BAMAHJJ

Shane · Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 18

Hello Everyone,

For anyone that rolled with me during Tuesday and Wednesday please be advised.

I went to the doctor yesterday as I had 2 odd looking pimples. Turns out I have impetigo which is a fairly common skin infection. Unfortunately it is typically caused by a strain of staph. Luckily not the crazy one that comes to mind. I caught it in the very early stages so the risks to others should be minimal. With the incubation period, I probably was passed it sometime last week. Seeing as I work from home and no one here has any signs of it, and my friends have no issues, it was likely obtained from class.

I was pretty pissed off and frustrated at the situation yesterday as I have business meetings in the states next week and the small lesions are on my face. Since I caught it early and started meds, they once again look like pimples. Regardless, I alerted Sanguebom as soon as I got home. I was embarrassed and angry to say the least.

If you have ANYTHING that looks out of the ordinary see a doctor as you can get either creme or pills to clear it up in a few days. You are non-contagious in under a week. It sucks to be away from training but it is better than trying to hide it and pass it along.

Take this as a warning, originally I was going to rant at the individuals I feel may be responsible (people who don't wash their Gis every class, who come to the club smelling or sick, who do not trim their nails - the worse because people are constantly getting cut by these, etc), but I changed my mind as I don't think that is going to solve anything.

So instead I am taking ownership of my own issue and alert the club and since I did not point out to some people last week that we all need to uphold a level of hygiene or we are at risk of infection...i have to live with what I got, I just hope I never passed it along to anyone else.

It is way too easy to pass things around the club when you have 20+ people per class swapping sweat and blood. I have been training at BAMA for just over a year and this is the first time I have ever caught anything, luckily it is a minor common infection. Do a google image search for MRSA and see what more damaging and still a fairly common contact sport skin infections we can get if we are not clean.

In my defense I feel that I keep myself and my gym clothes clean so I will share with you my routine and you will see how easy it is to still "catch" something if others are not as diligent as yourself.

-Shower every day
-Shower after every class and use antibacterial or tea tree (natural antiseptic)
-Cut nails as soon as I am able too fit nail clippers under the nail (at least once a week)
-Brush teeth every morning, before class if I have coffee breath and before bed.
-Purell my hands immediately after class as I shower at home
-Wash gi and gym clothes immediately after class on a long cycle. Soak in vinegar and water once every few weeks.
-Leave the gym bag open to dry and wash as needed.
-Place gloves in freezer every few weeks to kill off anything that may be living in the leather

Sorry for the long post. If I passed anything along I sincerely apologize. We need to feel empowered to point out others that have suspect skin conditions, illnesses, or just are dirty otherwise this is only going to affect peoples training, their lives and their health.

Take it easy,

Shane

DocG · Joined: 21 Dec 2007 Posts: 76

An excellent post, Shane!

My unsolicited two cents worth:

As anyone who knows Shane or has just rolled with him, it should be quite apparent that he is a hygienic, conscientious guy. We must ask ourselves why or how did he acquire this infection. If he indeed did acquire it on our mats, then what did make him potentially more susceptible to an infection by a very commonplace bacteria such as staphylococcus aureus?

We engage in a very vigorous, physically strenuous form of exercise, which can reduce the potency of our immune system. We are particularly susceptible whence our immune system drops in the middle of our class, right after our intensive cardio (remember your first few weeks at BAMA and how close you actually came to vomiting from how we push ourselves to the limit). If there are other things that add stress to your immune system concurrently (such as work, relationships, finances, moving your home, whatever…) then you are that much more likely to succumb to an infection that you are exposed to on our mats. Overall, the exercise that we do makes our immune system stronger, it does enter a vulnerable stage which can potentially really suck…… Certainly, rolling when you feel run down is a recipe to infection!

My recommendations: Get adequate sleep (8 hours minimum), reduce alcohol consumption, eat properly (this excludes fast food….but includes lots of fruits and vegetables), drink adequate water (minimum of 2 litres per day…..this is not inclusive of pop, coffee, etc.), use a whey protein supplement fortified with glutamine, supplement with fish oil (one that is purified so it doesn’t taste fishy), take a multivitamin, take extra vitamin A,C,D, and E. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, just the things on the top of my immune-boosting list. Living “cleanly” like this can go a long way to ensuring that you are less likely to be a casualty.

Chipping in at the end of the night to ensure the mats are swept and disinfected will also help us prevent this very commonplace bacteria from getting us down!

sanguebom · Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:50 pm Post subject:

Nice - I will set up the date for Fall clean up and look for your help in maintaining a clean training environment and mindset.

Take Care Team! Very Happy

_________________
sanguebom
905 336 1471
sanguebom@telus.blackberry.net
www.bamahjj.com
bama@bamahjj.com

Hardcore Slacker · Joined: 06 Apr 2007 Posts: 94 Location: Waterdown

A rash guard is also a good idea. Avoid the skin to skin contact and looks sexy too Shocked

sanguebom · Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 11:34 am Post subject:

Long sleeve rash guard is the safest.

Guys let's take a serious approach to this - people have no choice but to follow the rules.

When I come back, I will be on top of this.
_________________
sanguebom
905 336 1471
sanguebom@telus.blackberry.net
www.bamahjj.com
bama@bamahjj.com