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Many people suffer from chafing, especially in the thigh area. A little extra weight can cause your thighs to rub against each other causing your skin to become slightly raw and irritated. This repetitive friction can also occur in the groin area, under your arms, or even on your nipples and it is no fun!
Chafing is basically a name for your skin rubbing against another area of skin. It’s often a sweaty, painful mess and can be worse if you have sensitive skin.
The good news is that there are a number of ways that you can handle skin chafing.
Keep Things Dry
One of the most important things that you can do is to keep your skin dry. Wet skin just makes symptoms worse.
You may find that using talcum and alum powders, or even cornstarch, will help keep sweat under control and reduce skin chaffing.
Oil Up
You can also lubricate problem areas with petroleum jelly or another type of lubricant. Baby oil, lavender oil, almond oil, and vitamin E cream are also good choices.
But remember with essential oils, you need to mix it with a carrier oil first. Otherwise, they have the potential to burn your skin and worsen your condition.
Wear the Right Things
For sensitive areas such as your nipples, you can use nipple flowers or tape to prevent them from chaffing against your shirt.
Don’t wear your clothes so tight that it is uncomfortable, especially if you are exercising. Your clothing should be close but also breathable to help prevent excessive sweating.
Talk to Your Doctor About Chafing
Sometimes, even despite our best efforts, you may still find that you have areas of your body that are always chaffed and sore. Depending on how bad the affected area is, you may need to talk to your doctor about getting a prescription medication to treat it.
You should never let your chafing get out of hand because it can lead to a nasty infection.
Take a Break
If your chaffing is caused by a certain activity like exercise compression shorts or pants might help cut done on the friction. Better yet you probably should take a couple of days off to give your skin a chance to heal.
Eat More Antioxidants
Another way to keep chaffing under control is to eat certain foods. Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and foods rich in beta-carotene are a great way to get more antioxidants into your diet and will strengthen your immune system as well.
If you are not sure which food contains these healthy and beneficial ingredients, a rule of thumb is that yellow and orange fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin A and beta-carotene. Most citrus fruits contain vitamin C, and spinach and egg yolks generally contain vitamin A.
Chafing can be manageable if you follow a healthy diet plan and take the time to care for yourself. It doesn’t take much effort and you will enjoy life more without unnecessary discomfort and that annoying chafing burn.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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As a fitness instructor and runner, I’ve had my share of chafing. However, I do make sure my body is moisturized before I workout. If I am covering a long distance run, I use Body Glide, which is fabulous for anti-chafing. I also wear moisture wicking fabric.
Sounds like you know all the perfect things to avoid body chaffing. I’ll have to check out Body Glide!