Personal Hygiene

Students are expected to maintain their personal hygiene. This includes trimming nails, tying back long hair and being mindful of body or breath odor. This should be given appropriate attention out of both respect to other students and prevention of the spread of diseases.

Diseases such as staph infection and ringworm can be transmitted through skin-on-skin contact and chances of infection can be significantly reduced by keeping yourself and your apparel clea. Students that attend class with an unclean gi or do not wear a sirt with their gi will be asked to leave the mat.

What is Ringworm?

• Ringworm, which isn’t a worm at all, can affect not only the skin, but also the nails and scalp.
• Ringworm of the skin starts as a red, scaly patch or bump. Ringworm tends to be very itchy and uncomfortable. Over time, it may begin to look like a ring or a series of rings with raised, bumpy, scaly, boarders (the center is often clear). This ring pattern gave ringworm its name, but not every person who is infected develops the ring.

Can I prevent Ringworm?

• The most common source of ringworm is contact with other people. Ringworm is contagious and is easily spread from one person to another, so avoid touching and infected area on another person. It’s also common to contract ringworm from cats and dogs.
• Because fungi lives on your skin it is very important that you shower after participating in any sport and wash your hands often if you are handling pets.
• If you discover that you do in fact have ringworm contact your doctor.

What is Staph Infection?

• Staph is the shortened name for Staphylococcus, a type of bacteria. This bacteria can live harmlessly on many skin surfaces, especially around the nose, mouth, genitals and anus. But when the skin is punctured or broken for any reason, staph bacteria can enter the wound and cause and infection.
• There are more than 30 species in the family of staph bacteria, and they can cause different kinds of illnesses. - For Example, one kind of staph can cause urinary tract infections. But most staph infections are cause by Staphylococcus Aureus. It most commonly causes skin infections like fulliculitis, boils, impetigo and cellulitis that are limited to a small area of a person skin. S. Aureus can also release toxins (poisons) that may lead to illnesses like food poisoning or toxic shock syndrome.

Can I Prevent a Staph Skin Infection?

• Cleanliness and good hygiene are the best way to protect yourself against getting Staph and other infections -including MRSA.
• Bathing and showing daily are a must and washing hands needs to become a routine part of your day.
• Keep all areas of your skin that have been injured clean and covered until healed.
• If you contract Staph you are not allowed to train until you have been released from your doctor. A written note from your doctor will be required.