Skin.. your best defense.

Hywel Teague of Notes from Ringside put up a very interesting post the other day.. I'll save you the gory details, but I encourage you to check it out along with the rest of his blog.

Essentially he was covering the dreaded "Staph" in particular the "MRSA" or medically resistant staph ("The Superbug"), almost sounds like a bad movie plot eh?

Thankfully, just like Injury prevention 101, there are a few simple things you can do to reduce your chances of contracting this nasty disease and enduring the treatment process.

Step 1 - Keep your stuff clean, this includes your bag!

I like to keep all my equipment (mouth guard, towel, ear guards, first aid stuff, tape, etc) in a cheap nylon mesh bag. That way when I'm done training I can shove everything in there, and then when I get home I can shove everything (bag included) into the wash. Of course I don't put my ear guards in the wash, I toss them into the shower and scrub them off while I'm showering. However the bag tends to collect assorted nastiness making a run through the wash cycle important, no sense putting clean stuff back in a nasty bag right?

Simple, efficient, cheap and easy to clean.

Step 2 - Pack a very simple first aid kit and keep it in your bag.

Ok, you don't have to be an Eagle Scout to understand this, frankly it's common courtesy to cover up cuts and scrapes before you resume training with someone. What do I keep in my bag?

1. Hydrogen Peroxide Gel, Very cool stuff, foams and stings without the mess, it's like a highly targeted germ RNC.
2. Neosporin, simple, powerful, and straight to the point, a little goes a long way, toss some on then bandage that thing up.
3. A handful of bandaids (No I don't buy name brand)
4. Extra Tape, wrap the whole thing in athletic tape and you are good to go
5. (Optional) - Liquid Bandage, I've got some, but I don't use it that often, I find it too easy to rub off or tear again.

Your Mom was right, put some in your bag.

Step 3 - Get some decent soap

Grab a stack of Dial Anti-Bacterial, first off, it's Dial, so it's cheap and good quality, second it's plenty strong enough for your bacteria ridden skin. Now, you might be one of those people who say that Dial is too strong and hurts my skin (you'd be saying this to yourself as sharing this with others would severely impact your manliness quotient) try Tea Tree Oil soap. Think of it as the "more friendly, green" version of Dial Anti-Bacterial, you can get some here from Puritan's Pride for a decent price.


Now, to close, a bit of showering humor, "How to Shower: Women vs. Men"

Embedded Video

Enjoy!

-hz

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