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KIT
26th August 2000, 16:01
Anyone know a traditional remedy for ringworm or other "mat nasties" that works? I have been dealing with ringworm outbreaks all year, and Lamisil takes a long time....



Kit LeBlanc

Yojimbo558
27th August 2000, 03:19
Kit,

Skip traditional remedies...go to the doctors and talk to a professional....

If you've successfully managed to eliminate the possibilities of exposure to the mat your training on...then it sounds like it's filthy and needs to be cleaned on a far more regular basis...the fact that you've had this going on for a year clearly shows that if this is the case the mat is not cleaned often enough.

Sadly this also reflects some of the student(s) as they are the one(s) that are continuing to expose the mat to ringworm. Respect for your fellow students, and the dojo require proper hygene.

Sorry for sounding so harsh...but you wouldn't be anymore thrilled with your condition...which can be passed on through contact to your friends and loved ones than if you'd caught lice and brought it home to share with everyone as well.

See the doctor, and get treated. When you train make sure that the area is covered so that you aren't exposing others or the mat to further infection. If the instructor won't see to it that the mat is cleaned more often then you might want to look into finding a different place to train.

Eric Bookin

Joseph Svinth
27th August 2000, 05:15
This is definitely WTD -- a wrestling transmitted disease -- but people seem to be the vectors more often than the mats.

Some websites -- the keywords are "ringworm wrestling":

http://www.foliw.org/newsletter/ringworm.html
http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/ringworm.html
http://www.tinactin.com/ (Guess I shoulda guessed that one):o

[Edited by Joseph Svinth on 08-31-2000 at 08:05 AM]

Kit LeBlanc
27th August 2000, 19:24
Eric and Joe,

The mats are brand new and cleaned often. Really it is the same outbreak I had a few months ago, the stuff on my body cleared up, but I had some under my hair on the back of my head which I did not notice. No one else has had it in my club that I know of. I know exactly from whom I picked up the original problem from.

Thanks for the help. I might go to the docs because using Lamisil is taking too long and cutting into my training time. I just wondered if someone knew of another quicker rememdy.

Kit LeBlanc

MarkF
28th August 2000, 11:48
Kit,
There is a quicker remedy, but you still will have to go to the doctor for it, and it is not generally used until you have tried everything else, but there are injections which work faster but are hell on the body generally. Ringworm is a fungus, and is the same as athletes foot, but also called tinea corporis, since it is on the torso. Have you tried Lotrimin, or even Lotrisone (prescription only)? It is not spread as easily as lice, but it does take a while so someone or something is plagueing you. Sometimes, a fungus like this one is caught by not drying your feet well after bathing/showering. Once caught, it will take a while, and in case anyone still thinks so, it is NOT a worm. A good, stern lecture instructing students in bathing and drying habits is not out of hand. Possibly tabi should be worn until it disappears. If it does with this, you can bet on Athletes Foot being the culprit.

If you have a homeopathic pharmacy near by, they may be of more help, but I think even then, it will have to be cured before it can be eliminated. In the meantime, Aloe Vera can be soothing, but try either gel straight from the plant, or pure aloe vera water and drink it regularly. It can do wonders sometimes.

Mark

MarkF
28th August 2000, 11:50
BTW: Have you used medicinal "oat meal?"

Kit LeBlanc
30th August 2000, 22:47
Mark,

I haven't but I may try, thanks. Do you cook it or leave it raw?

Kit

MarkF
31st August 2000, 11:20
Medicinal oat meal (it is known by another name but I just can't remember at the moment) usually comes as a powder with instructions in using it. It is sometimes medicated (with a topical drug of some kind), and a paste is made, inless you are using it as a drying agent; then it is used as is. Also, anything with zinc oxide applied topically can produce results. Baby power (medicated) can help (I just went into my "emergency kit" (actually a big, walk in closet with every known drug in the world:D ) and I don't have any. Also, OTC topical hydrocortisone can help the symtoms, especially if inflamed and itching badly. You can mix it with some lotrimin or lamisil and try that, but Lotrisone would be best, as it is Lotrimin with a corticosteroid.

FYI, ring worm fungi can be spread from the cleanest of surfaces, but I would try using a strong bacteriocidal such as Lysol, and use it reapeatedly on the mats, after every class. This may be with you for a while, as it seems to be moving around, and although they do have different names when found on different areas of the body, basically it is all Athlete's Foot fungus. Before the injections, I would try Lotrisone (get as high a dosage as is available). It should go away on its own, but stubborn cases are treated with injections (a drug which I also cannot remember at the moment).

What I do have, is an homeopathic remedy which seems to work well on skin eruptions. It is Hyland's SILCEA 30X. This is an oxide of silicon and quartz, both natural minerals. Use four tablets every hour until inflammation disappears or until the itching/burning, whatever discomfort you have. This you should apply as a thick paste. Homeopathic remedies in tablet form are meant for internal/external use and otherwise are not harmful. After that, take four by mouth tablets four times daily dry or dissolved in water. Ask your local pharmacist, as well, as they may save you a trip to the doc.(Most won't agree with the homepathic stuff, though).

I can't make any promises as most of what is said of these remedies only make claims of relieveing the symptoms, except for the antifunguals. It all depends on how much you can put up with. Injections work, but the one I am sure most GP's/internists would give, takes time also, just not as much time. Above all, keep everything clean and, most of all, dry.

Don't worry, it will go away.

Sincerely,
Mark