Arthur Peabody

I've developed permanent calluses where my butt rests on the seat. Eventually they crack and bleed. Oddly, they don't hurt, but that may be a symptom of another disorder.
I'm riding on the same seat, a lot fewer miles (about 2K instead of 5). I've tried a lot of OTC skin medications.

79pmooney

I don't have a good answer for treating the calluses. But I'd be looking at why they are happening in the first place. Same seat? Maybe that's the issue. Those calluses are probably the result of a lot of your weight on a small area, perhaps chafing and perhaps not varying your position on the seat.

Tricks I have used over the years. The various saddle creams aka chamois fats. For post issue so I can continue riding, I use the time honored Bag Balm; formulated a century ago to apply to cow udders in the early days of mechanical milkers. The next generation milkers were far better. Farm wives found all sorts of uses for that great stuff that allowed them to stay in business until those new milkers arrived. I'm guessing cyclists first discovered the stuff 100 years ago. I apply the creams to my skin, then wear good bicycle road shorts, then whatever I need to be warm enough (I ride nearly all winter). Use lots! Oh, finding Bag Balm - go to any old school pharmacy and ask. Small square green can that would look in place a century ago.

I go for rides bringing the wrenches for my seatpost and stopping as needed to tweak the seat position. (I consider seat position the number one in importance. My seatposts all have clamps with two bolts making small adjustments that can be undone or replicated exactly easy.) I used to race. 8-10,000 miles a year was what I did. Saddle sores happened. Not like yours but still not fun. I had to ride. So I'd tweak the seat position to stay off it until it passed.

Seats! So individual. The variety out there is amazing. Many stores limit you to the few they keep in stock, but things are changing, In cities where riding is popular, store owners are seeing that helping customers get the best possible saddle can be a winning move even if that customer ultimately finds that saddle somewhere else. Policies like allowing you to spend real time on a saddle, then bring it back for a full refund (often in store credit) if it doesn't work out. I believe some of the mail order outfits do the same.

The sores you have? I'd go to a doctor. Perhaps one who rides. A local shop or cycling club might have some names.

Good luck! And report back.

GhostRider62

Which shorts/bibs do you use? What lubricant do you use between the calluses and the pad?

indyfabz

Maybe see a medical professional?

Bald Paul

I think we could all help more with photos.

On second thought......

late

For starters, you've got the wrong saddle.

So...which saddle do you have?

Carbonfiberboy 

Are they actually bumps below the skin, about where your upper leg crosses the edge of the saddle? Or are they back under the sit bones with no bump, just normal calluses?

cyclezen

EEECK! Gotta be awful ! In all my years and miles, I've never had that issue, thankfully.
Only time I've ever had 'irritation' was when I've used non-cycling bottoms. There have been a few 'social' rides where I had worn some 'normal' hike shorts - of a polyester/nylon twill fabric which had those swimwear type mesh liners. Awful stuff for ridding anything, bike or moto.
Proved to be quite uncomfortable. Now, even when wearing some 'normal' clothes, I'll use either cycling bottoms underneath, or I also have some poly/cotton stretch underwear, which fits like cycling bottoms - those work also.
What have you been wearing consistently, when this developed ???
Much of my cycling bottoms assortment have only chamois material - no padding - so it's not a matter of 'padding' the sitzbones area.- and that includes all those years of using wool bottoms in my early years... I've not ever used chamois cream - although I did try it for a few months, some years back. Proved messy and no real additional pluses for me...
I imagine some people might have more predilection towards this type of issue...
Cracking and Bleeding sounds way beyond just 'prevention' measures - I would not hesitate - RUN to a dermatologist !!!
And try to figure out what caused this in the first palce.
Best of luck! It must be be awful not to be able to jump on the bike and go for a ride...
Ride On
Yuri

canklecat

Sounds more like psoriasis, especially plaque psoriasis, than callouses. Google around for photos and descriptions of symptoms. Could also be "ringworm," a common skin fungus that goes after our sweaty bits.

I've had plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis on and off for decades, due to an autoimmune disorder -- Hashimoto's, a thyroid disorder that's involved in a seemingly unrelated grab-bag of annoying symptoms. Right now I have an outbreak of plaque psoriasis because I've been taking a bunch of NSAIDs for two months, along with Prednisone, to battle a chronic upper respiratory inflammation. But if I take any over the counter NSAIDs for more than a few days per month I get plaque psoriasis, mostly in my scalp, behind the ears, back of the neck and, when it gets really bad, in the webs between my fingers. When those crack it's really painful.

Topical steroid creams help. I get the best results from Lidex cream. Pricey but lasts longer than OTC cortisone creams because it takes very little to be effective. My current tube of Lidex is going on 20 years old and still works.

But the most effective treatment is to identify the causes that provoke psoriasis or ringworm and treat that. Eliminate meds or foods that trigger the outbreaks. As soon as I quit taking aspirin or ibuprofen daily mine will clear up within a few days. Been there, done that, many times over the decades. I've mostly switched to CBD and occasionally kratom for chronic pain, but in the case of this upper respiratory inflammation, so far the only thing that helps is Predisone. And my docs don't like to prescribe it too often because of my thyroid disorder and early onset osteopenia. I also use a lot of inhalers for asthma and allergies, which may aggravate the condition: fluticasone, Asmanex, albuterol. That stuff is usually safe and doesn't cause problems in otherwise healthy folks, but for some of us every useful med has some drawbacks.

True callouses often disappear with continued wear/use, as most guitar players know. We start out with callouses on the fingertips, but as we continue playing the callouses vanish and our fingertips stay more or less normal looking and feeling. And while many folks who run or walk a lot -- including barefoot -- develop callouses, that's usually because they don't even try to remove the excess dead tissue. Take an exfoliant scrub bar to 'em and the callouses will vanish while the heels, toes, etc., remain tough. I've been jogging more than cycling this year and have some callouses on my heels, but that's only because I misplaced my exfoliant scrubber bar (looks and feels like lava) a few months ago and the Scotch-Brite pad I've been using doesn't work as well. I don't need callouses for my feet to be tough enough for running.

Long relaxing soaks in a tub with Epsom salts helps too. I'm heading to the tub for a soak right now.

Also, try Walgreens Moisture Barrier Ointment. Best I've found. I used it for my mom's bedsores as her condition deteriorated her final year (Alzheimer's and a bunch of other stuff that kept her in a wheelchair or bed her final year). I've used it occasionally when I had an ingrown hair or other irritation around my sit bones. Works great. It contains zinc oxide so it's very persistent and doesn't rub off easily, but that also makes it tricky to clean out of padded cycling shorts, etc. I use Fels Naphtha bar soap to clean out the zinc oxide (it no longer contains any naphtha, though, so it takes a little more hand work than it used to, but still works better than ordinary clothes detergents).

HelenP

I personally love calluses and see it as a sign of protection! But for the cracking, how big is it? If the skin medications don’t work, I’d probably try to cover it band aids or medical tape.

My saddle woe is also caused by friction. I get 2 lines of friction burn on either side of my bikini line that abscesses just love to recur in. Ugh!

zandoval 

I see this a potentially debilitating. Don't let it go. Find out where you are getting the pressure points and get them relived...

zandoval 

My wife had the same problem for years and we finally found preventatives.

First was the use of "Boy Shorts". It took a while but she finally found a suitable style that was still feminine.

The other important item was the use of Coloplast Citric Acid Skin Barrier. It's a colorless, odorless, skin barrier used in Nursing Homes and Colostomy patients to protect the privates. A small pencil eraser dab smeared into the folds of skin that get irritated does the job. One tube can last a year. I have successfully recommended this treatment for many of my patients young and old.

Men can get away with other kinds of Butt Butter like Zinc Oxide or just plane Vaseline. Women's skin in that area is more delicate...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

pdlamb

Is that about where the edge of your chamois hits? I've had some shorts that were only usable if the chamois seams were smeared with chamois cream before each ride. (Stopped buying the brand that was the main culprit after I figured that one out, obviously!)

Iride01 

The callouses on my hands don't crack and bleed. Never had them on my butt. But even if they are actual callouses, I'd bet something else is going on that needs someone trained in dermatological stuff to assess your issue more fully.

HelenP

oh yes I can very much imagine protruding seams causing irritation. In my case, I slather chamois liberally all over around the area!

Arthur Peabody

I made a 40% urea cream, rubbed it on twice daily. This slowly debrided the dead skin of the calluses. That left me with 2 quarter-sized bleeding sores, which persisted. To keep blood off my shorts, etc., I covered them with medical tape. Within weeks they stopped bleeding, scabbed up, eventually came off (I don't pick scabs.). I seem completely healed. I think this means that they were caused by friction, not pressure, and resulted from the increasing fragility of my skin with age. I keep applying medical tape after showering to prevent recurrence. I bought 2-inch-wide tape because I have poor aim on my own buttocks. If you have a willing partner perhaps the usual 1-inch-wide will work.

_ForceD_

Old thread. But (no pun intended)…
It’s always been my understanding that when cyclists refer to calluses on their butt, it isn’t in reference to skin that has hardened on the outer layers. I’d call those saddle sores. It meant that the interior muscles and tendons that your sit bones are in contact with when you sit on a bicycle seat had become callused, thickened, or hardened, and are able to withstand the long periods of the pressure from your sit bones.
I don’t know if this is by any medical professional, but here’s an explanation —
https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/q...rious-cyclists

Dan

Arthur Peabody

Calluses definitely are skin medically, my reference. I think of saddle sores as something horse riders get, something I don't do. I don't feel pain I associate with muscles or tendons. In fact, I don't feel pain associated with this. I discovered it only after I found blood on my shorts and towels.