Why do nipples chafe ?Nipple chafing is a problem normally happening to men. Most running women wear sport bras which normally effectively protect them against nipple chafing.
Many guys never have a problem with it while running. Some guys, like I, do.
Nipple chafing occurs because of the constant rubbing of your running shirt over your nipples when you run. Usually, on short runs, there is no problem at all. Not enough time for your shirt to do real damage. But when you run for longer distances, the constant rubbing can result in your nipples starting to bleed.
From that point on you feel an unpleasant stinging sensation with every step you take. If you are unlucky, like me, the bleeding can get pretty heavy and you might have to end up throwing away some of your favourite running shirts !
What do you do when your nipples have chafed ?Treat your bleeding nipples like a normal open wound. So wash them with water. Then clean them with an antiseptic and then cover them with a sterile gauze pad.
Protect your nipples the next times you go running, because I can tell you that they stay tender for a very long time. The chances of them getting chafed again are quite high !
What can you do to protect your nipples ?
There are different things you can do to protect your nipples.
My remedies are :
# Use bandaids
Putting bandaids over your nipples before you go for your run can be an effective measure against nipple chafing. However, some problems that can occur :
* The bandaid does not really stick to your chest because of chest hair
* The bandaid falls of after a while because of your sweat
* And, okay, maybe I am not one of those strong manly men, but it is really painful to tear the bandaid of a chest full of chest hair.
So try to get those little round bandaids that only stick on your nipples and not on the chest hair area. Still you might have problems with the bandaids not sticking to you because of sweat.
# Use cream
There is cream available which protects nipples against chafing. I know people who are using vaseline for example. It puts a protective layer on your nipples.
Beware though :
I have found out that on longer long runs (over an hour and a half) the effect wears off. So if you use one of these creams then take the cream with you on your very long runs and apply again every hour. Annoying. I know.
# Use nipguards
My favourite way of protecting my nipples from getting chafed is wearing nipguards. They are little small pads to stick over your nipples. They always stay on. Well I guess almost always as there are no certainties in life. But I am happy with them.
Never experienced nipple chafing ? Then you might think that this section is ridiculous. Might seem so, until you experience it yourself !
Experienced nipple chafing before ? Well, I hope this section helped you in finding solutions to your nipple chafing problems.
It's just one of those little annoyances we can do without and is dead-easy to solve.
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