Posted on 11/19/2004 6:32:42 AM PST by TaxRelief
...Medical experts are observing the emergence of a relatively new strain [of Staph infections], known as community-acquired MRSA, among gay and bisexual men, athletes, prisoners and Native Americans.
Since a staph outbreak among gay men in Los Angeles in early 2003, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention identified five major factors that facilitate the transmission of the infection: close contact, crowding, cleanliness, contaminated items and surfaces, and compromised skin integrity, said Nicole Coffin, a CDC spokesperson.
The compromised skin integrity category includes tiny abrasions that may occur during "manscaping" -- the cosmetic shaving of body parts popular with some gay men.
A recent study of a college football team in Connecticut found that 10 of the team's 100 players acquired MRSA during an eight-week period, and those who shaved body parts other than the face were six times more likely to be infected.
"Body shaving is likely to produce microabrasions," wrote study author Elizabeth Begier, a researcher with the Connecticut Department of Public Health. "This emerging cosmetic behavior among young men may contribute to the risk of infection in populations of athletes, especially in areas covered by clothing."
The study appeared in the Nov. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and noted "turf burns" and whirlpools as factors that also may help spread staph.
Both body shaving and the whirlpools found at bathhouses are suspected of helping fuel the spread of staph among gay men, Melton said.
"It's been known for some time that shaving could promote skin infection," said Melton, who noted many doctors now clip, instead of shave, a patient before surgery.
The towels and linens recycled among men at bathhouses and in locker rooms at gyms may also facilitate the spread of staph, Melton said.
People with HIV may be more at risk for acquiring staph because of their "increased exposure to antibiotics and the healthcare setting," according to the CDC. They may also be more susceptible to severe illness if infected with MRSA, Melton said.
Gay men who use anabolic steroids for bodybuilding may also increase their chances of contracting staph if they develop acne or other skin infections, Melton said.
Skin-to-skin contact is the most common mode of transmission for community-acquired MRSA, which usually appears in the form of a swollen, puss-filled skin boil. But the infection may also progress into a life-threatening blood stream infection if antibiotics fail to control it, said Coffin from the CDC.
Staph is the most common cause of skin or soft tissue infection in the U.S., and 90 percent of infections continue to occur in a hospital setting, Coffin said. But no national reporting system to track the prevalence of staph exists, mainly because of how varied its severity is, she said.
Four states--Connecticut, Minnesota, Georgia and Maryland--are collecting data on MRSA to help the CDC better understand the illness, according to the CDC.
According to a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Georgia Epidemiology Report, a publication of the state Department of Public Health, community-acquired MRSA infections accounted for 8 percent of all MRSA cases in Georgia in 2002, up from 4 percent in 2001.
The average community-acquired MRSA patient in the study, which reviewed data from eight counties surrounding Atlanta, was 38 years old, whereas patients who acquired MRSA in a hospital setting were an average age of 67.
The public health researchers wrote that they wish to continue to study the impact of MRSA in Georgia "by adding these infections to the list of notifiable diseases."
Top of article: Commonly mistaken by patients and doctors as a spider bite, a strain of staph continues to puzzle health experts who aren't sure how prevalent the drug-resistant bacterial skin disease is, or exactly what contributes to its spread.
"There's still no clear reason why this particular strain of staph is spreading," said Dennis Melton, a physician with the Infectious Disease Group of Atlanta. "But the incidence seems to continue to increase."
The infection, known medically as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, surfaced more than two decades ago, but was commonly found only in the elderly or individuals who had been hospitalized.
I dare you.
LOL!!
I don't think so, I'd get my arms and other things broken.
It was a joke my friend, I'm just busting your balls.
I've wrestled at the high school and college level and I know what your talking about.
Ringworm is no fun.
This is becoming common among straight men too. The idea is that if you do it right it accentuactes the size of one's member. Also a lot of women find excessive hair unattractive.
I've not experimented with this however.
In my area, it'd be that the students themselves were gay or bi.
*shuddering*
Horrific thought actually.
And women go to the health spas here to pick up men, only to find they're all gay.
The real men are out keeping Bambi's population in check.
*sigh*
Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner.
Sow-nas ain't bath houses, my FRiend. You don't want to p*ss off the Yooper contingent...
Ping
"Kali / JKD practitioner, I assume? Good stuff."
Actually I'm in Tang Soo Do currently as it's the best training available in my area, but conceptually I'm on the JKD routine.
That is to say, we follow the general principle of using what works.
I have a bit of Kali training in my background, yes.
Have you ever considered making some Straight Blast Gym video purchases? If there isn't really any good training in your area, you may want to give that a look. Also, I think a lot of high school and/or college wrestling teams will let guys work out with them just so that they can have extra "grappling dummies" and you could pick up a little wrestling experience.
Anyway, good training and best of luck to you.
There is good training, so that's what I'm doing. It just happens to be under the title of a traditional martial art. This shocks some people who have gotten into a mindset that if it doesn't have one of the new hot names then it's fluff or a McDojo.
IMO it doesn't matter if you are wearing wrestling outfits, a gi or just plain clothes, or whether you call your instructor 'sensei,' 'sifu,' or 'Bob'; what matters is what you're doing.
A punch is a punch, a kick is a kick, an armbar is an armbar.
I can't imagine how uncomfortable the conversion back to natural from "manscaped" would be. I bet it would feel like someone dumped a sack of chiggers in your drawers.
Our school likes to spend (apart from warmups) 50% of the time doing drills (these are the formalized chambered type stuff, but done at an aerobic pace where my heart rate is 160+; I wear a Timex heart rate monitor for this part) or other technique things (weapons, disarms, joint locks, etc.), and 50% doing sparring.
Sparring is freeform with the only restrictions being a) don't kick the other person's knees or otherwise cripple them and b) fight to your opponents level, don't clobber the newbies. This is usually standup but on occasion a clinch has turned into a grapple. Usually to finish up we spar all vs. all. Apart from the opportunity to be double- or triple-teamed by several instructors this improves situational awareness so that someone doesn't clock you from behind while you're tunnel-visioned in on the guy in front of you.
I find this to be very useful; usually if somebody's going to give you trouble without a gun involved, it'll be several somebodies.
That sounds like an awesome environment to train in! 50% of your time sparring is a great ratio. Your conditioning has got to be incredible!
Hah. Keep in mind that not everyone in the class is a tough fighter. Youth and lower-belt sparring partners aren't pushing my endurance.
Still, yes, depending on who shows up it can be pretty good conditioning. "Incredible" conditioning is overstating it.
Staph infections linked to 'manscaping' (body shaving) [The latest homosexual disease]
S.F. gay community an epicenter for new strain of virulent staph
New Strain of MRSA Spreads Among Gay Men
Drug-resistant staph found to be passed in gay sex
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Striking Gay Men - spread primarily through anal intercourse (MRSA USA300)
Epidemic Feared - Gays May Spread Deadly Staph Infection to General Population (MRSA USA300)
Pretty much... Also make sure to use a good anti-bacterial soap ASAP after completing your training -if you can shower at your gym its better (remember the shower shoes to not pick up another nasty.)
Also, make sure your coach or instructor is making sure the mats are cleaned with bleach and that everybody has good hygiene standards -showered, trimmed nails, a clean gi, etc. If any of that is a problem, talk to him in private and ask him to bring it up and crack down.
I got a terrible staph infection my last year at The Citadel while training for the Ranger Challenge, and I spent about 6 weeks taking different antibiotics to get rid of it. I had to have several of them opened out and cleaned out several times a week. It was a terrible experience that is all too common amongst athletes and in military environments. It was scary, as my body didn’t seem to be responding to the drugs, and I had a roommate whose neighbor had died of staph and another Citadel buddy whose Dad lost an eye from a staph infection. It is nothing to fool around with.
People thinking that staph is a purely “homosexual disease” don’t know what they are talking about. As for the gay community -what diseases and sicknesses DONT they have running rampant?! But more people have picked up staph in hospitals (especially Canadian)or in athletics than in any San Fransicko bathhouse.
Rammer, you have got mail... I just got new orders -headed to the 82nd Airborne at Bragg. Any good Brazilian Jiu-jitsu schools in the area?
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