How do I Avoid Staph Infections?

[Sakmongkol]

Ok so we've got plenty of quality grapplers on this forum with lots of expierence so I'm sure people can come up with a load of good ideas.

Basically how should we as an individual limit our chances of getting staph/staph related infections from training?

I was torn between Fitness and Grappling forum, feel free to move it wherever.

[theotherserge]

its a fairly new concept/methodology: bathing at regular intervals

[Sakmongkol]

its a fairly new concept/methodology: bathing at regular intervals

I was hoping that there would be some deadly shaolin secrets on this other than just good hygene :(

[cyril]

Anti-Microbial soap thar.

[Teh El Macho]

Fitness forum is fine. That question has been discussed in several staph-related threads.

At a minimum, you must never roll with an unwashed gi and/or shorts/shirts. You gotta wash your stuff well and let it dry well. You can wash your stuff with color-safe bleach (but just a little bit to avoid damaging your gi.)

After rolling, wash your hands, forearms and face with soap, not just water, soap. Apply pureil or some other anti-microbial gel on the face and hands (and legs if you are wearing shorts.)

I always carry a small bottle of pureil in my gym bag, btw.

Don't wait until you get home to take a shower, do this right after rolling (it only takes a minute.) Use Dial instead of an aromatized body wash when you take a shower after training (unless your skin is too dry.)

*** At this point, Cassius is going to say I'm hypocondriac :tongue3: ***

Having said that, the risk is always there. Don't pop pimples, don't dig ingrowth hairs. If you do, immediately apply iodine or some other antiseptic and neosporine later. Apply more iodine and neosporin if that this is big enough that it bleeds after rolling.

BTW, I always carry a little tube of neosporin in my gym bag.

For cuts, mat burns and ****, use liquid bandaid. It burns like hell, but it's a good antiseptic and it's very resilient (it stays on you during rolling.)

BTW, I also carry one of those in my gym bag. Basically, I carry my own post-nuclear holocaust staph survival kit with me... yeah, I'm paranoid.


Always roll with your clothes clean and dry (a favor to you and your partners) and always keep your skin wounds and abrassion clean, dry and disinfected.

That basically sums it up.

[Teh El Macho]

I'm renaming the thread btw. The title is not helpful at all for potential readers.

Original Thread Title : How Do?

[/walks away cursing and making retarded noises]

[jnp]

1. Make sure the mats are cleaned where you train at least every other time people use them.

2. Always wear a rashguard.

3. Wash your gear after every training session in hot water. Use chlorine bleach (stuff will eventually destroy clothing fibers, but that's better than having MRSA) to disinfect your gi/workout gear every once in a while.

4. Take a shower as soon as possible after stepping off the mat. If you can't do that, use wipes designed to kill germs on your skin. I prefer the ones found at defensesoap.net as they contain tea tree oil and melaleuca to kill germs.

If you're really paranoid, you can use bactericidal soap, although it's pretty harsh on your skin, not anti-bacterial. The anti prefix in anti-bacterial simply means it inhibits bacterial growth, not that it kills them. Look for the -cidal suffix if you want to kill the little buggers.

[theotherserge]

hot water and bleach will kill your gi, cold water and soap and hang it dry in the sun, the UV rays will cook out bacteria

don't roll in a wet gi, especially wet from sweat! Bacteria like moisture and dark places (hehe) to thrive. You will build up your immunity but there's a limit to that.

otherwise, Teh's recommendations are spot-on albiet a lil'hypochondriactic!

[jnp]

hot water and bleach will kill your gi, cold water and soap and hang it dry in the sun, the UV rays will cook out bacteria

This is an excellent suggestion. I used to do this when I had the option of washing my clothes during daylight hours. However, I've found that washing your gi using about half the recommended amount of bleach every sixth or seventh wash has not noticeably shortened the gi's useful lifespan. I never used chlorine bleach for the first couple of years that I trained. I still buy the same brand of gi and they seem to last just as long (about three years) as my first gi that I never bleached did.

My experience is by no means anything other than anecdotal though. I'd definitely prefer the making use of the sun's UV rays if I could.

You know that the UV will eventually destroy the fibers just like bleach does, right? Maybe not as fast as chlorine bleach depending on how much you use when you wash your gear.

[mike321]

If avoiding fails, then seek treatment quickly. When it comes to infections, and most medical issues for that matter, doctors have a lot more power early. If you hesitate the issue can get much worse very quickly.