Choose your saddle wisely. This is the most obvious thing to look
at, but not necessarily the simplest. ...
Check your positioning.
A reasonable bike fit, especially seat height, can make a real
difference and minimise side-to-side movement on the saddle.
Use a good chamois (the cushioned part of cycling shorts) since this is your skin’s first point of contact. Again, a chamois which is perfect for one rider might not suit another, but generally speaking, more expensive shorts use better quality material and have had more thought put into the design and shape. Look for a chamois with few or no seams, so that there is less friction against the skin.
Try chamois cream. Plenty of the pros swear by it. It works in two ways. Firstly, it kills off the bacteria which can lead to inflammation of the skin, and secondly, it acts as a lubricant and reduces the friction and rubbing between the skin and the shorts.
Keep it clean. Never use shorts two days in a row without thoroughly washing them, even if you only did an easy ride in dry weather. Change out of your cycling shorts as soon as you get inside and shower straight away, making sure that you dry yourself well before getting dressed into your normal clothes.
Take your cycling shorts off- As soon as
you’ve finished your ride, change out of your cycling clothes and into loose fitting clothes.
Stay dry-** You’ll want maximum airflow to your downstairs region to dry out the infected area. Go without underwear at night and you’ll speed up the healing process.
Stay clean- The best thing you can do is to keep your saddle sores clean. Wash them with warm soapy water once a day when you can. It should go without saying that you shouldn’t wear dirty cycling shorts with saddle sores.
Time off- It’s best to take a rest day if you’ve got some saddle
sores. Skin irritations really like having a break from the bike seat!
Antibacterial/antiseptic infection creams- There are many creams on
the market, but the popular ones are Haemorrhoid cream & nappy rash cream.
These creams can help treat saddle sores overnight if you apply them directly
onto the infected area.
Use different gear- If you have to ride, use a different pair of (clean!) cycling shorts*** or ensure the last pair have been
cleaned well. When I’m not travelling, I use different bikes with different seats and different shorts. With a combination of these, my body doesn’t get the chance to be tired of the one seat.
If the saddle sores are really infected… see a doctor- Like
any bad infection, you’ll possibly need to think about using prescription
antibiotics. This is not a common scenario, but it can happen.