|
Home | Links | Schedule 2011-12 | Message Board | | 2011-12 Info | Washington Hall of Champions Email Site Admin | HS Rankings 2011-12 | 2011-12 HS | 2011-12 College | Events/Camps |
|
Rotated ads 5/21/12 top to bottom
|
RING WORM
Tinia Corporis
By Ruben Leon
Every room in the nation has the fungus. It hides in the
cracks and under the mats. It's highly contagious and even rooms with the best
hygiene procedures can have get it because you can catch it from household
pets.
Disinfect [bleach] the mats before every practice, at least
on the top. Disinfect your mats on both sides, send your wrestlers to a
tournament, 1% to 2% of the kids will have it out of 400+ kids, they slime the
tournament mats, and it's back in your room the next day.
How many tournaments do you see that wash the mats half-way
through the day?
It's a fungus related to athletes foot and has nothing to
do with worms. It likes hot sweaty rooms, and is worse in the Spring &
Summer. Anti-bacterial or Anti-Fungal soap prevents it, but you only need one
slob out of all your kids to infect the whole room.
Lecture the kids about hygiene. They shouldn't even touch
the door knob when the go home. Be sure and ask them if they'd like to have it
between their legs, the worm loves sweaty groins. If they flop on the couch,
take a shower, then flop on the couch after their shower, guess what. If they
handle their back-pack or books after practice, go home, take a shower, throw
their clothes in the dirty laundry, then do their homework, guess what.
The same is true of work-out shorts, shoes and sweats. Very
few wrestlers wash their work-out clothes every night. But, if you've got two
or three kids with the worm you need to insist that every single kid takes ALL
of their dirty laundry home and wash it every day, including their shoes.
Also, if your wrestlers wash or shower with anti-bacterial
soap just before practice they will be protected for an hour or two. Kennedy
Industries has product sold in aerosol called KS [formerly KenShield] that
offers some protection, and is a lot more convenient than washing and
showering.
Do not let the kids use bleach on their skin. It will burn
their tissue and scar them for life. Check with your local pharmacist.
They can recommend several over the counter products [like Cloromitrasol,
Cortisone, Tinactin] that will take 48 to 72 hours to work if you keep the
area scrubbed, dry and treated every two hours. The doctor will tell you twice
a day, but set your alarm and treat at least 4 to 6 times a day for faster
results. Apple Cider Vinegar applied every two hours is said to work, although
I haven't tried it yet.
It's best to scrub with anti-fungal soap and keep the area
uncovered, dry and exposed to the light when not training. Medical
professionals will tell you to keep the kids off the mat while they
are infected, but this is not always practical. The worm has a way of coming
on strong the week before the end of the season.
Make sure you force the kids to take or apply topical
medication for at least 7 to 10 days AFTER the symptoms have cleared up
because the fungus can still be under the skin.
If it's critical that infected wrestlers keep training,
make sure the infected area is completely taped and they wear long sleeves and
sweat pants to minimize skin to skin contact with training partners.
I've never stopped a kid with the 'cooties' from training,
but I make sure I explain how serious it can get with the parents. Showing
some of the pictures in the above links works best. Print them on your color
printer and hang them in the room.
|
