Joe Lauzon -
Tips to avoid nasty skin stuff that goes along with training…
1) Know what things like mrsa, staph, impetigo, ringworm, cellulitis, etc look like so as soon as one pops up, you know what it is.
2) Always shower immediately after the gym with something like defense soap or antibacterial soap. Never shower before the gym, as that opens your pores and leaves you more susceptible to picking stuff up. In the same vein, try to take a warm-to-semi-cold shower AFTER the gym so you can get clean first and then after clean, warm up the water. You don't have to be crazy about this, just do whatever you can handle.
3) NEVER shave immediately before or after the gym. We had one guy at my gym that ended up quitting… he caught staph on his face like 3x in a year. I kept telling him why it was happening (he was the only one in the gym with it) and he was like "Well, I had this same problem at my old gym too…" yet saw no correlation with his shaving and catching staph where he would nick himself shaving. He is the only person I have ever heard of with staph on their face.
4) Burns and scratches are usually the entry point for infection… so make sure to clean those areas well after training. Long sleeves/pants help if you are really worried about it. One of the guys that lives with me wears long sleeves and a long sleeve spandex top under his shirt… I think its overkill but he has never had any issues catching anything.
5) Never assume something is a pimple… I have seen tons of people with "stuff" and they have a "weird pimple" somewhere… its not a pimple dude, go get that checked out. I have told lots of guys in my gym to come down with something, not know what it was because they just aren't familiar with it. Ask someone that knows.
6) If you have anything… or you see someone else that might have something… bring it to someones attention that knows what they are looking at. This goes along with number 5, but its not just about you… it goes for training partners too.
I've been training for 13 years and ringworm will pop up from time to time but thats it. Keep an eye out and it shouldn't be that big of an issue.
(and as a side note, most people get it because their body is so weakened from training that their body can't fight things off. The unfortunate truth is this bacteria is everywhere all the time, and you can catch it anywhere.)
I just googled these infections to educate myself...my God.
Why demon?
