything, including aqueous cream, contributes to the "warm, moist" atmosphere that is friendly to thrush. 

I use a chamois cream I mixed myself, which is a mix of aqueous and emollient creams with tea oil and witch hazel. I'd imagine that would be better than plain aqueous cream, but I'm not an expert.


----------



## Mr Haematocrit (2 May 2013)

Shammy creams these days are more likely to be based around Shea butter with an anti fungal additive such as rosemary extract, they have a lot in common with swmbos moisturising face/body creams


----------



## e-rider (2 May 2013)

Assos creme never did any harm to anyone I'm sure!!!


----------



## Globalti (3 May 2013)

Is she using a very soft padded saddle? That will rub and make her sweat. She'd be better off with a clean dry synthetic pad in some good shorts like dhb from Wiggle and the right shape of saddle like a Specalized BG for women.


----------



## coffeejo (3 May 2013)

First of all, I use sudocrem as a chamois cream, and I know some women use it as emergency relief for thrush. 

Secondly, when you say "in her nethers", do you mean around the labia and clitoris, or further back around the vaginal opening? If it's the former, definitely look at the design of the saddle. Some women prefer/require cut outs, others find that this leads to more problems than it solves, entirely depending on the shape and size of the labia, especially the labia minora. If her vulva doesn't suit the saddle, no amount of cream will help.


----------



## hobbitonabike (3 May 2013)

coffeejo said:


> First of all, I use sudocrem as a chamois cream, and I know some women use it as emergency relief for thrush.
> 
> Secondly, when you say "in her nethers", do you mean around the labia and clitoris, or further back around the vaginal opening? If it's the former, definitely look at the design of the saddle. Some women prefer/require cut outs, others find that this leads to more problems than it solves, entirely depending on the shape and size of the labia, especially the labia minora. If her vulva doesn't suit the saddle, no amount of cream will help.



You may have just scared off half the male population there!!!


----------



## coffeejo (3 May 2013)

Seriously, though - if I see one more saddle description referring to "soft tissue" .......


----------



## hobbitonabike (3 May 2013)

coffeejo said:


> Seriously, though - if I see one more saddle description referring to "soft tissue" .......



Lol...there is some real fun to be had on this subject!!!


----------



## T.M.H.N.E.T (3 May 2013)




----------



## coffeejo (3 May 2013)

EbonyWillow said:


> Lol...there is some real fun to be had on this subject!!!


<rant>
(a) It's ALL soft, from the labia to the gluteal muscles. 
(b) If you're too prudish to say vulva then you shouldn't be making money from a product that gets so up and personal with it.
(c) The terrifying alternative is that you don't know the difference between the labia and the intergluteal cleft, in which case you should be in a different career. Or back in full-time education.
<and breathe>


----------



## hobbitonabike (3 May 2013)

coffeejo said:


> <rant>
> (a) It's ALL soft, from the labia to the gluteal muscles.
> (b) If you're too prudish to say vulva then you shouldn't be making money from a product that gets so up and personal with it.
> (c) The terrifying alternative is that you don't know the difference between the labia and the intergluteal cleft, in which case you should be in a different career. Or back in full-time education.
> <and breathe>



Is intergluteal cleft posh talk for butt crack??? ;-)


----------



## coffeejo (3 May 2013)

EbonyWillow said:


> Is intergluteal cleft posh talk for bitt crack??? ;-)


Where do you keep your bitt crack?


----------



## hobbitonabike (3 May 2013)

coffeejo said:


> Where do you keep your bitt crack?



Lol I didn't edit that quickly enough!!! Honestly...do you not know where your bitt crack is??? You know nothing!!!


----------



## T.M.H.N.E.T (3 May 2013)

No longer a taboo subject


----------



## Garz (3 May 2013)

..it's ALL soft didn't you know!


----------



## coffeejo (3 May 2013)




----------



## hobbitonabike (3 May 2013)

Often tenderised after a long ride!


----------



## coffeejo (3 May 2013)

*splutter*

*looks for anything other than a soft tissue to mop up coffee from keyboard*


----------



## T.M.H.N.E.T (3 May 2013)

This threads had it's climax eh


----------



## coffeejo (3 May 2013)

On a related note, I'm looking at a map of the Mendips. On Sunday, I should be cycling near Velvet Bottom


----------



## ayceejay (3 May 2013)

There are a number of web-sites devoted to this problem for women with recommendation for shorts etc. There is virtually nada for men as I recently found out (see "hygiene" on this site), men can also suffer from thrush; ask me how I know.
You must look elsewhere for a cure but as my doctor said cycling shorts are not the cause but they certainly don't help. Avoid ANY cream wear good quality clothing that you wash after every ride (wash all the anatomically explicit items mentioned above as well).


----------



## buggi (3 May 2013)

is it soreness or bruising? there is a difference. 

1. If it's bruising (ie if it hurts when you press it) it could be her saddle is too small so she's not sitting on her sit bones, but the soft tissue in between. Get the bike shop to measure her pelvic sit bones and get a saddle wide enough for them (this was my problem and i put up with it for years without realising... can't tell you what a difference an inch makes (oo-er)!

2. If it's soreness (chaffing) then this could be caused by (a) too big a saddle or (b) not soft enough pad in her shorts, or (c) simply just not being used to being in a saddle. If (a) see point 1 above, same principal applies, if (b) get some nice shorts or if (c) she will get used to it, but to relieve it in the meantime Aqueous or Sudocrem will be fine. I use sudocrem and never got thrush from it, but i'm not really prone to thrush anyway. I actually find on my Paris trip, that using a cream while riding just makes the rubbing worse, so i used the cream after each day had finished. (i don't need it now, like i said, she'll get used to it).


----------



## Paul Walters (6 May 2013)

Thanks everyone for the replies... I showed her this thread and she reckons the laughter has cured her pain! She has dhb bib-3/4s with a synthetic pad, and it's likely more than anything that it's simply that she's not used to spending so long in the saddle (our last couple of rides have been 5 hours and 1 1/2 hours). We'll monitor it, and use Sudocrem or Aqueous Sol after the rides. The bike is a Dawes Karakum, and I although it has a women specific saddle, I am not sure what make/model it is. If it continues to be a problem for her, I'll look at changing it for something more bespoke.
Cheers
Paul W


----------



## bubbles3 (9 Nov 2014)

buggi said:


> is it soreness or bruising? there is a difference.
> 
> 1. If it's bruising (ie if it hurts when you press it) it could be her saddle is too small so she's not sitting on her sit bones, but the soft tissue in between. Get the bike shop to measure her pelvic sit bones and get a saddle wide enough for them (this was my problem and i put up with it for years without realising... can't tell you what a difference an inch makes (oo-er)!
> 
> 2. If it's soreness (chaffing) then this could be caused by (a) too big a saddle or (b) not soft enough pad in her shorts, or (c) simply just not being used to being in a saddle. If (a) see point 1 above, same principal applies, if (b) get some nice shorts or if (c) she will get used to it, but to relieve it in the meantime Aqueous or Sudocrem will be fine. I use sudocrem and never got thrush from it, but i'm not really prone to thrush anyway. I actually find on my Paris trip, that using a cream while riding just makes the rubbing worse, so i used the cream after each day had finished. (i don't need it now, like i said, she'll get used to it).



I'm just after reading your post and I'm interested in your thinking. I've been cycling for about 3 years but I've been having major issues with bruising this year, I haven't changed my saddle or it's position. I bought a new pair of expensive cycling shorts as my favourite pair had worn out. the padding seemed firmer than in my older shorts but I thought it would soften in time. but by the end of the summer there I was in real pain after my long weekend rides. I've had a forced few weeks of because of surgery and thankfully now back on my bike for the past 2 days. I didn't have my shorts on but my long leg bib tights I've used many times and today after little more than an hour I'm sore again. Where have I gone wrong? Could I have unconsciously changed the position I sit on the bike this year from last? I don't use any cream when I'm out on the bike and came back to this forum to see if chamois cream would help. Any help or ideas will be appreciated


----------

