oversharing - severe bruising after marathon?

4leighbee

I've been dealing with what I thought were hives located bilaterally on the inner-fronts of my thighs (not where they rub - more to the front than that). I ran a bitter cold, sleeting, windy marathon - my first - the weekend before last. I can't figure out what in the world is causing these swollen, light red whelps on my legs but I feel it has to be related to the race, which is the thing that was so out of the ordinary. Have you had any experience similar to this? I'm trying to resist whining, because I already called the doc once to get a heavy duty NSAID for a few days. I have wondered, too, if it could be an allergic reaction to that. The hives or bruises or whatever are extremely tender and painful and they always hurt worse at night. Benadryl does nothing to help.

Sorry to jump back into the group like this, but I thought if anyone could offer ideas, y'all could.

Thanks, Leigh

lporter229

I am not sure if this cold be it, but a woman in my running group said that she experienced severe frost bite in that area while running in the cold. She said her doctor told her that area is particularly susceptible to frost bite, particularly when running. I can't help with more info than that, but it might be something you want to look into. Was it painful during the race or did it just happen afterwards? Did you have appropriate attire?

4leighbee

Probably not - multiple layers, but running tights and another layer of moisture-wicking material. It was nonsense cold, constant rain and sleet, and 25-30 mph winds. So ... yeah, nothing would really have done the trick, lol. I hadn't thought of frostbite. I can certainly research that idea - thank you for suggesting it! It was not any more painful than anywhere else for a couple days. By Tuesday and definitely Wednesday, the pain and swelling became apparent.

4leighbee

so I looked up frostbite and I'm thinking not ... no disruption or scaling of skin. Just swelled lumps with red color - spotchy on both sides. thx again. Interesting that it is a common area to get frostbite, though! I didn't know that.

4leighbee

Welp ... the answer is cellulitis, which has nothing to do with cellulite lol. Doc thinks I got it from the friction of my wet tights over many hours but who knows. Heavy antibiotics and a follow up in 24 hours with my GP to ensure it's not still spreading.

Djproulx

I"m wondering if you and I did the same marathon, the Shamrock in Va Beach. Very tough conditions that day. Certainly no help with your current symptoms, but this might be useful if you face similar conditions again. One thing my coach had me do on that day was to apply an extra heavy layer of Aquaphor to my feet. This helped to insulate my feet from the friction that causes blistering due to the hours I spent running in wet shoes. I've used Aquaphor and/or Body glide to prevent chafing and blistering on my feet, chest, inner thighs, etcetera.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

Aquaphilic ointment is even better of a barrier than Aquaphor, and a lot of divers seem to use it.

4leighbee

Thx to both. Yes the shamrock lol ... it was nuts. Turns out it was def cellulitis which took hold over top of non-contact contusions. I've been on bactrim for a week and I'm still bruised. Hopefully the infection is almost gone. I'm running again though so ... happy.