In 10 years of training, I had ring worm once. That's about it. I train gi primarily though.
Short answer is that I am healthier when I am training & in shape, than when I am not training, fat, & isolated.
& that includes whatever shit I get from the gym & my partners.
The bigger issue for you, though, should be: even if you catch stuff, so fucking what? None of that is gonna kill you. You are going to die someday anyway; there are no refunds on life, so what are you gaining out of denying yourself the things you love in exchange for locking yourself in a room in fear? On your deathbed, do you want to pat yourself on the back for having a good run, or do you want to regret having never done anything?
BarkLikeADog -
The bigger issue for you, though, should be: even if you catch stuff, so fucking what? None of that is gonna kill you. You are going to die someday anyway; there are no refunds on life, so what are you gaining out of denying yourself the things you love in exchange for locking yourself in a room in fear? On your deathbed, do you want to pat yourself on the back for having a good run, or do you want to regret having never done anything?
This. While it might be a long shot, there's a book out called Healing Back Pain by Dr. John Sarno. He believes that the majority of neck/back pain is psychosematic and is basically the bodies defense mechanism to distract it from stress/anger situations that are going on in one's life. Howard Stern had an issue with obsessive/compulsive disorder and having read Dr. Sarno's books thinks it's the same type of thing and "cured" himself. You might want to check it out.
"This. While it might be a long shot, there's a book out called Healing Back Pain by Dr. John Sarno. He believes that the majority of neck/back pain is psychosematic and is basically the bodies defense mechanism to distract it from stress/anger situations that are going on in one's life. Howard Stern had an issue with obsessive/compulsive disorder and having read Dr. Sarno's books thinks it's the same type of thing and "cured" himself. You might want to check it out. "
On the flip side, I was listening to a radio program (in the car driving to training) which argued that some reasonably famous historical figures (including Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale) became hypochondriacs as a means of freeing up their time to write or do other intellectual work. Not meaning to be insulting to the OP or saying he's like them, or implying your suggestion isn't a good one.
Personally, I have a slight cold now and got swine flu last year, but figure I was more likely to have got these at work or from public transport than on the mat. My instructor keeps reminding us not to train if we have some ailment that might be infectious.
these worries are all in your head, you have more control over your thoughts than you realize. once you accept that it can become easier to overcome problems like this. good luck with it.