www.incontinentsupport.org

It seems similar to diaper rash, so I guess I'll ask this question here: What are your secrets for avoiding and dealing with chafing after it occurs?

I was out walking around all day Sunday and it was a very warm day for San Francisco, which made for a perfect combination of heat, sweat, and friction that inevitably lead to a nasty case of inner thigh chafing. Two days later it's healing well, but still tender. It's not infected or anything truly dangerous. I'm keeping the area clean and dry, but is there something that will help the tenderness?

Yeah, I treat healing both of them the same way. I would recommend a number of things. First, keep that area clean with a shower, or even cleansing wipes will work. Second, let that area dry out good. I usually lay on my bed with the ceiling fan on high. This speeds up the drying time to just a few minutes at most. Use a baby diaper to catch any small leaks if you need to, but also lay on a bed pad for just in case.

Once clean and dry, use a -cream- that absorbs into the skin which will help the skin to heal. Something like desitin creamy works ok enough, though I use a prescription triple diaper cream. Lastly, use an -ointment- that will create a barrier to prevent it from getting worse. Petrolium jelly will work in a pinch, or better yet get something like desitin original which adds an additional layer of medicated healing.

If I do all four things, then any rash or chafing will be completely healed in just a couple of days at the most. Even the really bad ones.

I realize that this is an old thread but recently I had a very bad case of inner thigh chafing and thought I'd add what worked well for me. I first tried applying a medicated cream, but even with that on my inner thighs still rubbed on my diaper/PUL pants and caused me even more discomfort.

The solution was to wear a pair of long leg boxer briefs over my diaper after applying the medicated cream and the irritation cleared up within just a day or two. Now whenever I think I'll be doing a lot of walking in a hot humid environment I put on my boxer briefs and haven't experienced chafing or a rash since.

Padded,

A similar solution is to wear a pair of spandex underpants or sports compression briefs over the diaper to reduce friction. Sports compression pants, because of their slick surface, do a particularly outstanding job at this, as well as supporting the diaper.

--John

Hi John:
Thanks for the helpful reply but I have a question concerning the use of compression shorts for this purpose. I can see where they would keep your thighs from rubbing, but I've found that if I wear anything tight (like compression shorts?) over my diaper it seems to really decrease the capacity, and even increases leaks. I guess I could always just get a pair of compression shorts that are a size or two larger, is that what you would recommend? That way they would still protect my inner thighs but not compress my diaper too much.

BTW...My Wife suggested a pair of JKY "Slip Shorts" made by Jockey for Women. They are kind of like a ultra light weight breathable compression short that extends down the legs a bit. They come in plain white or beige with no trim of any kind so they would work for men or women.

I have found the regular compression Boxer briefs like https://www.amazon.com/Under-Armour-HeatGear-Compression-Shorts/dp/B00KHTIVR8
do a great job with anti chafing. and give great support to incontinence products as well. .
my daily work setup consists of a northshore air supreme. garywear Pull , these boxer briefs and most of the time a tank onsie over it all to
prevent rideups , at home I ditch the onsie as my wife doesnt give a damn if visible or not. one thing that helped stopped the limitied
chafing from the brief was to toss a bit of powder between the northshore and the gary in the crotchal area

Padded,

You make an interesting point about compression possibly limiting diaper absorption, but, in practice I have had no issues with that. I suspect that you may need compression pants one size larger than what you currently are wearing.

Like Fan, I am using the UnderArmour compression shorts and pants and recommend them.

--John