Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A Dangerous Habit

I think it has been 2 or maybe two and a half years since I got hit with MRSA. For those of that dont know what MRSA is you need to read up on it. MRSA is basically a super strong antibiotic resistant infection. Usually starts as an infected pimple around the hind quarters (but can be anywhere on the body). The infection is often found in the grappling arts because of the close body to body contact.

My do I bring this up? Well it has come to my attention that some people in our gym (guys and girls) are leaving their Gis at the gym to "air out" rather than bringing their gear home to be washed. Not only is this gross, but it is dangerous. MRSA is no joke, when I got MRSA I was in my early 30s and in prime physical condition. I was laid up in the hospital for over a week, out of training for a few months and I still have a hole in my leg from where the doctors had to cut into the infection to let it drain. I am not talking about a pin hole either, the scar is about the size of a half dollar now, but at the time the infection the area was the size of a cantaloupe, the hole was the size of a dollar coin and about 1/2 inch deep. I caught the infection early because I knew what to look for, but death from MRSA is absolutely NOT unheard of so dont F-around with it. There are other skin infections that are less dangerous but unsightly and annoying that no one wants either.

Hopefully I have made my point. It is not just about how much YOU sweat during class, you are rolling with everyone else in class too. You might not even get an infection, but your Gi could have something on it that you pass to someone else next class.

A note on ring worm:

I know someone that INSISTS they are immune to skin infections. Well the fact is no one is immune to ring worm because it is not a virus it is a fungus. Your body might be able to fight it off because your immune system is strong that day, but it does not mean you are immune. It just means you were a carrier for the short period of time when you HAD ringworm and didnt know it. To put it another way, saying you are immune to ringworm is like saying you are immune to bear attacks because you dont get attacked by bears. Sorry it just does not work that way.

http://ringworm-treatment-center.com/2008/02/ringworm-treatment-and-immunity.html

4 comments:

  1. Yeah, hanging your gi up after class is definitely not a substitue for washing it. Barf.

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  2. Great post. I think something like this should be given as a speech in class once a month. People are just not aware of what to look for, and the fact that the risk is even there.

    Especially given how easily I seem to get mat/gi burn, I'm constantly paranoid about infection. It's funny, but I almost never tape because of an injury, I'm taping mat/gi burn to help prevent infection.

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  3. I'm immune to bear attacks.

    But, it was a great post. I'm amazed sometimes at the ignorance of common hygienic protocol.

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  4. @ Jason, be sure to tell that to the bear the next time you see one. To all, be sure to follow Jason at his new blog site Heavytraining.wordpress.com ! I am secretly following it waiting for the right time to pounce with an insightful comment.

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