When I started running earlier this year and slowly worked myself up to being able to run for thirty minutes straight, I had no real issues with injuries or ailments that sometimes come with running. When I ran a 5k in May, there was no problem.
Then, only a couple days after that, in the middle of a twenty-five minute run, I started noticing two areas of sensitivity in my chest area. My nipples were becoming hard and rubbing against the fabric of my shirt. I would have blamed the shirt, but it was the very same shirt I had worn for the race. I also had done my homework and made sure I only wore moisture-wicking technical shirts made of non-cotton materials during my workouts. Also, the shirt I was wearing was a pretty good fit, so it wasn’t moving too much.
Yet, there I was in the middle of my run, with my nipples getting irritated. I couldn’t just stop there because I run away from my house for the first half of a workout and turn back for the second half. That meant I was about a mile and a half away from home, and I had to continue my workout. Also, it didn’t really hurt. Yet. I continued jogging at a slightly slower pace for about five more minutes holding the front of my shirt out with my hands so they wouldn’t touch my nipples. That didn’t seem to be working. I finally decided that my comfort was more important than that of the drivers of South Street, and removed my shirt. This helped a little bit, but by that point my nipples were so irritated that just the air blowing on them was annoying.
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| Me, minus the blood and the ability to sing a capella. |
When I got home, my nipples were feeling real sore. And that pain lasted for at least three days, and was bad enough that I did my next run shirtless. I knew that nipple chaffing was an issue for runners, but I was still caught by surprise when it happened, since I went for so long without it happening. It turns out I was probably just very lucky for the first three months of training. This year we actually had a pretty cool/mild spring. I never had to run in temperatures above 65 degrees, except for a couple hot days during a trip to Denver, but there it was dry. The day my nipples started chafing, it wasn’t too warm, but it was one of the first really humid days. I’m a bad sweater, and all I needed was a humid day to make my sweat too heavy for even a moisture wicking shirt to take care of.
One of the problems with nipple chafing is that once it occurs, it just makes the nipples <okay, I’m starting to feel awkward constantly writing the word nipples, but that’s why I gave the disclaimer> more sensitive. Now I can’t even run in conditions that I used to be able to run in without protection because even merely thinking about nipple chafing is enough to cause it.
So I had to do something more about it. My first solution came from some online suggestions: Vaseline. Vaseline acts as a lubricant so prevents the rubbing between the skin and fabric. This seemed like a good, economical solution. Except it wasn’t a solution. Also:
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| It kind of stains |
Even after several washes with pre-treatment, the greasy and awkwardly placed stains remain.
Since that didn't work, I decided I had to actually cover up my nipples during a workout. See, one of the reasons that nipple chafing doesn't happen as often to women is they wear sports bras, which naturally hold everything in place and reduces rubbing. Unfortunately, men don't wear anything like that, so if we're going to cover up our nipples we have to put something "unnatural" on there. The first thing I tried were some Nexcare Sports Bandages I got at Walgreens because they were free with mail-in rebate <note to self: perhaps you should actually send that in>. If there's even a little bit of moisture where you are putting them on, they will not stay and the bandage is ruined. But, if you get them on just fine, they stay on very well, even with moisture. I'd even say they stay on a little too well (ouch). Also, when not "free", they are kind of expensive. So now I use something much cheaper and just as effective, 99 cent Walgreens bandages:
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| They're cheap, and I would never use them as an actual bandage, but for temporary nipple protection, they're a bargain. |
Since I started using the bandages, I have had no problem with my nipples, despite the fact that it is getting warmer and more humid, and I am running for longer distances. There are fancier (read:more expensive) solutions out there, but this works for me.
Also, I have purchased another product to take care of similar problems called "Body Glide". It looks like a stick of deodorant and applies non-staining protection to the skin. Although some claim it works well for nipple chafing, I will stick to actually covering my nipples. Still, I do use this stuff to prevent other chafing, but since my disclaimer above only mentions nipples, I will not go any further.
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