Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Ringworm!

It would seem that I should be embarrassed about disclosing the fact that I have been stricken with ringworm. However, if you wrestle or do jiu-jitsu or any other grappling sport it appears that it is almost inevitable as ringworm is a fungus that is transmitted through sweat and contact and grappling is, by it's nature, sweaty and in contact. The reason I am discussing this is that I happened upon a remedy. I read about many folk remedies, from soaking pennies in vinegar and then rubbing them on yourself, to puring watered down bleach on the area. The method that worked for me was applying an off-brand Vicks Vapo Rub to the afflicted are twice a day. It seems to be working pretty well so far. The itching has subsided and the redness is dissipating. I think I trace my contraction to a few possible causes. One is that washing machines in Japan don't have a hot water option, so my sweaty dogi gets washed in cold water after it has other people's sweat on it. Also, a few weeks ago, I came home from the gym and fell asleep while waiting for the shower to be free. In reality though, it could have been anything. It could have been the mats at the gym, or it could have been from a kid at school. Who knows. Have fun with your inevitable ringworm.

3 comments:

bob said...

this is also how community mrsa is getting around...

wwc said...

Maybe I can contract that too!

bob said...

or i could just send you some ;)

attempting to silence the voices in my head.