# Should I be germophobic or ?



## OldManJim (Feb 3, 2016)

okay so I've started bjj and I've been to my first Gi (ordered my Gi tonight) and non Gi class. With all the close contact and sweating and especially in the non Gi class because there's no barrier to catch the sweat I was wondering how prevalent catching some weird tropical disease would be? Lol not really that, but seriously how hygienic is bjj? I've heard about staph infections and ringworm, is there a strong possibility for something more serious? I've came home from both classes and taken a shower in dawn antibacterial soap lol. I'm not really a big germophobic person but I don't want to catch monosyphiliticgonoherpalitis lol


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## Andrew Green (Feb 3, 2016)

I've been doing this a very long time and can count the number of staph infections and ring worm cases I've seen on my fingers.

Shower when you get home, cover your cuts, you'll be fine.  If you get something you get antibiotics and it's gone in a week.

I've seen more people that have gotten ringworm from their dog then from grappling if that helps.


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## Buka (Feb 3, 2016)

Should you be? Nah.


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## Dirty Dog (Feb 4, 2016)

Sweat is essentially sterile. And the normal flora on the skin is the same as yours.
If someone is sick, they may have something you can catch, but it won't be from their sweat.


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## MAfreak (Feb 4, 2016)

sweat isn't sterile.  its the same rumor than urine being sterile.
hygiene should be essential in these gyms and if you smell someone from far away or see skinrash then just don't train with him. i never had an infection from grappling.


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## Tony Dismukes (Feb 4, 2016)

Wear a rash guard under your gi. Wash your gi after each workout. Shower after your workouts. You should be fine.


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## Dirty Dog (Feb 4, 2016)

MAfreak said:


> sweat isn't sterile.  its the same rumor than urine being sterile.
> hygiene should be essential in these gyms and if you smell someone from far away or see skinrash then just don't train with him. i never had an infection from grappling.



It's not a rumor, it's a fact. Unless you have a UTI, urine is also sterile.


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## Steve (Feb 4, 2016)

Does your school clean the mats throughly every day?   Is there an emphasis on wearing clean gis?   If not, then yeah... You have some cause for concern.  Otherwise, not really.   As others have suggested, the best defense is to take a shower after you roll.


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## MAfreak (Feb 4, 2016)

even if so, as long as skin has bacteria on it, its impossible for sweat to be sterile in a matter that counts. that urine is sterile people believed since some years ago, its refuted. also the believe, that since something is sterile, it would also be disinfecting...


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 4, 2016)

Just be smart and use common sense.

If there are shower facilities, wear flip-flops.
Do not share towels.
Wash your own gear on a regular basis and practice good hygiene.
Keep your fingernails and toenails trimmed and smooth, no jagged edges.

I have diabetes, and some minor neuropathy (insensitivity) in my feet.  That means I have to pay particular attention to my feet to ensure that if I get a cut or abrasion, it does not become infected.

As an aside, if you commonly eat a lot of garlic or other foods which are known to 'sweat out' and smell rather bad, you might want to give that some thought.  I've been around more than one martial artist who eats a lot of garlic as part of their normal diet, an although they cannot smell it themselves, they stink rather a lot.  Don't be that guy.


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## kuniggety (Feb 4, 2016)

Not to beat a dead horse but after a few hundred hours on the matts I've never gotten any type of infection/ringworm/etc. I've met one person who has said they got something but that was at a competition. Must've been some super unhygienic person there. I always rinse off/shower with hot water as soon as I get home and throw my gi/rash guard into the washer. I have mild psoriasis and get rashes on my fingers and feet from the abrasion from rolling and still haven't caught anything.


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## drop bear (Feb 4, 2016)

Anti bacterial soap. Go see your doctor.


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## OldManJim (Feb 4, 2016)

Bill Mattocks said:


> Just be smart and use common sense.
> 
> If there are shower facilities, wear flip-flops.
> Do not share towels.
> ...


I have diabetes as well and I'm always checking my feet, I got that one down pat lol


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## Ironbear24 (Apr 4, 2016)

Too many grapplers , bjj guys, wreslters. Smeel like armpits and ***. Wash your *** before practice please.


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## Tez3 (Apr 5, 2016)

Ironbear24 said:


> Too many grapplers , bjj guys, wreslters. Smeel like armpits and ***. Wash your *** before practice please.



And can I add wash your Gi or whatever you train in, we had a guy who just took off his Gi, screwed it up and threw it in his bag until the next time he trained. Ugh.


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## Tames D (Apr 5, 2016)

Dirty Dog said:


> Sweat is essentially sterile. And the normal flora on the skin is the same as yours.
> If someone is sick, they may have something you can catch, but it won't be from their sweat.


I seem to remember when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, other players expressed concerns about his sweat coming into contact with their cuts during a game. Obviously those fears were unfounded.


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## Tony Dismukes (Apr 5, 2016)

The OP hasn't posted anything here in a month and a half. I'm worried that he may have caught Ebola and perished. That's always a risk when the gym doesn't clean the mats frequently enough.


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## Tames D (Apr 5, 2016)

Tony Dismukes said:


> The OP hasn't posted anything here in a month and a half. I'm worried that he may have caught Ebola and perished. That's always a risk when the gym doesn't clean the mats frequently enough.





Tony Dismukes said:


> The OP hasn't posted anything here in a month and a half. I'm worried that he may have caught Ebola and perished. That's always a risk when the gym doesn't clean the mats frequently enough.


Not true. He's still rolling, but without a partner.


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## Dirty Dog (Apr 5, 2016)

Tames D said:


> I seem to remember when Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive, other players expressed concerns about his sweat coming into contact with their cuts during a game. Obviously those fears were unfounded.



You are correct. Completely unfounded.


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## JowGaWolf (Apr 5, 2016)

Here's list of gym related things you can catch through sweat and other bodily fluids
The 7 Grossest Gym Germs


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## Ironbear24 (Apr 5, 2016)

Tez3 said:


> And can I add wash your Gi or whatever you train in, we had a guy who just took off his Gi, screwed it up and threw it in his bag until the next time he trained. Ugh.



Tide is a Gi's best buddy next to the one who wears it.


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## Buka (Apr 5, 2016)

Bottom line - it comes down to the guy that runs the dojo. I don't care if it's the Chief Instructor, the owner, "the Master" the landlord or Santa fricken Claus.  The guy that runs the dojo bears ALL responsibility for keeping it safe. If you don't want that responsibility, don't run a God damn dojo.


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## Steve (Apr 5, 2016)

I have used vinegar in the laundry for years.   Helps eliminate odors.   i just use laundry soap and vinegar.   I put a cup in the wash and a quarter cup in the rinse,   The wash helps with smell and the rinse helps get all the soap out so the Gi doesn't get stiff when it dries.


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## JR 137 (Apr 8, 2016)

Stuff like ringworm can be common in grappling.  When I wrestled in high school, most guys on my team had it once or twice.  My wrestling partner and I never got it.  my coach wasn't diligent enough about kicking guys out of practice until it cleared up. 

Make sure the mats are thoroughly cleaned with the right stuff, your partners are free of course contagious stuff, and their and your clothes are clean.

I worked as an athletic trainer (sports medicine) during the 2001 NCAA Div I national championship.  I think it was 2001; it was when Cael Sanderson finished his career undefeated.

The team of dermatologists at weigh-ins was astounding.  It was like prison inspections in there.  A few guys were disqualified before they stepped onto the mat for stuff like staph and herpes (non-genatal).

I'm still mentally scared from that experience.


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## OldManJim (Apr 14, 2016)

Tony Dismukes said:


> The OP hasn't posted anything here in a month and a half. I'm worried that he may have caught Ebola and perished. That's always a risk when the gym doesn't clean the mats frequently enough.


Nope still alive lol. Just busy with work, class etc as you see from my other post.


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## Tony Dismukes (Apr 14, 2016)

OldManJim said:


> Nope still alive lol. Just busy with work, class etc as you see from my other post.


So you claim. How do we know you're not actually a ghost, doomed to forever walk the mats where you caught Ebola?


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## OldManJim (Apr 15, 2016)

Tony Dismukes said:


> So you claim. How do we know you're not actually a ghost, doomed to forever walk the mats where you caught Ebola?


Hmmmm well if I was a ghost id be invisible and umm then probably I could pull off some slick submissions on everyone in class and they would be like "what the??!". Wait that wont happen, maybe I am a ghost!


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