Thigh Chafing Got You Down?: Prevention Tips You Need

An in-depth guide on how to prevent and treat thigh chafing. Thigh Chafing Got You Down?: Prevention Tips You Need thegearhunt.com

Summer is upon us and there are many things that we can look forward to, from backyard BBQ’s to walks on the beach. For some of us, however, the heat of the summer and those walks on the hot beach can result in what is known as thigh chafing.

Chafed thighs are a condition that many men and women suffer from during the summer months. In this blog, we’ll go into a few of the causes for thigh chafing, the symptoms, and what you can do to prevent and treat the condition if it’s happening to you. If you have ever suffered from thigh chafing, then you’re probably already ready to dive into this blog.

So, grab your chair and your cool drink and let’s venture into our blog on thigh chafing to learn everything we can about it together, shall we?

The Symptoms of Thigh Chafing

Luckily, the signs and symptoms of thigh chafing are pretty easy to identify. We’ll list them below for your perusal.

  • If you gently touch your skin and it stings, this is one of the main symptoms of thigh chafing. A strong burning sensation is also a symptom that something is wrong.
  • The skin around the area is painful
  • The skin around the area swells
  • You have a rash on your inner thighs
  • The affected area is severely red
  • There are other areas that are prone to chafing during the summertime as well, not just your thighs, but those will be saved for another time. Now, that we know the symptoms of thigh chafing, let’s move into our section on the causes.

The Causes of Thigh Chafing

Not only does thigh chafing cause you physical pain, but it can also cause emotional pain as well. It becomes difficult to walk and you end up being limited in the daily activities you can perform. Below you can find a few of the top causes of thigh chafing.

You Are Obese

Being obese is one of the biggest causes of thigh chafing in both overweight men and women. When you are overweight, the fat cells in your body increase, so when you’re walking or doing any other physical activity, the thighs rub together causing friction, which results in painful chafing of the thighs. If you feel that you are overweight, you need to see your primary health care provider in order to find treatment and a good weight loss program.

Your Clothing is too Tight

The effects of tight clothes on the skin, especially your thighs are pretty obvious if you think about it. Wearing tight jeans and other tight pants increases the friction on your thigh area, causing sweat to build up during the summer and a painful rash is a result. Avoid wearing tight clothing, especially jogging pants and jeans during the summer months, opt for shorts instead if you want to avoid chafing.

The Types of Fabric You Wear

The skin around your groin area and your inner thighs are very sensitive. Some synthetic fabrics cause chafing pretty easily. It’s best to stick to cotton, especially in the heat of the summertime, as it allows your skin to breathe and causes less friction as well.

Excessive Physical Activity and Exercise

Another common cause of thigh chafing is excessive physical activity and exercise. Running, workouts and even walking can cause the thighs to rub together or the clothes you’re wearing to rub against them, resulting in chafed thighs. In the summer months, you sweat more, which makes it even worse.

Dehydration

Believe it or not, dehydration is another common cause of chafing of the thighs area. Dehydrated skin is much more likely to chafe than hydrated skin. Dehydration results in scaly skin, which increases the rubbing between the skin and the clothes you’re wearing.

Sweating

During the summer months, you sweat a lot more than you do during the spring, winter, and fall of the year. When you sweat, your clothes tend to stick to your skin, causing more friction between the skin and the clothing. This can lead to painful thigh chafing that makes it hard to function until the chafing is cleared up.

These are just some of the causes of thigh chafing that you can check into, to see if they are causing yours. Next, we will look into the prevention and curing of this condition in our next section.

Prevention of Thigh Chafing at the Beach

One of the most common places that people end up with thigh chafing is at the beach. Below we will go into a few ways to prevent the rash from happening.

Take a Shower at the Beach

The last thing you want is to take the ride from the beach back to your home with sweat, wet clothes, the salt from the ocean, and the sand all over you. Many beaches have public showers that you can use to rinse off after coming out of the ocean. Take advantage of them, so that you reduce the chances of chafing.

Use Sunscreen that is Sweat-Proof

Though you aren’t ever going to be able to find a sunscreen that is completely sweatproof, some are much better than others. There are many sports sunscreens out there, so make sure that you don’t just buy the cheapest, first sunscreen you come across. Instead, make sure to buy a good one that will reduce how much you sweat.

Don’t Just Hang Around in Your Wet Clothes

There is nothing worse for a chafing problem than hanging around in wet clothes. The last thing you want is to be in a pair of boardshorts that is wet and let them dry on you. The friction from the wet clothes, the sand, sweat, and the salt mixture will give you a bad rash before you ever leave the beach. Take a pair of dry shorts with you and change if you get wet instead.

Don’t get in the Ocean with Chafed Skin

The last thing you want to do is swim in a salty ocean with chafed or broken skin. It’s going to sting horribly and can actually make the chafing much worse. If you are already suffering from chafed thighs, stay out of the water and as dry and clean as possible.

Other Ways to Prevent Thigh Chafing

Those are the best ways to prevent thigh chafing at the beach, but it is known to happen at other times as well. Below we will go into a few more ways to prevent thigh chafing, whether you’re at the beach or just exercising in your own back yard.

Always Stay Hydrated

It’s extremely important to stay hydrated so that your skin isn’t prone to chafing, to begin with. This is easier to do than you might think. You can increase your intake of fluids obviously, but you can also make sure to use good moisturizers on your skin as well to prevent the skin from drying out and being prone to chafing.

Be Careful What You Wear

Soft, baggy clothes that are not made of synthetic fibers are your best bet for avoiding chafing. As mentioned earlier in our blog, tight clothes not only cause friction with your skin and the clothes, they also allow the moisture from sweating to become trapped inside, meaning chafing is pretty much guaranteed. Try wearing loose shorts, baggy pants, or even skirts to prevent chafing to start with.

Keep Your Thighs Clean and Dry

It’s extremely important when trying to prevent thigh chafing to keep your thighs clean and dry. Sand, dirt, sweat, and other materials that cause friction will only add to the problem. You can do this by taking regular showers, powdering your thighs, and wearing clothes that are clean and comfortable as well.

Use Sweat Absorbers

There are sweat absorbers on the market that can help you to manage the sweat and therefore prevent chafing in the thigh area and other skin areas as well.

Control Your Weight and Sweating

While these tips may be a no-brainer, it’s important to make sure that you control your weight and sweating if you want to avoid thigh chafing. You can do this by exercising in a cool environment and working out a work-out plan to lose weight. Remember, diet and exercise are key for good weight management and to reduce sweating as well.

These are just a few of the top tips out there for preventing your thighs from chafing, whether it’s at the beach, during exercising, or just taking a walk in the hot summer heat.

Now that we know everything about how to prevent this thigh chafing from happening to you, it’s time to concentrate on how to relieve the pain if chafing does occur. Ready? Okay, then let’s go.

Tips for Relieving Thigh Chafing Pain

You’ve read up on how to prevent chafing and done everything possible to stop it from happening to you, only to find that it snuck up on you anyway. Don’t feel bad, it’s happened to all of us at one point or another in the summer of the year. Now, that you’re in pain, let’s check into ways that you can relieve that stinging pain and be out and about once again, thigh chafing pain-free.

Clean, Clean and Clean Again

Chances are you’ve broken the skin walking around all day with a thigh chafing problem, so the first thing you want to do is get into a cool shower and wash your thighs with a gentle soap to prevent stinging. The cleaner you are, the better you and your thighs will feel in the long run.

Disinfect

Once you’re out of the shower, kill any germs that are left from the sweat and other bacteria by using a gentle antibacterial agent to disinfect the affected area. Make sure to use something gentle, as you don’t want to make the stinging worse, but you need to get rid of the germs in order to heal properly.

Soothe the Pain

From natural home remedies such as baby powder to laying under a fan with your thighs spread, there are quite a few ways that you can soothe your thighs until they heal. Make sure to take it easy and don’t put on any tight clothing or the pain is just going to get worse.

Keep it Dry

If you can help it, you don’t want to get back out in the heat for at least a couple of days. Making sure to keep your thighs dry and wear loose clothing is extremely important if you want to be able to treat the chafing and prevent it from happening again. It’s also best to keep your thighs spread apart until they heal as well. You can do this by using gauze or by investing in some anti-chafing shorts or by simply wearing nothing but gowns for women and underwear for men until the chafing heals up and you are feeling better.

These are just a few ways that you can relieve the pain of thigh chafing. However, if the pain doesn’t go away or the condition worsens, it’s best to make an appointment with your primary health care provider so that he can prescribe something to take care of the problem for you.

This concludes our blog on everything you need to know about thigh chafing and how you can prevent it or treat it if it happens to you. Remember, stay dry, no tight clothes, and control your weight and sweating to prevent thigh chafing from getting to you this upcoming summer season. Until next time, stay dry and cool, everyone!

Sources

  1. Bandelettes: Everything You Need to Know About Chafing
  2. Elite Daily: 10 Ways to Treat Thigh Chafing that Really Work
  3. Bustle: How to Treat and Soothe Thigh Chafing