Keeping Clean on the Mats: a definitive guide for Grapplers! The Ultimate Guide to Ringworm: A Grapplers Study by Ari Knazan If you are a grappler, you’ve probably searched Google for information about ‘ringworm’. For those of you that don’t know what it is, Ring worm (medically called Dermatophytosis), is a fungus (not a worm as the name suggest) that affects the area of the body. Typically, if you get ‘ringworm’ on your feet, it’s called ‘Athlete’s Foot’ and if you get it in your groin area, it’s called ‘jock itch’. It’s a highly contagious, annoying, albeit harmless condition that grapplers have to deal with during their career on the mats. Since the fungus is contagious, it is easily transferred from person to person. This article is to provide the best information gathered from dozens of sources and medical professionals to give you the right way to deal with this pesky bugger. The problem I found in the past was that there was so much information (with conflicting points); it became impossible to discern what was fact and what was fiction. I even ran into Doctors who had no idea on the PROPER treatment for it. It was disconcerting to say the least. So, let’s get started: Do I have ringworm? What’s that itchy red area on my body? Is it ringworm or just a cut or abrasion? The key to understanding Ringworm is knowing the common signs of it. Ignoring it won’ make it go away. Education is the most powerful weapon in our battle against it. The incubation period from exposure is generally agreed upon by most pharmacists and Skin doctors to be from 4-7 days. It is most commonly transferred from PERSON to PERSON (skin to skin) but can also be found on clothing, equipment and mats. Being a fungus, it is amazingly tough and can survive in conditions you thought impossible. What does it look like? Before you completely freak yourself out and Google image the crap out of ‘WHAT DOES RINGWORM LOOK LIKE??!!” know that ringworm has a few different faces. It is most commonly seen as a round red ring with a whitish center. The infection is usually raised and scaly. The center is typically scaly as well and may be crusty or slightly moist and oozing. Its size may be the size of a fingernail to the size of a baseball. I would say the most common size is about the size of quarter usually. However, the longer it goes untreated, the larger it could grow (and SPREAD causing new spots). The rash may not have the characteristic ring but appear as a blotchy, irregular shaped rash on the body. Where can I get it? Typically, the rash appears on the areas of the body that are more exposed than others. In Jiu Jitsu terms, if you are wearing a gi), the hands, wrists, forearms, neck, face, scalp, shins, ankles and feet are the most common areas to show ring worm. However, this doesn’t mean that the spores of the fungus can’t make its way through the layers of your cotton gi to the awaiting skin underneath. It is my experience that gis and clothing DO provide a barrier against ring worm, hence the reason it appears on the parts of the body I listed above. There are products like Kennedy Industries Skin Shield that looks like shaving cream that places a barrier on exposed skin to help keep the fungus off you. What Conditions make Ringworm spread? Dark, moist, and hot areas are breeding ground for all fungus, ringworm included. So imagine the human body, which happens to be warm, and sweaty after practice (moist) being a perfect place for it to take hold. Ring worm FEEDS off the top layer of the skin and once it takes root, it begins to do its thing. Your gym bag should be treated as one of the battle grounds. Placing your wet practice gear (gi, rash guard, head gear, boxing gloves) in your gym bag after training is a GREAT way in transferring the spores there. And leaving your stuff IN THE BAG for a longer period of time just give the fungus time to grow more powerful. You should always bring a plastic bag with you as your layer in your bag. Or, wash your bag every time it comes in contact with training gear. You mean Ringworm can live on clothing and mats? Yes. The spores just sit tight waiting to jump onto you. That means either by clinging to your gear or laying on the mats. That means proper hygiene is important to stave it off. How do I clean my clothes or the mats at a gym? Your first defense against ringworm is NEVER wear your training gear 2 times in a row without WASHING it first. Not only does your stuff stink, it has been sitting around gathering bacteria and fungus. The BEST way to clean clothes is normal soap, hot water and HIGH heat dry. This doesn’t 100% guarantee that the fungus will be killed (a common mistake), but it certainly cuts down on changes. Using BLEECH will CERTAINLY help. Bleach kills almost everything. Your gym should be cleaning the mats every day, after every practice. They should be using proper mat cleaner with anti fungal properties (Kennedy Industries makes a good one called KenCLEAN). The mops used on the mats should ONLY be used on the mats and nowhere else. The mop heads should be cleaned regularly (and replaced). Absolutely no shoes on the mats. This is a common way to bring ringworm off the mats ON TO the mats. Also, never, EVERY, allow your fellow students to walk off the mats bare foot and then come back onto the mats. All students should have sandals at the edge of the mat to help keep the mats clean! Make sure to wash your clothes and linen everyday to kill any spores that are hanging out at home! Too many people ignore this little fact. Do some people get it more than other? Yes. In my experience, there are some body types that are really susceptible to skin infections. Usually bad immune systems can add to this but it isn’t always the case. There just seems to be some skin types that attract the little pesky spores. If you have had ring worm 5 times in a year, you are probably that person. You will need to be extra diligent in your prevention. What steps should instructors take? Education. Talk with your students at least twice a week to remind them to keep clean and take steps to cut down incidences. Ignoring it or not educating your students is only going to make things worse. Usually white/blue belts are the most common carriers of ring worm because of their lack of knowledge. I have heard “oh, that’s ring worm? I didn’t know. I thought it was a pimple or rash. I’ve had it for about 2 weeks.” If you have an outbreak at your school, you’ll need to take some drastic measures. You may need to skin check everyone who steps on the mat. That means looking at all reasonable areas of each person when they step on the mat. Look for lesions and spots. Also make sure people don’t have athletes foot. I’ve seen this a lot and it’s basically a good way to spread the fungus. You may need to limit or stop grappling for 1-2 weeks. You may implement partner roles (rolls). That means, everyone is assigned a partner and they can only roll with that person for a month. This will help quarantine the ringworm and stop its spread. If you think about it, if you grapple with 6 people in one class and those 6 grapple with 6 others (etc), one infected person can spread it to everyone. Remember that summer time and warm humid weather help ring worm. Keep your gym dry and ventilated. There are typically lower incidences of ring worm in cold winter months. Washing In the 25+ years I’ve been doing martial arts, I’ve only had it twice. Prevention and education are key. Here are some tips to help fight off ring worm. There is evidence to suggest that ring worm will start to set in and feed off skin cells only 30 mins after exposure. If you are practicing for 2 hours, the ringworm has already started to dine on you. In order to keep you clean, here is my routine after I train (I do this EVERY class, without fail). Wear sandals off the mats. Don’t walk around with bare feet OFF the mats. After practice, take your training stuff (gi, rash guard etc) and place it in a plastic bag or cloth bag that can be washed. When you get home, throw your training gear in the wash along with your bag. Strip down and place all the clothes you were just wearing and throw them in the wash as well. I usually wash in hot and then high heat afterwards. Do NOT leave your sweaty gear in your hamper to start to fester and help the fungus spread Take a shower immediately. Use head and shoulders or Selsun Blue all over your body. The anti dandruff ingredient helps kill fungus. Use products like GiSOAP with natural tea tree extract to help kill the fungus. Let the soap stand for at least 2 minutes. Make sure to wash all areas of your body Don’t forget your ankles and feet. I have Ringworm. Now what? You need to treat it. There are several different types of over the counter medications that you can purchase that will kill ringworm. Allylamines, such as terbinafine (Lamisil). Allylamines come as creams, pills, and gels. Terbinafine also comes as oral granules, which are little grains that can be sprinkled over food and easily swallowed. Lamisil is available as a cream. Azoles. Oral prescription forms include fluconazole (Diflucan) and itraconazole (Sporanox). Some of these medicines are available without a prescription. Brand names include Micatin and Mycelex. Other antifungals such as tolnaftate (Tinactin). Tinactin is available without a prescription and comes in lotion, cream, gel, and spray forms. Clotrimazole/betamethasone (Lotrisone), a combination antifungal and corticosteroid, is sometimes used to treat ringworm that is burning, itchy, and inflamed. This prescription medicine should be used with caution and for no longer than 2 weeks, because complications can occur with long-term use of corticosteroids. Griseofulvin (Grifulvin V). Griseofulvin comes in pill form and requires a prescription. These pills are for severe, persistent cases or ringworm of the scalp, which is almost impossible to treat with creams.. How long do I treat it for? The typical length of treatment is 2 weeks. It is important to use the creams 2-3 times a day and keep the area clean and dry. Keep treating the area for 1 week AFTER the rash goes away, just to be sure. You should notice a change in the ringworm after a few days of treatment. The ring will begin to fade and the area will become all one color (typically red). Can I use bleach to kill it? This is an old wrestler’s trick. In order to return to the mats more quickly, many wrestlers would simply take bleach and water (1:10 ratio, 1 being bleach, 10 being water), and place the solution over the rash (with Q tip). The idea behind this was: since bleach kills everything, it should kill ringworm right? Yes. It kills ringworm but it ALSO kills skin cells. We also call that a CHEMICAL BURN. Many grapplers in their infinite wisdom decide that more is better and don’t dilute the bleach, use the bleach 10 times a day and then wonder why their ring worm is no longer a ring but an open wound on their arm. Bleach will kill the first layer of the skin. It will also kill the second. And guess what, leave it on long enough, it will kill the third. The chemical burn from bleach is F#$king nasty and it WILL leave scars. I have also read that it might not actually kill ALL the ring worm and thus, you just burned yourself for nothing. Stick with the over the counter meds. Tea Tree Oil? This is a natural solution that has been used for hundreds of years. Tea Tree Oil has natural properties that help kill ring worm. It actually can sting a bit if used in its pure form. However, the medications will work better and faster from all the evidence I have read and seen firsthand. When can I get back to grappling after I have started Treatment? I know. You want to get back to training. You are anxious to return. But, returning too soon will only spread your ringworm to others (remember, it’s very easily spread). You will read that ringworm isn’t contagious after 2 days of treatment. This is a rule that I would never follow. It’s also one that isn’t true. The fungus needs to die. As such, the fungicide needs time to work. As the rash begins to dry out and lose its raised edges, it means its healing. As annoying as this is going to sound, don’t return to the mats for at least 1 week. It usually takes between 1-2 to see proper healing time before returning. Woods Lamp? Does it Work? A Wood’s Lamp (or blue light) detects a whole host of things. TV shows like CSI use it (as they do in real life) to detect blood, semen and other fluids at crime scenes. Ring Worm fungus CAN show up on a wood’s lamp inspection. The fungus glows a neon green. The problem is that only about 60% of the strains of ringworm fungus DO SHOW UP under inspection. Therefore, just because your suspicious spot doesn’t glow doesn’t mean it’s NOT ring worm. Usually a skin scraping and lab test are what is required to be certain. However, grapplers who have been in the game long enough can identify it pretty quick. Facial Hair and beards. Listen, if you have one and you grapple, I suggest you shave the damn thing. I have seen several cases of students who have had ring worm but didn’t know because it was in their beard. It went undetectable for far longer than it should have and thus, more cases showed up. The fungus feeds off the top layer of skin and loves hair follicles. It can be much harder to get rid of ring worm if it shows up in your beard or on your head. What left? I am always looking for more experiences and details from grapplers and teachers so I can update this little primer. Please feel free to add your comments to our facebook page
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 01:04:12 +0000