Hi everybody I'm an avid runner who is looking to start MTF HRT within the next month or two. I did a long run this morning under conditions which gave me really bad nipple chafing (the blood from this will work its way down the shirt, forming lines. Hence he term "team red eleven.") I'm guessing this will only get worse when I start growing breasts. I guess my questions are 1) will it hurt even more when this happens? and 2) I'm assuming bras will prevent this from happening, otherwise women would complain about this a LOT more, does this mean I'll need to start finding some sports bras even before anything really gets started?
I've never heard of this happening among female runners before (restrictive sports bras a given there usually) but yes, sounds like you'll benefit from something to protect the skin as well as something to reduce chest movement. Perhaps also a smoother fabric like a wicking shirt might help.
Dr. Scholl's moleskin on the nipples will protect from chafing. Not elegant, but it works.
It has happened to me before, usually when I am first starting and need to lose some weight. It doesn't happen anymore, bra or no bra. I do wear tech shirts I got from races though.
The way to take care of the problem right now is bandaids. Think of them as a mini-bra, LOL.
There is also a product called body glide that rolls on like a deodorant stick to reduce chafing.
Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote
I've found that for me in my male state simply wearing form fitting shirts and keeping my chest shaved reduces it a lot, today just had the perfect conditions for it. I was thinking more about how that area is about to get a lot more sensitive and (hopefully) jut out more.
Another thing that helped me a lot several years ago was switching to barefoot and minimalist running. I use minimalist running sandals now to protect the bottom of my feet from gravel and stuff. Anyway, once you get the form perfected there is very little bounce to the stride so stuff doesn't jiggle around so much. As a bonus, it totally cures all knee pain.
Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote
I think there are t-shirts especially made to avoid that, for males and females.