Hygiene

Having good hygiene is crucial in life, but it is even more important to be hygienic if you participate in wrestling. Ignoring the fact that your teammates don't want to roll with someone who reeks and the prospect of being labeled "the smelly kid," having poor hygiene in wrestling can have far reaching consequences. These consequences can be anywhere from missing a match due to a skin condition (Ringworm, Impetigo, Folliculitis) , all the way to serious health issues that are much more dangerous (Staph, MRSA, etc). Luckily the spread of disease can be prevented if you adhere to the guidelines I have detailed below.

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GUIDELINES

Always mop the mats with a special soap before wrestling on them. Every practice immediately after rolling out mats they should be mopped with a special mat cleaner. This should kill any bacteria that may have been left behind from a previous session, or that might have been transferred from bottom to top of the mat when rolling. I have seen many wrestlers jump on the mat as soon as it's rolled out before we have had a chance to mop it - this is not advised as it is a matter of time until someone gets a contagious skin disease that will pass from wrestler to wrestler, possibly resulting in athletes missing matches - so DON’T DO IT!

Shower immediately after wrestling, ideally 30-45 minutes after finishing. If you are exposed to bacteria/fungus while wrestling, washing as soon as you can greatly decreases the chances of developing a skin condition. Make sure to wash with soap, and scrub any exposed areas. Some recommend using an antibacterial soap - I have read conflicting information regarding how effective it is and some downsides to using it (dries your skin out), so as long as you are using any kind of soap it will do. I personally have used a few different kinds of antifungal soaps to treat minor cases of athlete's foot with success, so I would not be against the use of this.

Keep your skin moisturized and avoid soaps that dry your skin out. Overwashing can have the opposite effect that you intended by removing natural oils that keep your skin from cracking. Dry and cracked skin has a much higher chance of contracting a skin disease than normal healthy skin, so make sure you use soap that doesn't completely dry your skin out, and moisturize after showering to prevent dry skin. Also - if you are showering at a public facility - it is a good idea to invest in some cheap shower sandals (athlete's foot does not make you a better athlete, neither does plantar warts).

Do your best to try and stay clean if you are unable to get home and take a full shower immediately after wrestling. During tournaments you might wrestle at 8-9am and be able to get home and shower until much later on that day. I personally have practiced, and then had to stay at school for another hour or two to do work. In these cases, there are steps you can take to make sure you stay clean and reduce the chances of getting a skin disease.

• Wear skin foam during all day tournaments. We have bottles of skin foam that all wrestlers should use on days like this. The product basically forms a thin barrier where it is applied, which provides additional defense against mat grime.

• Rinse exposed areas if you aren't able to shower immediately. If I have wrestled, but have to stay at the school for an hour or two to do work after practice, even before Ive stopped sweating I will go to the sink and scrub exposed areas with soap and water and rinse (legs, forearms and hands, head). 99% of diseases transmitted on the mat are skin to skin, so if you can wash those exposed parts you reduce your chances of getting a skin condition.

• These are other products as well that are sold, other types of skin foams that you can use after wrestling. I have used some in the past with good results.

Bring any sign of a skin infection to the coaches attention immediately. This is probably the most important of the guidelines listed! Diseases usually start with one person who then spreads it to multiple members of the team, who then go and do the same thing, and before you know it we have a full blown team epidemic on our hands. This situation can easily be avoided as long as coaches are aware of the situation, and will make a call that will not jeopardize the rest of the team's health. Any sign at all - even if you are unsure if it's always been there, or if it's just a pimple or rash, show a coach immediately as we will take the right steps to get you healthy as soon as possible and to protect the rest of the team.

Wear clean clothes to every practice. Do not hang dirty clothes to wear the following day, or even worse - keep dirty clothes in a gym bag to wear the next day. Bacteria grows in warm and moist environments and your dirty clothes are a perfect breeding ground for it. If you are unable to wear clean clothes everyday you will not be allowed on the mat. Let us know if this is a problem - we can find you extra sets of practice gear, and can also wash clothes for the entire team 2-3 days a week. Also try to hang your shoes/headgear and let them air out between sessions, they can get just as nasty as clothes. It is not a bad idea to wash your wrestling shoes every so often - I’ve thrown mine in the wash and let them air dry with no harm done to the material, contrary to what some would caution against online. Besides sweat and nastiness from wrestling, shoes also pick up bacteria from other places as well, so try to only wear wrestling shoes on the mat if possible.

If you are sick - stay off the mat. Just like with skin infections, sickness usually starts with one wrestler and then spreads through the whole team if we are not smart about it. There is a difference between being tired/run-down and being sick, but if you think you might be coming down with something, bring it to our attention immediately and we will make a decision.

Cover any open wounds you have. If you have any scrapes or anything that might open up during wrestling, let us know ahead of time and we can get you covered up. Your skin is a barrier against sickness and disease, and if you have an exposed wound it is not difficult for bacteria to get in - so be responsible about covering up.

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ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES

Wear deodorant! This one isn’t gonna help prevent any diseases, but you will not be allowed on the mat if you smell like trash. In addition to showering, all athletes are expected to wear deodorant. I will not hesitate to call wrestlers out and sit people who are not abiding by these guidelines, and in my experience, bad smell = bad hygiene = high chance of contracting a skin disease.

Make sure your nails are clipped at all times. You will be checked for matches and not allowed to wrestle until you cut them. More importantly even when practicing you are required to stay trimmed to prevent unnecessary cuts / eye pokes. We have nail clippers that you can use, or you can go pick one up from pretty much anywhere for about $1.

Be clean shaven the day of a match. I don’t care what you do any other day of the week, but on Wednesdays and Saturdays you are expected to be clean shaven. Do not wait until the referee does a hair and nail check, know that you should be shaved before that. Either shave that morning, or in the afternoon if you have a thick beard and are worried about a 5 o'clock shadow (Garcia and Doheny).

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IN CONCLUSION

Prevention is key - all of the guidelines I have listed have to do with preventing the acquisition and spread of disease. If you do end up getting something, there are ways to treat it and make it as short of an experience as possible, but it needs to be brought to our attention immediately before it spreads or gets worse. If you have any questions or are unsure about something listed here please let me know! All wrestlers are required to know and abide by all guidelines listed on this page. ​