Chafing: Causes, Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment

Do you ever feel your skin of inner thighs, underarms or groin get red and irritated? It might be chafing. You might also get this problem on your face these days due to the need for wearing the mask all the time.

Face masks also gift many of us the problem of maskne i.e. acne problems due to face masks. Click here to know more about this problem.

It is also a problem of great concern. It can definitely be managed. A good ultra hydrating moisturizer can also play a significant role in its management. But you need to know some more details about this skin concern.

Chafing meaning inflamed and irritated skin, caused by many factors.

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Let's explore about this problem in detail:

What is chafing?
Causes of chafing
Signs and symptoms of chafing
Common chafing areas
How to treat chafing?
How to prevent chafing?

What is chafing?

It is a skin problem, occurs when skin rubs against something (cloth or skin) for a very long time. This friction leads to rashes (painful and inflamed).

Causes of chafing

There reasons behind this problem are:

Friction

A constant friction of skin against skin or clothing for longer hours is one of the major causes. This can lead to itchy skin. This can occur while dancing, walking, gymming, cycling or running.

Sweating

Too much moisture, hot weather, sweating or humidity can also lead to this problem. The summer months filled with humidity are the major factor in this context.

You have to take care of skin and prepare your skin for hot summers.

Uncomfortable fabric

Sometimes, a constant rubbing of skin with uncomfortable, irritating or grizzly cloth causes chafed skin. Fabrics like wool and cotton can lead to this problem. The fabric like cotton soaks the sweat and moisture. This makes fabric wet and which when rub against your skin for a longer time can lead to chafed skin.

Tight clothing

If you love to wear tight clothes, you can suffer from this problem. Especially in summers, when sweat and heat are on top, tight clothing can cause more friction, sweat and irritation. This can further cause chafed skin.

Overweight

You might be thinking how being overweight can lead to this type of skin problem. You know very well that our body gets more mass when we gain weight. The skin around thighs and arms get heavier and rub against your body. This action can also lead to chafed skin.

To prevent this problem, do yoga or yoga to control your weight.

Breastfeeding

Mothers who are nursing their newborns can suffer from chafed skin around the nipples.

Sports

Endurance sports can cause problems of chafed skin among athletes. The repetitive movements, excessive sweating and clothing material all together can make your skin irritated and inflamed.

These are the reasons which can cause you chafed skin problems. You can get the following symptoms on getting chafing:

Signs and symptoms of chafing

Mild symptoms include:

Itching and Irritation
Redness
Buring
Stinging
Hot and sunburn like feeling

Severe symptoms include:

No care and treatment of chafed skin can cause more serious consequences. These include:

Broken cracked skin
Blisters
Sores
Swelling of affected skin area
Bleeding

Common chafing areas

Undoubtedly, these days your face also suffers from the problem of chafed skin. Unhealthy skincare habits can easily be a major reason behind this skin problem. However, following a good skin care routine along with a healthy night skincare routine can prevent your skin from such issues.

Following these helpful summer skincare tips can also help you to prevent your skin from such problems in intense summer heat and humidity.

You most likely to experience chafed skin around:

Thigh chafing
Nipple chafing
Under breast area
Groin chafing
Underarms chafing

If you are also suffering from this problem, then you should start taking care of yourself. The simple tips given following can surely help you out:

How to treat chafing?

Chafing treatment includes:

Keep the affected area dry and clean.
Wash it with water or use an unscented gentle cleanser. If this problem happens to be on face, you should go for this mild cleansing lotion. This is one of the best cleansing lotions, especially for sensitive skin. This can help to keep clean the affected area without any dryness or irritation. You can also try these tips to tackle dry skin.
Apply petroleum jelly regularly on the affected area. If the problem is severe, consult your doctor and apply an antibiotic ointment and anti chafing cream.
Wear loose clothes and clothes with fabric which is soft and doesn't cause skin irritation on rub.

Keep these things in mind while treating the problem of chafing. However, to prevent this skin problem, you should also need to take some preventive measures:

How to prevent chafing?

Take a bath everyday and take extra care of body parts that are prone to get this problem.
Keep moisturized the face, thighs and other parts of the body to reduce the chances of friction.

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Use chemical free, mild gentle products, which don't cause irritation or inflammation.
If you are overweight, start reducing your weight. This will not only help to chafing away, but other health problems as well.
Try to wear loose pants and other clothings in summers to reduce friction.
Try anti chafing bands while doing exercise, dance, cycling or walking.
While doing exercise wear clothes like compression shorts that are helpful to absorb sweat. Also, if your skin oily type, try to use products which are oil free and non-comedogenic.

Prefer oil-free cleanser and mattifying moisturizer.

Know why to use oil free cleanser.

These are some of the things, if you keep in mind, you can definitely avoid the problem of chafing. Remember to take care of your feet as well, as the hard, cracked and chapped skin of feet can also suffer from the problem of irritation and inflammation.

To keep feet healthy, follow these 'Foot care tips for healthy and beautiful feet'.

FAQs

1. How do you treat chafing?

Keep the chafed skin clean and regularly apply petroleum jelly or anti chafing cream. Wear loose clothes and clothes that don't cause irritation. Use mild and gentle skin care products and consult a doctor in case of emergency. Remember the problem can be fully treatable.

2. How to treat inner thigh chafing?

Regularly apply about a teaspoon of petroleum jelly on the affected area. Keep the area clean and wear loose pants or pajamas. Avoid doing activities that lead to skin friction like cycling or running.

3. Are chafing scars permanent?

Chafing scars are not permanent, but if you are suffering from this problem for a longer time, it might cause hyperpigmentation that is hard to treat. Therefore, take care of your skin and do treatment on time.