First off, I just want to tell you that it is really common for this to happen to people of all sizes who have areas where their skin creates folds. It absolutely doesn’t mean you are gross or dirty or have poor hygiene, and it doesn’t necessarily mean you are infected or sick. You haven’t done anything wrong and your body is not bad or wrong. This is nothing to be ashamed of, its just one of those fun things many of us have to deal with as people with… ya know… bodies and stuff.
Now, my advice here is based on personal experience and talking to other fat people about this, so please consider it as such. But I have dealt with this and so have people I know, and what I describe totally works for us!
When we get hot and sweaty, it can mean that areas where our skin folds over – like under breasts/chests, under tummies, and especially in the creases between our inner thighs and torso – can stay moist and wet for prolonged periods of time. That moisture can irritate our skin, causing inflammation, redness, itching, and burning feelings. Add friction to the mess (aka “chub rub”) and it just gets that much worse.
The cure that works for me and others I know is to use a protective oil-based moisturizing barrier in the area. Protecting your skin from the constant moisture will heal the inflammation and stop future inflammation from happening. It also protects against chaffing from rubbing.
You need to use a very thick, oil-based product for this, because only those products will adequately protect your skin from moisture. Typical, water-based moisturizers will not work! Most of them are designed to soak into the skin and “disappear”. You don’t want that. You want a greasy barrier that will stay on your skin all day and protect it from moisture and friction.
I really like natural products made of olive oil, bees wax, coconut oil or shea butter. Avoid products with added scents that may irritate you (although some natural ingredients like tea tree oil can be beneficial because they help fight bacteria and odor). Vaseline or other petroleum jelly products also work very well and are relatively inexpensive – we actually used Vaseline as diaper cream for both our kids for this reason.
So slather the oil-based moisturizer liberally onto any affected areas in the morning and before bed or more if needed. You should notice relief of your symptoms almost immediately and you will notice any redness or inflammation fades within a day or so.
If using a thick, oil-based moisturizer doesn’t work within a couple of days, or it makes things worse, then I would personally seek medical advice, as there are other conditions like yeast infection or other bacterial infection that can cause similar symptoms.
Hope this helps!
I would like to add this: once you get the inflammation/irritation cleared up, you can put antiperspirant/deodorant in your skin folds. You know, just like we do every day with our armpits, which is another skin fold area that everyone with arms has. Not only will this help cut down on the wetness which is the big reason why the irritation gets started in the first place, it can also help prevent bacteria growth in those areas. But DO NOT apply it to irritated/broken skin. Heal the skin first using the barrier creams (butt paste that is used for diaper rash is a good one, desitin is another good one) and then start using the
antiperspirant/deodorant.This can also be a yeast infection which might require a doctor’s treatment or an over-the-counter treatment like Lotrimin. A powder with corn starch can also help prevent it.
@abominablesnowpickle said:
Cornstarch has saved my poor under pins from a nasty heat rash this summer. Worked and the rash was gone in days!
I use it on my tummy and inner thighs too, but I sweat badly (thanks, dysautonomia). So I like the anti-chafe stuff that runner use! Gold Bond makes a good one, which is the one I use.
@julielal said:
I used to get that under my boobs, and it turned out that it was mostly because I my bras were too small. My boobs were squished against my ribcage, which obviously caused a lot of sweating. I changed my bras and got the right size, and that problem’s pretty much 100% gone.
So that could help with the boob situation, at least.
Also, if the sweat smells kinda cheesy, it’s probably a yeast problem. The kinds of treatment you use for athlete’s foot work well for that.
Yes, I was going to say it could be a fungal/yeast infection. If the affected area is sore, red and kind of shiny, and has a sort of musty smell, applying clotrimazole cream (sold in drugstores for athlete’s foot or yeast infections) daily for a few days should help.
Mooncustafer 