Few days ago, I wrote all about Staph Infections and one of the main ways to prevent infection is good hygiene. There are basically two parts of good hygiene. You must keep yourself clean and then keep your equipment clean. Both of these are equally important.
Clean Yourself
I know you’re going to be extremely exhausted after your training but it wouldn’t be wise to go right to sleep. You should right away wash yourself because you smell bad and you could prevent any type of infections. If you have any open cuts, take care of them by using some sort of antiseptic. I find neosporin helps with any sort of open wounds or cuts.
Sharing Is Not Caring
Though it may be tough to saying no if someone asks to borrow your gloves, it’s for the best for both parties. You never know if the borrower has any open cuts or anything of that nature. This goes for shin pads, wraps, and water bottles.
Equipment
Cleaning your equipment may be difficult because gloves and shin pads are leather and can’t be thrown in the wash. The best way to clean anything with leather is using a 1:100 water and bleach solution. Also I find spraying your gym bag down with lysol is a good idea because it’s a the ideal breeding ground for bacteria. If you have fight shows, underarmor, rashguards just throw them in the washer and hang dry them.
So do yourself and others a favor by keeping your stuff clean.
Tip: Pick yourself up antibacterial most wipes. I keep them in my gym back and if I get cut, I immediately clean it with one of these wipes.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Good points. I have anti-bacterial wipes and a can of lysol anti-bacteria spray in my gym bag so I can always clean equipment.
Our Muay Thai Khru is so hardcore against germs that he trains with leggings and longsleeve rash guard. Only his hands, feet and face is exposed…hehe.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
A can of Lysol, great idea! Nothing would be worse then getting some sort of infection and being out from training for a couple of weeks. Thanks for the insight.