Oh, I know I’m asking for it by posting this one. But since I can’t quite find a way to bring it up to both my male coworkers in a “professional” manner, this is my only outlet.
First, the background:
I am training for a marathon, so on weekends I head out for a long run. Saturday’s trek was a 14.5 miler that kicked my butt. One of the side effects of my distance running is chafing. Bad. Underneath my boobies. This week I suffered more than usual, enough so that it chafed me raw. So now it’s scabbed over. (I know, I know, it’s gross, but at least YOU don’t have to see them in the mirror)
So you know, when you have a scab that gets wet in the shower, it gets kind of sticky, and as you dry out, the scab hardens. Unless of course you have a piece of fabric snuggly fit right over it. Then the scab dries TO THE FABRIC. Yipes.
So. It’s 10 a.m. I won’t be undressing for many hours. Do I worry about it now? Or do I deal with it later, keeping in mind that I will, by 8 p.m. tonight, have completely forgotten that I’m stuck. The resulting shriek should be heard for several miles around.
I’d say fix it now, before it’s impossible to… um… unstick. Of course, maybe not out in the open, so those two male coworkers can see, but what about the bathroom? And do you have any lotion (Jergen’s?) around? You could pop some of that on it to prevent it from reattaching itself…
Ah, hells bells, Cal, seeing as how I should have used your #2 in the first place to PREVENT this from happening, that sounds like a good idea to deal with the problem AFTER.
Me? I’d take a shower tonight WITH the bra on. When the scab softens, gently peel off your bra and finish the shower. Then go topless until the weeping wound dries as much as possible, then wear a soft t-shirt to bed. Tomorrow morning, you can skip the shower (You’ve just had one). If you have to wet your hair to style it, do it in the sink.
If it’s not healing enough for you to put the t-shirt on, maybe some lanolin to prevent sticking?
I’ve had my entire shirt stuck to my breast and body after a milk-filled boob sprunk a leak at night, but golly, it wasn’t scabs! Ouch!!
That’s what a like, Cranky, a woman with some common sense. I’ve done that before with blisters, you know, wet the sock so that it comes off easily.
I’d like to walk around topless tonight, and frankly so would my single, male roommate. However, stickboy (my SO) probably wouldn’t be too pleased with that if he found out.
You’ll all be extremely interested to know that I got some Neosporin, headed to the restroom, and unstuck. Amazingly it didn’t hurt as much as I figured. Bled a lot, though, and so to prevent a repeat, I Neosporined up, and then put a bandaid over it. I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve ever had a bandaid on my boob.
I can’t offer any help for your current situation, scout1222, but as a fellow distance runner and marathoner I can make recommendations for the future.
CalMeacham’s vaseline idea is a good one. I grease up my nipples, inner thighs, naughty bits and toes before any long run, and it prevents most chafing and abrasions. When I forget it’s like I’ve been rubbing those parts against drywall.
Also, Band-Aid makes a wonderful product called Blister Block. It’s a pad which adheres to your skin so perfectly you can see your skin’s creases on it, and it stays in place for days. I use them on my feet where I’m prone to blister, but I know people who cover their nipples with
them too.
I would have to say go with the adhesive bandage option (we need to stop association of brand-name merchandise with products, hense not calling them Band-Aids. (crap!))
I hope I’m not the only one with a voice screaming in my head saying, “GET A NEW BRA!! RIGHT NOW!!!”
Perhaps I am the only one receiving that particular message, but believe me you are not alone in the breast discomfort/get a new bra arena. For all of our sakes, make sure this doesn’t happen again! I really don’t want to think about breasts so chafed they bleed and scab over any more.
Ah, Chief, been there, done that, have the divorce papers to prove it.
Thanks all for your suggestions. As an aside, I normally do “petroleum jelly” myself before a run, but for some reason neglected to this week. I can also go for months at a time without chafing, and then all of a sudden it rears its ugly head. Hell, I ran the San Diego marathon in January with virtually NO chafing.
bouv, I’m training for the Suzuki Rock & Roll marathon in June.
katrina - thanks for the suggestion, I’ve tried several jogbras that have never worked. I’ve gotten Title 9’s catalog in the mail before. Maybe I actually should LOOK at it.
Nike makes some very supportive sports bras for running. they probably run (pun intended) abouty 25 bucks a piece, but I hear they are EXCEPTIONALLY supportive for females up to tghe Mid-C range. that’s what the females in the triathalon class always say. Tri runs for about an hr a day, and I don’t see any scabs on their breasts. (I’m breast-inspector at school…)
I give them all either A’s, B’s, C’s and D’s. No F’s, that’s just mean.
I know it sounds like a terribly insensitive joke on my part, but I’m 100% serious. Although Bag Balm ointment is really meant for cows, it’s wonderful stuff that I use on all my skin problems. I discovered it when my mother’s surgeon gave her some to help heal her surgical scar. You can buy it in small tins at the drug store.
