staph and ringworm

room needs to be well - aired and needs sunlight. try putting fans in the room to air it out. if mat is left wet, even wet with bleach water, it will become a breeding ground.

don't waste your money on mat soaps, they don't work; defense soap does not work. go to a dermatologist.

skin infections are also a huge sign of over-training. your skin is your largest organ. exercise, martial arts training, fighting, physical activity stresses your body out. overtraining leads to getting sick. most weakest organ in your body to getting sick is your skin.

think about how easily your lips get chapped in the winter. or how and when you break out in hives or other rashes.

i used to have ringworm regularly until i started taking rest days in between training days. instead of training five days back to back I break my training up more. many factors come into play with overtraining. are you stressed? did you sleep right the past few nights? are you eating properly?

change your dermatologist. mine perscribed benzoyl peroxide to use once a week to prevent skin infections. make sure your dermatologist can handle problems athletes face and not acne ridden teens and cosmetic derm work.

I have been training for years and have had some scares but nothing serious. It should not be as prevalent as you say it is. At my gym we wash the mats every day when we are done training with water, bleach, pinesol.

Zombiekev brings up a good point. It may be because of overtraining but you have to look at that on a case to case basis. I have been training 6 days a week for close to 4 years and have had ringworm once or twice.

I have trained in places that were breeding grounds for skin infections and fungus((damp, dark basement with flooding problem)) but we kept the place clean and my training partners were very hygeine friendly which makes a huge difference. I use dial antibacterial soap and havent had any problems with any infections for the last few years. We also keep a bottle of germ-x handy and we rub down exposed areas with it immediately after training. We have a few cases of ringworm pop up now and then but one of my training partners is a pharmacist so it quickly gets taken care of.

Mild cases are expected from time to time sometimes you cant avoid it but to have this stuff running rampant is crazy and shouldnt be happening. As Marshall said- "way too common".

dave leverich, would suck to get ring worm in your scalp. takes forever to get rid of when its in your scalp.

Breakouts of ringworm, staph, molluscum, or impetigo can happen in the best of gym, especially large ones. That said, the frequency at wich it seems to be occurring in your gym is cause for concern.

Frequent cleaning of the mats/equipment is important and you have every right to inquire as to how often that is done. More importantly is to remind people with suspicious bumps, dark circles, etc. to not roll until it goes away. It is frustrating when people knowingly put their training partners at risk.

Showering after rolling is helpful, and antibacterial soaps, etc may help some, but are no cure all.

The best way to limit exposure is for beating it to become part of the shared culture of the gym. Encourage everyone to do their part!

Dave

Ring worm fungus is every where not just on mats. So getting ring worm is more a problem of being wet. Make sure you dry off completely after showering.

I've heard great things about Cliff Keen's Mat cleaner yeah.
Great post thanks Mike!

Thaichuteboxer,

Bummer to hear that you are struggling with skin infections. Education along with the proper hygiene and the right product is the solution to your problem. There is not a single gym anywhere that is free from infection. Some of course, are worse then others, but they all have a certain level of infection.

You hit the nail on the head when you stated,

"Neither of us want to approach our instructor about cleaning the mats more often and talking to the students about not coming in when infectious".

These issues need to be understood and addressed. This isn't grade school where no one wants to sit by the smelly kid. Your health is an issue here as well as your training.

You can find lots of information at www.defensesoap.com that can be printed and handed out or just left around your gym if that approach is easier for you. These are not Defense Soap commercials, merely papers written by a combat athlete who understands about skin infections and how they affect us.

Defense has protected thousands of customers over the past five years and we stand behind our entire line with a 100% money back guarantee.

For a free sample contact me at defensesoap@msn.com and mention lockflow in your email. This will move you to the top of the sample request list.

As always you can call us on our toll free line with any questions or concerns. The number can be found on our site as well.

Train hard,

Guy Sako
Defense Soap