I’ll be taking my kids down the shore tomorrow, and just realized that the last few trips ended up being a bit painful for me. The mesh in my swim trunks seems to continually rub against a particularly sensitive part of my anatomy, and after a few days, causes a stinging burn there. I’ve used different swimsuits and it still seems to happen.
I’ve countered this in the past by wearing boxer briefs underneath, but this is pretty uncomfortable and especially bad when out of the water,when the boxer briefs are still wet.
Any ideas? It’s too late to order anything online, so it would be great to have something I could pick up at a Target or the mall.
I remember when we were little and spent summers at the pool, my dad would occasionally wear a jock strap.
I know it sounds gross and improper that I know this, but you know, he’d throw it in with all of the other pool laundry and I’d see it and had to ask what it was!
I’m assuming you’re a guy because you went with boxer briefs, which, if that’s the case, go to Target and buy a boardshort style swimsuit. These are specifically created to have no inner netting/webbing at all. Plus they dry super fast.
Another option is amphibious shorts, which are regular shorts designed to go into the water as well. I have a pair and they’re a godsend when it comes to going to theme parks (or my recent Hawaii trip). They look great as regular shorts, but if you need to go into the water they double as a swimsuit. Buy a plastic belt and you’re good to go.
I spend a lot of time near the water, but I seldom go into the water. I lounge on the beach, spend time in kayaks, pontoon boats, fishing boats, etc, but I rarely spend more than a few minutes actually in the water.
I wear a bathing suit with underwear underneath. I pack a few pair of underwear and a few bathing suits and change when/if I get wet. Although I wear boxers sometimes, under my bathing suit I wear “briefs” (is that what they’re called?).
After an unfortunate wakeboard spill that pulled my swim trunks right down to my ankles when I was a teenager, I wear compression shorts underneath now. No chafing, and the polyester/spandex dries a lot more quickly than cotton boxer briefs.
You laugh, but that’s what I used to do. As a swimmer I was so used to wearing briefs, what most people call Speedos, I wore them under my other suits. I finally go used to just having the mesh netting, but I will admit that at times I do get annoyed by the mesh.
Well, regardless, I promise you they make them, and they look mostly like that. Try going to the mall and going to a Billabong or a Pacific Sunwear (Pac Sun). They’ll have them for sure.
What sort of boxer briefs were you wearing before? If they were run of the mill cotton ones I’d try a synthetic version marketed for running/exercise before spending 3x as much on compression or board shorts. Target’s C9 brand sells them and they dry pretty quick.
Brother, I know what you are talking about. And when you add some sand into the equation, you are in for some very painful, uh, times.
Seems to be a recent phenomena - the liners they used to put in men’s casual swim trunks were fine mesh, but today they look more like netting, so no wonder we are getting rubbed raw. Going commando with board shorts may be an option, but there will still be friction (and not the good kind). I have resorted to using a pair of tighty-whitey bikini-style underwear to go along with any swim trunk. Does not dry as fast, but you can avoid painful situations this way. You can also just use a regular Speedo as underwear.
I have a similar problem with running shorts on long runs. So now I grease up with Aquafor or Vaseline beforehand. I grease my nipples, too,for the same reason. You just have to remember to lube up before you go out in public, lest you have to explain to the nice officer exactly why you were rubbing your crotch while standing on a beach full of seminude women and children. People are so quick to assume the worst…
For the nips, I recommend these. I never used any of the jelly products for that purpose - I don’t get how they work, and seem messy. These provide a barrier to abrasion. Be sure to trim away any hairs before applying. They come-off easy in the shower after a run. However, if you decide to take your shirt off midway thru a run with them on, you will get that same reaction - people will assume the worst.
Go to the supermarket and buy a container of corn starch. 2$ will buy a lifetime supply. After you dry off, powder up!
I spend a lot of time at the beach surf fishing during the summer. Often this will involve changing from wet shorts to dry shorts 3 or 4 times a day. I know about the discomfort you are speaking of extremely well. Corn starch (baby powder) was a total game changer.
