[ducko]

Hey folks,

Since the temps have gone up a touch my tips have been taking a beating especially on smaller holds,
Skin is ok not thin or shredded but tips become sore to the touch after relatively short sessions, sure many get this problem in the heat but does anyone have any ideas how to prevent this?
Tired of cutting my sessions short especially when the skin is not trashed!

Thanks in advance

[krymson]

have you tried liquid chalk?

No guarantees but the alcohol seems to help when temps and humidity go up.

[Omar15]

Do you mean they feel bruised? I find this is a particularly limestone thing and seems to arise from the bobbly and spiky bits.

Maybe try taking an ibuprofen? I imagine your body'll adapt to it after a while.

I know the feeling though, and it is a massive pain.

[krymson]

have been having some skin issues so started hitting the anti hydral this week and it's really improved things - drier obviously but also harder skin with just two miniscule applications over two days on the tips. There is a lot of advice about it on this board and google. If you have access to the stuff give it a shot.

Also, i believe the consensus these days is ibuprofen and climbing dont mix.

[ziggytang]

...Also, i believe the consensus these days is ibuprofen and climbing dont mix.

They don't mix? Ibuprofen was on the menu for me everyday whilst in Font this year.

Agree you should give Antihydral a whirl Ducko to see if it helps?

[krymson]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/

[HaeMeS]

Antihydral is a revelation. 25 degrees and humid? 

Winter all year long... 

Ibuprofen might not be the best solution for exercise, but it is for getting a climb done. Really painful finger crack? -> Ibu. No pain means one excuse less.

[TobyD]

Maybe try taking an ibuprofen? I imagine your body'll adapt to it after a while.

If you need to take painkillers to climb, try not climbing. I would understand if on a last day of a trip trying to tick a project abroad, but for an after work session at a local crag? Inadvisable.

Ibuprofen might not be the best solution for exercise, but it is for getting a climb done. Really painful finger crack? -> Ibu. No pain means one excuse less.

Or you could just man up.  Manning up has the added bonus of not making your stomach bleed too, unlike regular oral intake of ibu profen.

[Fiend]

I'm having exactly the same problem training indoors. My skin isn't shredding, tearing, or flapping, it's just feeling tender on the surface from slipping off warm resin, and this ends up cutting short my sessions despite the rest of my body feeling okay.

I find the cliche of 'man up' to be just as useless as it usually is in this case - there's only so long you can concentrate on blocking out the pain as well as pulling hard in a session.

I'm going to start taking painkillers, if not Vitamin I then perhaps just paracetamol or perhaps voltarol just on my fingertips. Obviously I don't want to mask any warning aches in the rest of my fingers/hands/arms. Will get back on the anti-hydral too although I find that needs to be used even more sparingly.

[douglas]

Use roll-on anti-perspirant instead. Same compound, less concentrated.

[iwasmexican]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/

I'm sorry but absolutely none of the sports in that article are even vaguely similar to climbing (100 mile run, really?). What is does say it the end is only part that relates:

"When, then, are ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory painkillers justified? “When you have inflammation and pain from an acute injury,” Warden says. “In that situation, NSAIDs are very effective.” But to take them “before every workout or match is a mistake.”

Climbing wise this is much more similar, like a dodgy finger etc etc...

[SEDur]

This is going to seem dead obvious:

A long term solution may relate to diet, and water intake.
If you don't take in enough of the right nutrients, your skin may not repair itself as quickly.

It is also well known that being well hydrated will help your skin sustain activity and repair.
I also find that when I pull on plastic, I use far more chalk. The chalk I use has an antiperspirant built in, and drier skin isn't happy skin.

Can you honestly say to yourself, that you drink enough water during exercise... Let alone every day?

At the same time; it could be that you are just punishing your skin too much with difficulty, volume and big powerful moves.

[TobyD]

I find the cliche of 'man up' to be just as useless as it usually is in this case - there's only so long you can concentrate on blocking out the pain as well as pulling hard in a session.

that is perhaps the time to refer to option 1):

If you need to take painkillers to climb, try not climbing.

[krymson]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/

I'm sorry but absolutely none of the sports in that article are even vaguely similar to climbing (100 mile run, really?). What is does say it the end is only part that relates:

"When, then, are ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory painkillers justified? “When you have inflammation and pain from an acute injury,” Warden says. “In that situation, NSAIDs are very effective.” But to take them “before every workout or match is a mistake.”

Climbing wise this is much more similar, like a dodgy finger etc etc...

Hi former Mexican,

I felt this was the most salient point in the article, and it seemed sport -independent:

"Moreover, Warden and other researchers have found that, in laboratory experiments on animal tissues, NSAIDs actually slowed the healing of injured muscles, tendons, ligament, and bones. “NSAIDs work by inhibiting the production of prostaglandins,”substances that are involved in pain and also in the creation of collagen, Warden says. Collagen is the building block of most tissues. So fewer prostaglandins mean less collagen, “which inhibits the healing of tissue and bone injuries,” Warden says, including the micro-tears and other trauma to muscles and tissues that can occur after any strenuous workout or race.

The painkillers also blunt the body’s response to exercise at a deeper level. Normally, the stresses of exercise activate a particular molecular pathway that increases collagen, and leads, eventually, to creating denser bones and stronger tissues. If “you’re taking ibuprofen before every workout, you lessen this training response,” Warden says. Your bones don’t thicken and your tissues don’t strengthen as they should. They may be less able to withstand the next workout. In essence, the pills athletes take to reduce the chances that they’ll feel sore may increase the odds that they’ll wind up injured — and sore."

[frankstoneline]

If you're having sweat problems try hangin onto some steeped black tea bags. Just get em steepin', pop em out and let em cool until you can hold them then squeeze the piss out of em making sure to get your pads on the bag. Seems to help quell the sweating.
Also, I believe the finger tenderness problem is whats referred to in the medical world as vaginitis, I hear it's a serious medical condition.

[Omar15]

I have a some antihydral for sale - £12 including first class postage. I think it can definitely help take the edge off sore skin but be careful of using too much on limestone though because you might get some splits if you're prone to those.

Obviously it goes without saying that you shouldn't take ibuprofen every time you climb unless you love having stomach ulcers. But I think it can sometimes help buck a cycle of sore skin, borderline finger tweaks etc if you take it for a session or two.

[iwasmexican]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/phys-ed-does-ibuprofen-help-or-hurt-during-exercise/

I'm sorry but absolutely none of the sports in that article are even vaguely similar to climbing (100 mile run, really?). What is does say it the end is only part that relates:

"When, then, are ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory painkillers justified? “When you have inflammation and pain from an acute injury,” Warden says. “In that situation, NSAIDs are very effective.” But to take them “before every workout or match is a mistake.”

Climbing wise this is much more similar, like a dodgy finger etc etc...

Hi former Mexican,

I felt this was the most salient point in the article, and it seemed sport -independent:

"Moreover, Warden and other researchers have found that, in laboratory experiments on animal tissues, NSAIDs actually slowed the healing of injured muscles, tendons, ligament, and bones. “NSAIDs work by inhibiting the production of prostaglandins,”substances that are involved in pain and also in the creation of collagen, Warden says. Collagen is the building block of most tissues. So fewer prostaglandins mean less collagen, “which inhibits the healing of tissue and bone injuries,” Warden says, including the micro-tears and other trauma to muscles and tissues that can occur after any strenuous workout or race.

The painkillers also blunt the body’s response to exercise at a deeper level. Normally, the stresses of exercise activate a particular molecular pathway that increases collagen, and leads, eventually, to creating denser bones and stronger tissues. If “you’re taking ibuprofen before every workout, you lessen this training response,” Warden says. Your bones don’t thicken and your tissues don’t strengthen as they should. They may be less able to withstand the next workout. In essence, the pills athletes take to reduce the chances that they’ll feel sore may increase the odds that they’ll wind up injured — and sore."

That isn't to say anything about using it on isolated sessions, trying something hard at the end of a trip etc etc though.