BJJ Hygiene 101

Keep it clean (Yourself and your gym)

BJJ is a close contact sport. Practicing good hygiene is important. Skin infections like ringworm and MRSA are common among grapplers. We must do our best to prevent them. Nobody ever gave me a list of how to practice good BJJ hygiene but I wish they did. Here’s a few things to watch out for…

Trim your nails

No talons, please. You use your hands and feet a lot in BJJ. Trim your finger and toe nails. Keep your nails short to prevent scratching or cutting your partner. Nobody wants to go to work with a fingernail scratch across their face! Scratches can easily lead to infections. Most gyms keep a pair of nail clippers around so don’t be shy to use them. Your training partners will thank you for it.

Wash your gear after every class

This should be done after every class! Very important. Treat your BJJ training gear like your workout clothing. Wash all your gear including any shirts, shorts, braces, pads, and belt if you train wearing a gi. Always wear clean training gear, including clean underwear. Never wear the same training gear/uniform for two classes in a row.

Shower (skin health)

Showering right after class helps prevent skin infections like ringworm or MRSA. It’s normal for grapplers to get skin infections. Don’t be embarrassed, it’s part of the sport. Shower as soon as possible after class, no exceptions. Shower before BJJ class if your job gets you sweaty or dirty. Also, cover any cuts or scratches with band-aids or tape.

Ring worm

Why is my arm so itchy? What are those red bumps? Congratulations, you have ring worm! Highly contagious with direct contact. Wash anything you’ve come in contact with including your bedding. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with actual worms. Ring worm is fungal skin infection that is common across BJJ, boxing, rugby, fitness centres, and any sport facility that is unsanitary. If cleaning standards are poor, ring worm will be everywhere. The good news is that it is very treatable and can be prevented. Athletes foot and ring worm are the same fungal infection. I’m not a doctor but a quick Google search suggests getting an antifungal cream like clotrimazole, miconazole, or terbinafine. Once you start treating the infection it should be gone in 1-2 weeks.

MRSA

Also known as staph infection. Technically MRSA is a more serious version, caused by staph. For our purposes I’m going to consider them the same thing. I have had this before and it sucks. I got it in my ear. It got so big and gross that I had to go to the emergency room and have it cut open and drained by a doctor. Then I had to go back to the hospital for the next 3 consecutive days to get an IV with antibiotics. This is a serious issue if you get it so go to the doctor immediately. Treatment will be via antibiotics. Staph/MRSA is very contagious with direct contact. Often starts through a cut or scrape, so keep those covered. Diagnosing this one can be tricky because it can often look like an ingrown hair. When in doubt, get it checked out.

(Above. MRSA infection in my ear. Photo taken in emergency waiting room.)

(Above. After the MRSA infection was cut and drained from my ear. Painful.)

Bad breath

Make sure your breath is less lethal than your jiu-jitsu. Brush your teeth before you leave the house for class. Chew gum or pop a mint if you like to drink coffee or eat before class starts. I prefer training on an empty stomach.

Mouth guard

Do you like your teeth? Get a mouth guard. It can be used throughout class for contact drills and should definitely be used for sparring rounds. You can get a mouth guard made by most dentists (highly recommended) or purchase from a sporting goods store and adjust at home. Boil and bite. Highly recommend investing in a good quality mouth guard.

Cauliflower ear

This involves a swelling of the ear and is very painful. In some cases it can be painful to train or even sleep with your head on a pillow. What happens is the cartilage separates from the ear and fills with blood giving it that swollen look. It most commonly occurs in the first 1–3 years of training but can happen anytime. If you spend a lot of time in headlocks, cross faces, and fighting out of chokes, your probability of cauliflower ear at some point is high. Some students wear head gear to protect their ears preventatively. Personally, I will wear head gear if I have a cauliflower ear blow up so I can stay on the mat and keep training/teaching.

(Picture above. Cauliflower ear. Swelling in the upper ear.)

(Picture above. The blood that was drained out of my ear.)

Clean the mats

After every class. This kills harmful bacteria and is critical to prevent ringworm and MRSA skin infections. If your gym doesn’t clean the mats after every class, find a new gym to train at. If you are a student, offer to help clean the mats. I used to train at a club where the mats were not cleaned on a regular basis. Sometimes people would train and then go work a shift downtown without showering. Ring worm and MRSA spread like wildfire.

Stay home if you feel ill

Really shouldn’t have to explain this one but I will. BJJ is a close contact sport. Don’t sneeze and cough on me. You don’t want to spread germs to your training partners and their families. With so many young and old people around, it’s very important. Stay home if you feel under the weather. You can always train tomorrow. When sick, watch some BJJ on YouTube or solo drill at home to scratch your training itch.

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