Stupid Newbie Question

OnceaRunner

Hello,

I made the horrible mistake of wearing a wetsuit to do the Potomac River swim last Saturday and suffered some severe chaffing. Suffice it to say I will never, ever put that wetsuit on again.

My issue is that I am doing the Bay Bridge swim on Sunday and have some open wounds under my arms. I visited my doctor who told me not to swim (he tells me not to do anything, so whatever). I am wondering if anyone has a surefire treatment/sealant for these types of wounds?

I ordered some Lanolin and am going to make channel grease before I swim. Anyone have any thoughts on dealing with this?

Thanks for any tips!

ssthomas

Early in the season, I got some pretty good chaffing under my arms from my swim suit. I made sure to lube up before every training swim and Neosporin after every swim. Healed good enough in a week or so. Lanolin works best for me. For short swims, I used the triathlete favorite Body Glide. Seemed to be ok for short pool swims, but I wouldn't trust it for longer, open water swims.

Leonard_Jansen

Chaffing like that is just God's way of punishing you for wearing a wetsuit.

Sensible solution: You might try using Bag Balm - it is basically Channel Grease with an antiseptic added.

Stupid solution: When I used to racewalk and got cuts/blisters/chaffing on my feet, I'd soak my feet in an Epsom salt solution to kill the skin and make it callus over quickly. It hurts like crazy and I've never tried it for upper body chaffing.

-LBJ

wendyv34

I carry triple antibiotic ointment in my swim bag and coat any open chafe wounds with it before I get in. Maybe try that as a first layer, then coat it with your grease mixture.

HollyT

Never say never, you might want to swim somewhere that's actually cold some day.
If you need to swim and cover the open wounds, try to find a product called Tegaderm. It's a clear kind of "bandaid" that is in use after surgery, on IV's etc. I used it after my back surgery and had no problems with the incision getting infected. You need a new physician.

swimmer25k

I'm with Holly. If you still have open wounds, you'll want some kind of flexible barrier between it and your wetsuit. I've had my share of surgeries and used a Johnson product which was a multi-day healing pad. The carrier was a little thicker and was a bit rubbery. It might help with chafing from the wetsuit, which may not even be a good fit for you.

JenA

Vitamin E (prick the capsule with a pin and squeeze), aloe, and calendula should help with healing.

I once read about someone who walked into a glass door the day before MIMS (I believe). I'm not sure if it was formal medical advice, but this person ended up applying enough Vaseline that a barrier was formed.

Tegaderm is also a really good idea. You can get it at a standard medical supply store.

andiss

I would use something like this if you have open wounds and still want to swim

http://int.elastoplast.net/Products/antibacterial-xxl-waterproof-plaster

I had a fistula in my shoulder for like 4 months - i was waiting for surgery - fistula from infection from a failed surgery - and i used to go surfing with that type of plaster.

OnceaRunner

Thanks for all the great advice!

I ended up just using antibiotic ointment and a ton of channel grease. I am blaming all of that on my truly abysmal performance.