Hello again HurtsBad members. Pay attention to this Blog! Insist all members of HurtsBad read this one. Copy it and give it to your Coaches, Instructors, and Fellow Fighters because this is important to everyone.As I told you in my first Blog the other day, I just underwent recertification for my First Aid, CPR, AED, and Blood Borne Pathogen Card. A subject came up during discussion of Blood Borne Pathogens that should be of great interest to everybody.
Blood Borne Pathogens are just what the name implies: diseases passed on through contact with blood: HIV and Hepatitis being the most prevalent. These can be passed on by getting a person's blood in your mouth, eyes, or through a break in the skin such as a cut or scrape. And those of us teaching or training in MMA, as well as everyday living get plenty of those, don"t we? As the gentleman from the Fire Department said, "If it's not my immediate family, if someone's bleeding, I'm taking common sense precautions." How well do you know your students and fellow athletes? Coaches and Instructors, do you inquire about past injuries and general medical histories of the people you train? Athletes, do you inform your coaches of any ailments you have had or get? This should be very important to everyone whether you intend to make a career of Martial Arts (be it Classical or Mixed Martial Arts) or not, staying healthy should be important issue #1 in your life.
How many of you remember the last couple of seasons of The Ultimate Fighter when at the very beginning of each season someone was found with an outbreak of the Herpes Virus and sent home? One guy had it on his neck and the other had it on his forehead. I wonder if anyone at the gyms they trained at were aware of their conditions. If you have a case of Athletes Foot, the last place I want you to be is barefoot on my mat training. We all roll on that mat and matburns and scrapes are the norm. I shave my head so I have a lot of skin contacting that mat. I'd have you skipping rope or working your standup hand techniques on the heavy bag and practicing your footwork WEARING SHOES, until you got your condition under control. I'm sure if you get a cold or the flu, you have the courtesy to stay away from others as much as possible until you're not contagious. Be just as courteous if the problem is more serious. BE HONEST! More than your pride and dignity is at stake here.
Coaches, Instructors, and Gym Owners: You should keep a supply of Nitrile gloves around to use when treating cuts, bloody noses, and scrapes. Nitrile, not Latex, as some people can have extreme allergic reactions to Latex and not be aware of it. Keep a couple of bottles of Purell Hand Sanitizer in conspicuous locations around the gym. Athletes: Keep a small bottle in your bags. I don't know what you do for a living or where your hands have been. I'd be upset if I'm grappling with you and found out later your day job is scrubbing out Honey Buckets.
For blood spill and general cleanup, the recommended cleanser is a 10 to 1 mixture of water and Bleach. Keep a couple of gallon bottles of Bleach in your gym. DO NOT PRE-MIX. Mix your cleaner fresh, use it, and dispose of any you don"t use. Even in water, the sanitizing component of Bleach breaks down after 12 to 24 hours. Also, never mix Bleach with HOT water. This breaks it down immediately. Use cold to lukewarm water, cold being best. Clean and sanitize your mats, floors, and equipment as often as you can. Every person who has ever wrestled knows about the kind of diseases you can pick up from a dirty mat. Staph Infections, Ringworm, Rhino Virus, and the bad boy on the block, MRSA. If you've never seen the scarring a MRSA outbreak causes, it looks like you tried to exfolliate with an industrial cheese grater. And MRSA is one bad mother. It will eat penicillin for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, and then ask for seconds. The antibiotic cocktail recipe that beats it is nasty and painful. Last year a High School in my area had such a severe and fast spreading outbreak of MRSA that they ended up closing it for 3 weeks while they went in and scrubbed the entire place, top to bottom, every surface, with Bleach to kill it.
Treat and dress all cuts immediately. Use hydrogen peroxide and antibacterial soap to clean matburns and scrapes as soon as they happen and dress them afterwards. Did you know if you use hydrogen peroxide straight out of the bottle it actually damages tissue and slows healing? Cut it 50/50 with water and you'll clean the wound and heal better.
So there it is, like it or not, in a nutshell. Communicate, Be Honest, and Keep It Clean. After all, if your chance comes, I'd hate to see any of you sent home before the show starts.