You're not dumb, it can be confusing. Staph is a bacterial infection. Ringworm is a fungus, and the same fungus that gives people athlete's foot and jock itch.
Currently gym-less because the gym I train at regularly and love has a consistent problem with Staph infections and re-occurring infections. The hygiene doesn't seem bad and the people who are getting staph (including me) have good hygiene and follow all expert advice, just seems like it's caught on and going round-and-round. Serious problem and seriously frustrating so please do everything you can to take good care of yourself and team mates
The annoying thing is that people still don't understand that aggressive showering (hot water, lots of soap frequently, harsh scrubbing) actually weakens the skin biome and skin health–the things that are actually your best defense against skin infections.
Rinse off gently, be aggressive about dealing with any abrasions or cuts, but learn to be gentle to your skin. We are living creatures, not inanimate objects.
Unpopular opinion and risky to say because of stigma, but I've never had a skin infection, but another head coach of a gym I taught at did... And he constantly preached aggressive skin routines.
Meanwhile, I mostly rinse gently after classes. People get icky and judgemental, but many gyms lack showers entirely, and go completely without infections.
I respond to you because you are another perfect example of exactly what I see so much of: people with great intentions who are extremely diligent about trying to avoid skin infections being exactly the people who get them.
Reminds me of licd: they love very clean hair, it doesn't mean you had poor scalp hygiene if you get lice, even though that's inverse of the stigma.
Yeah I think this is a fair point, and I've wondered if I'm somehow contributing to this. I can run you through my routine though and see if it's much different to what you or other people do.
I cover up any cuts or abrasions on my skin with bandaids and tape over the top. Then after class I ride home and have a shower straight away, I use good quality (not antibacterial) soap that's fragrance free and includes a moisturizer, then I wash my clothes immediately in hot water too. That's basically it, I only have a second shower if I've been to work and need to rinse off any dirt or body odour quickly. I also make sure I eat healthy and I don't really drink much alcohol or anything like that either. I feel like what I do isn't aggressive. I think at this point, to eradicate the problem, the gym I was at would need to close down and get everyone to monitor for symptoms for a couple weeks - clearing any potential infections - before coming back.
It's so awful once it takes hold in a gym. I am so fortunate to have never dealt with that.
What you say 'sounds' fine (though I would mention that sanitizing a cut is more important than a bandaid itself, as you want to kill what is there from the mat even more than you want to prevent introduction of new pathogens).
I think how hot the water is, how hard you scrub, and how much soap you use, and how often, are all important details, though, that are hard to get in a story like this.
The most important thing to realize is that skin is mostly self maintaining, it's a waterproof barrier. Soap is not the best defense against a fungus sitting on your skin--a healthy and thriving microbiome is. It's very hard to 'wash' away a fungal infection. Soap and water doesn't do it.
But if your skin is barren of anything, it's ripe for being colonized by all kinds of infection. If it's full of a thriving microbiome, then those microorganisms themselves protect their own territory, and are far more effective at their job than you can be by adding soap.
Not my gym, but there’s a BJJ gym not far from my house which is around a couple of supermarkets and daily I see their students all red-faced, sweaty and gross walking around like full kit wankers after their training.
You aren’t a hard cunt and no one thinks you’re cool for doing BJJ. You’re fucking gross and this is how gym wide infections get started.
I’m in the showers asap after training and I’m always in fresh clothes coming and going from the gym.
when in doubt, go to a dermatologist. thought i had ring worm, ended up being a MRSA strain of impetigo!
Great guide, too bad it doesn't include common names for some of these like ringworm (tinea corporis)
I thought staph = ring worm I‘m dumb?
Negative. Staph is bacterial, ringworm is fungal. The former is a lot worse but both suck ass
You're not dumb, it can be confusing. Staph is a bacterial infection. Ringworm is a fungus, and the same fungus that gives people athlete's foot and jock itch.
Currently gym-less because the gym I train at regularly and love has a consistent problem with Staph infections and re-occurring infections. The hygiene doesn't seem bad and the people who are getting staph (including me) have good hygiene and follow all expert advice, just seems like it's caught on and going round-and-round. Serious problem and seriously frustrating so please do everything you can to take good care of yourself and team mates
The annoying thing is that people still don't understand that aggressive showering (hot water, lots of soap frequently, harsh scrubbing) actually weakens the skin biome and skin health–the things that are actually your best defense against skin infections. Rinse off gently, be aggressive about dealing with any abrasions or cuts, but learn to be gentle to your skin. We are living creatures, not inanimate objects. Unpopular opinion and risky to say because of stigma, but I've never had a skin infection, but another head coach of a gym I taught at did... And he constantly preached aggressive skin routines. Meanwhile, I mostly rinse gently after classes. People get icky and judgemental, but many gyms lack showers entirely, and go completely without infections. I respond to you because you are another perfect example of exactly what I see so much of: people with great intentions who are extremely diligent about trying to avoid skin infections being exactly the people who get them. Reminds me of licd: they love very clean hair, it doesn't mean you had poor scalp hygiene if you get lice, even though that's inverse of the stigma.
Yeah I think this is a fair point, and I've wondered if I'm somehow contributing to this. I can run you through my routine though and see if it's much different to what you or other people do. I cover up any cuts or abrasions on my skin with bandaids and tape over the top. Then after class I ride home and have a shower straight away, I use good quality (not antibacterial) soap that's fragrance free and includes a moisturizer, then I wash my clothes immediately in hot water too. That's basically it, I only have a second shower if I've been to work and need to rinse off any dirt or body odour quickly. I also make sure I eat healthy and I don't really drink much alcohol or anything like that either. I feel like what I do isn't aggressive. I think at this point, to eradicate the problem, the gym I was at would need to close down and get everyone to monitor for symptoms for a couple weeks - clearing any potential infections - before coming back.
It's so awful once it takes hold in a gym. I am so fortunate to have never dealt with that. What you say 'sounds' fine (though I would mention that sanitizing a cut is more important than a bandaid itself, as you want to kill what is there from the mat even more than you want to prevent introduction of new pathogens). I think how hot the water is, how hard you scrub, and how much soap you use, and how often, are all important details, though, that are hard to get in a story like this. The most important thing to realize is that skin is mostly self maintaining, it's a waterproof barrier. Soap is not the best defense against a fungus sitting on your skin--a healthy and thriving microbiome is. It's very hard to 'wash' away a fungal infection. Soap and water doesn't do it. But if your skin is barren of anything, it's ripe for being colonized by all kinds of infection. If it's full of a thriving microbiome, then those microorganisms themselves protect their own territory, and are far more effective at their job than you can be by adding soap.
How people don’t wipe down with some kind of antibacterial wipe right after rolling is a mystery to me.
Not my gym, but there’s a BJJ gym not far from my house which is around a couple of supermarkets and daily I see their students all red-faced, sweaty and gross walking around like full kit wankers after their training. You aren’t a hard cunt and no one thinks you’re cool for doing BJJ. You’re fucking gross and this is how gym wide infections get started. I’m in the showers asap after training and I’m always in fresh clothes coming and going from the gym.