A Short Guide To Chafing Skin

During the blazing hot weather, it’s common for people to get skin chafing. Couple that with doing exercise or being overweight, and you’ve got yourself a major problem. Read on to find out how you can conquer that horrible feeling of irritation caused by your legs or other body parts rubbing against your skin.

Causes Of Chafing

Sports – Running, biking and other sports that involve perspiration and frequent body movements can cause skin chafing. Chafing can occur whenever your clothes or skin scrapes against the skin.

Being Overweight – This can lead to excess skin rubbing against each other.

Nursing– Breastfeeding mothers often develop chafed nipples.

Diapers– Continuous exposure to urine or feces and insufficient airflow can cause chafing on the bottoms of babies and toddlers.

Wearing a skirt, in hot weather– A lot of people develop inner-thigh chafing when wearing a skirt, as there is no barrier between your legs like there would be with pants or trousers.

Clothes That Don’t Fit Properly – If your sleeves, bra strap, or waistband rub against your skin in an irritating way, you’re likely to experience skin chafing.

Ways To Prevent Chafing 

Chafe is generally caused by a high amount of friction between your skin. There are several ways you can prevent that, as listed below:

Staying Dry – Sweaty, wet skin makes chafe worse. While getting ready, don’t forget to apply talcum or alum powder to the areas of your body that get the most sweaty. Powders can help in soaking up excess moisture.

Consider Lubrication – Petroleum jelly, or similar products, can help reduce friction to the skin and is readily available and inexpensive.

Choose The Right Clothes – When you exercise, try to wear clothes with moisture-wicking properties, like synthetic clothing. Avoid wearing cotton, if possible. You can reduce thigh chafing by wearing compression shorts, such as the ones cyclists wear. Also, choose exercise clothes and bras that have smooth seams to prevent unpleasant rubbing.

Treatment 

Stop any activity that rubs or irritates your skin right away. Change into something more comfortable if your clothes are uncomfortably rubbing your skin. 

If chafing appears, gently pat the skin dry before applying petroleum jelly to the affected area. 

Chafing can be treated in a variety of ways, including: 

• Using a soothing lotion, balm, or oil ( look for fragrance-free products that repel moisture )
• Using a topical steroid
• Getting fresh air
• Stopping the activity that caused the problem

Recovery

You can say goodbye to the annoying chafing within a couple of days if the source of the problem is removed. If you can’t stop the activity causing the chafing, try to take protective measures while doing the particular activity. Let the chafed area breathe overnight by exposing it to air while you sleep. If there is blistering on the skin’s surface, apply petroleum jelly and a covering between cleanings until the skin heals.

Some pointers to follow while your skin is recovering:

• Avoid using hydrogen peroxide or iodine to clean chafed skin because these chemicals might actually slow down the healing process. Instead, use a light soap and water or a saline solution to clean.

• Showering in extremely hot water or using harsh soaps causes the skin to become dry and susceptible to damage.

• To ease discomfort, apply ice or a cold pack for a brief period. Make sure to pat dry when you’re finished.