Sidelined-Again

I'm sidelined from Aikido....AGAIN.

It seems about a week ago I contracted Staph Infection in my big toe, so its been cut open and cleaned out a few times. And now I've been without aikido for 2 weeks(couldn't go one lesson, no one showed up except for me the other)

I'm sorry. Make sure you are all better before you go back though and make sure to take care of yourself. I worked at the hopsital in the micro lab and some people just didn't seem to get over the infection very easily. You don't have MRSA do you? If so, then be extra careful.

Good luck and I am sorry your training is on hold.

Eeeeeeew!

Sorry, couldn't help it. Best wishes for an early recovery.

Best to take a little extra time and let things heal - in the long run of things, it will make no real difference in your progress training but will improve your health.

And if there's any chance that there might be staph on the mats , make sure to clean and disinfect them well, just in case...

Toe-gooooo gonna getitonyaaaa!
Shades of the third grade
BE careful, I just went to a funeral of a diabetic friend who "went in"
to have a foot removed from infection.
not the same, but I'm just sayin'
Take care
Lan

Getting injured sucks... sorry to hear that.

S. aureus can only survive for a few hours on a dry surface, so your mats are probably not a source of infection if you have been out of the dojo for two weeks.

I'll just reply to everyone.

No, I don't have MRSA. My doc said it wasn't serious, he'd already cut it open and cleaned it out with alchohol and phenol twice.

Lan-That makes me feel better.

I'm going back on Tuesday to the doc's office so I'll ask him a few questions about it and get back to you all.

I don't think it was the mats, as everyone has Staph on their hands and such.

I should be okay, I think. I've been on Cephalexin three times a day for the last 1 1/2 weeks, and I've also been using Epsom Salts. Also, he said to keep it out of a bandage as much as possible, and I've been using neosporin and rubbing alchohol on it.

The aikiweb nurse is surprised about rubbing alcohol on anything other than intact skin. It is toxic to internal tissue and thus interferes with normal healing according to every wound specialist I've ever spoken to.

Janet Rosen wrote: The aikiweb nurse is surprised about rubbing alcohol on anything other than intact skin. It is toxic to internal tissue and thus interferes with normal healing according to every wound specialist I've ever spoken to.

Thats my understanding as well: rubbing alcohol is for sanitizing intact tissue surfaces before treating it, but not as an antiseptic treatment itself because its so harsh. I've always used hydrogen peroxide, of a proper dilution, for open wound treatment.

Sy Labthavikul wrote: always used hydrogen peroxide, of a proper dilution, for open wound treatment.

My understanding of H2O2 is that it is considered only a very weak antiseptic and is also toxic enough to retard proper healing. Therefore the only thing I use it for is as a flush to debride a contaminated wound or one with a lot of dead tisssue.

Sy Labthavikul wrote: Thats my understanding as well: rubbing alcohol is for sanitizing intact tissue surfaces before treating it, but not as an antiseptic treatment itself because its so harsh. I've always used hydrogen peroxide, of a proper dilution, for open wound treatment.

My mistake, it was hydrogen peroxide. I got confused. It's CVS brand Hydrogen Peroxide or whatever. That and Neosporin.

Neosporin ok although I tend to prefer bacitracin for staph. If it is a clean open wound with clean healthy margins, I would NOT use peroxide as it WILL retard the normal healing process.

from truthorfiction.com:

"For many of us, hydrogen peroxide was one of the first things we put on a cut or a wound, but that is less recommended nowadays. The reason, according to numerous medical sites, is that there is a downside to the hydrogen peroxide as well. It also damages healthy cells that are needed for the wounds to heal and hinders them from getting to the area where the healing needs to take place. The HealthFinder publication of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says don't use hydrogen peroxide on a wound because it interferes with healing. The U.S. Gymnastics team has followed the recommendations of researchers and uses soap and water for cleansing wounds and not hydrogen peroxide. The National Safety Council's First Aid Pocket Guide (1996) says "DO NOT use hydrogen peroxide It does not kill bacteria, and it adversely affects capillary blood flow and wound healing." The Mayo Clinic gives the same advice."

Janet is correct, continual use of hydrogen peroxide will actually prevent skin from healing... unless you are wanting to maintain an open wound for whatever reason.

Janet Rosen wrote: My understanding of H2O2 is that it is considered only a very weak antiseptic and is also toxic enough to retard proper healing. Therefore the only thing I use it for is as a flush to debride a contaminated wound or one with a lot of dead tisssue.

It's great in that case, though -- I smashed my thumb once and it was major yuck. I soaked it in h2o2 for like an hour. It was cool watching all the blood and gunk foam away, sort of like my thumb turned into an alka seltzer. Felt much better after.

Hey, let's talk about maggots!

Maggots are the single best wound debriders in the world, just as leeches are the best form of removing free blood from post surgical sites. NOT that I look forward to ever needing to have it done, nor to being a nurse on a unit that does that....

Janet Rosen wrote: Maggots are the single best wound debriders in the world, just as leeches are the best form of removing free blood from post surgical sites. NOT that I look forward to ever needing to have it done, nor to being a nurse on a unit that does that....

Yuk factor pretty high there - I know maggots and leaches help in debriding and re-establishing circulation in re-attachments (respectively), but it still has a high yuk factor...
Walter