Staph Infection!

[Ninja]

Hey all,
Used to having mat burns etc on my face from BJJ or Judo I ignored an inflamed bit of skin on my neck and ear. Strangely it gradually grew in size (about the size of a 50p coin) and my ear got worse.
A friend of mine from work said it looks like Staph, I googled it and basically ticked all the symptom boxes. So phoned the Docs, went to see them and had it confirmed. As well as my inner ear being swollen. I have been placed on antibiotics and told to come back in a week.

Just wondering if any of you guys have had it, and how long did it take to go away etc. What did your doc say? It seems such a nasty ailment, yet is so easily treated.

Also, what should I do in regards in to letting people know? ie the coaches at my gym and dojo?

Cheers guys n gals

[dope540]

best thing you could do is to let the coach know. members health and safety is the main priority. the full time academies that i've trained at do a weekly clean. on really intense days, the gym gets cleaned either straight after or the morning after.

[Wotan]

If it is a surface infection only and the underlying tissue is quite healthy (in other words the whole thing just looks a bit "scabby" as opposed to getting bigger AND deeper) then you could use a 2% iodine tincture to paint the surface of the wound and stop it in its tracks that way. It will sting a bit but that is because of the alcohol and not the iodine.

You can buy this stuff from most chemists at about £2 a bottle - it will last you years!

When I came off my motorbike (for the last and final time) some years back one whole leg got infected. I didn't have iodine so I sat in a bath with a cup of Brobat bleach in it - now that DID sting ... everywhere! If I'd told the quack he would have gone mental no doubt. So I didn't. It has to be said that the next day all infection had disappeared. I'm not suggesting you do the same but it does show that a dose of halogen induced oxidation gives germs a headache of their own.

If the wound is getting deeper and you do not want to rely on antibiotics or maybe supplement them try using colloidal silver. I make my own but you can buy small bottles of the stuff on the net or some health food shops quite cheaply. In my experience little and often is the rule with c.s.

In case anyone is thinking, "what a fuss, its only staph ... teenagers have millions of staph in their acne spots" read on.

Staph causes acne and boils. It also causes food poisoning. Its the underlying agent behind MRSA. It is also the cause of toxic shock syndrome. It can also cause septicemia, osteomylitis, arthritis, heart failure, and impetigo - to name but some of the more well-known infections.

Without wanting to sound like a bighead I knew all that - and now you know why I got rid of it as quickly and brutally as I did!

[comanight2]

Seen some nasty staph infections in fighters only... Glad i never picked it up. Well not yet, its pretty much in the pipes for any grappler.

P.S. Wotan my Mum did that bleach thing to me once when I was a kid as I had some skin rash....hurt but sure as hell solved the problem

[neilw42]

Unfortunately I've had staph and it started the same way - a bit of inflamed skin - looked like shave rash turned into half my face, my neck, my head and my legs (!) being covered in lesions. I looked like an extra from dawn of the dead. I also got misdiagnosed as having herpes (which you can also catch at your MMA gym - yey) so had the wrong treatment for a week after I'd been to see the doc. Got flufloxacilin which got rid of it in a week.

Antiobiotics will sort it out but don't train until you are totally healed. Tell your coach too as you could have passed it on. Also wash all your kit, clothes towels and bed clothes at a high heat, if you have a girlyfriend, no sexy time till your better, unless she wants staph too.

In future, always shower after training and treat any cuts or abrasions with antiseptic cream and anything that looks dodgy, get it checked at the doc.

[Wotan]

Good advice from neilw42! Staph and strep (strep: think sore throat) are massively infectious.