Treating a staph infection before it spreads to your wallet

Unless you're one of the few and the proud with health insurance, chances are that you'd do everything you possibly can to avoid a trip to the doctor's office. Now more than ever do we need to be vigilant when it comes to taking steps to prevent Staphylococcus Aureus and its quest for world domination.

New trends such as Bikram Yoga and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are sweeping across the country, and along the front lines with them is Staph. Although they both may be a great ab workout that'll get you and shape and all that, the nature of both of these activities make them nothing short of a hotbed for the growth and spread of Staph microbes. Bikram, or "Hot Yoga," is practiced in a room heated to around 105 degrees. To exacerbate matters, most people wear the bare minimum of clothing while they're practicing. Not only does this leave very little to the imagination to those around (and god forbid, behind) you, but it leaves anyone with Staph bacteria on them (1 and 4 people have it) to spread it to an open wound on yourself. The increased temperature will only promote faster growth of the bacteria, simply fueling the fire.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, although not done in a room heated to 105 degrees, is much worse, since it involves a consistent level of physicality that often leads to open wounds. The fact that your body is already physically drained by the end of each session provides the Staph bacteria with much less resistance on its quest to form new colonies.

Easy ways to prevent this include keeping your skin protected with clothing or anti-bacterial lotions that are specifically made to prevent staph. Also, if you happen to be bleeding, it'd be best to simply leave for the day, or at least wear a band-aid. Even though you don't think you may have an infection, you can be one of the 25% who naturally carries it. Also, exfoliating your skin regularly with natural acids such as orange peels or using a hot compresses with crushed garlic can prove to be cheap and effective ways to prevent or curb an infection.

If you do start to see an infection forming, however, hot compresses on it with alcohol. Vinegar has also been proven to work, and is a great alternative to those who don't want to deal with the sting or scent of alcohol. If the infection is worse, then it is obviously time to see a doctor, but it's important to take every step beforehand to avoid this point. The frequent use of antibiotics in the last century practically put Darwinism in fast motion for Staph bacteria, allowing the surviving strains to go on to pass their antibiotic resistant DNA on to future generations.