Friday 8 December 2006

"So you've got the dreaded worm? I'm afraid we'll have to operate" A public health announcement


One horrendous case of Ringworm
(Ringworm is so called by the identifiable ring around the edge of the affected area.)

From time to time we grapplers do get cases of the dreaded lurgi. You can't assign blame to anyone with any assuredeness, least of all our stricken comrades (it's always the clean freaks that get it, the scruffs just spread it) We can stop it from spreading though, just follow the rules-

1.No shoes on the mat
2.Wear flip flops or trainers up to the edge of the mat. Don't walk off the mat and back on again barefoot- that defeats the object of rule number 1, especially if you go into the toilets, that's just obvious. I'm not going to name names but you know who you are. Dirty beggars.
3.Shower off A.S.A.P. after training. Use antibacterial soap if possible, not bar conventional bar soap.
4. Don't put the same clothes back on, get clean shirts and shorts every time you grapple, and evry time you shower off.
5. Check yourself, before you wreck yourself...and everyone else on the mat. Give your body an examination, especially if you have an itch. Sometimes it takes a while to manifest in the typical appearance.
6.Infections often get in through cuts and abrasions, if you get them cover them and protect others from velcro burns etc by taping up your gloves. That is, if your MMA gloves don't have properly fitting wrist straps because you bought knock off gloves from ebay becasue you tried to save a fiver. Cheap bastards.
7. If you are infected you can not grapple! Covering it up doesn't work! Wearing a rashguard, shirt, bandage whatever doesn't stop the spread. If you see someone who has it refuse to train with them or fight them.
8.Don't share gloves and shinguards. Get your own and keep them to yourself.
9. Rule number 1 again, since every fucker seems to forget after 10 fucking seconds. NO SHOES ON THE MATS!

Treatment-
1. Keep it dry, fungal infections thrive on damp.
2. Change all your clothing and bedding every day while infected. The worm lives in Fabric.
3. Apply anti-fungal cream. I recommend Lamisil, Canesten is not strong enough and it's too wet.
Don't over apply the cream, too much or too regular just makes it worse because of the moisture. Just follow the instructions on the label.
4.Anti-fungal oral tablets are available by prescription early but your G.P. won't want to prescribe them. They are very expensive, and you might get a prescription if you've already been 5 times to beg and plead, telling them that if you can't fight then you won't be able to buy back your grandmothers house from Shooter McGavin.
5. Be patient and don't train with anyone else until it's gone.
6. Get plenty Vitamin C, not the effervescent or chewable shit that is mostly sugar with a few other bad additives that probably outweigh the benefit of the vitamin. Get the pure ascorbic acid. Holland and Brrett always has it, it's cheaper and better.

*Some people treat Ringworm by giving themselves a chemical burn with household bleach by holding a cloth or sponge doused in bleach covering the affected area and applying pressure long enough to break down the layers of skin and kill the fungal infection. Although it will instantly kill the fungus, it leaves a scar and a scabbed up area ripe for reinfection. I can't recommend this as a course of action, as bleach is toxic and the scar is permanent. I've done it though, when I had a choice between a major jiu-jitsu tournament or 4 weeks off the mat.

Once again, since saying it 1000 times clearly hasn't been enough, walking on the mats in outdoor shoes is the No. 1 cause of a ringworm outbreak. Think about all the mud, the Chava spit at bus stops, the remnants of dogshit left unscooped unconscientious owners, all the crap you walk through in the course of getting to the gym. It shouldn't need to be said.

One last word on the matter, just to clear up an urban myth - Ringworm is an actual worm that lives under the skin growing and leeching nutrients from your body until it is big enough to burst out from under the derma.

2 comments:

Ahsan said...

Thanks for this info, some points on there I hadnt given a thought about before.

and lol at the last paragraph!

Anonymous said...

Your last line says ringworm is an actual worm. This is false. It is not an organism. It's a fungus.