I was a teenage manscaper.
God bless our troops wherever they may be.
Posted on 11/19/2004 6:32:42 AM PST by TaxRelief
...Medical experts are observing the emergence of a relatively new strain [of Staph infections], known as community-acquired MRSA, among gay and bisexual men, athletes, prisoners and Native Americans.
Since a staph outbreak among gay men in Los Angeles in early 2003, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention identified five major factors that facilitate the transmission of the infection: close contact, crowding, cleanliness, contaminated items and surfaces, and compromised skin integrity, said Nicole Coffin, a CDC spokesperson.
The compromised skin integrity category includes tiny abrasions that may occur during "manscaping" -- the cosmetic shaving of body parts popular with some gay men.
A recent study of a college football team in Connecticut found that 10 of the team's 100 players acquired MRSA during an eight-week period, and those who shaved body parts other than the face were six times more likely to be infected.
"Body shaving is likely to produce microabrasions," wrote study author Elizabeth Begier, a researcher with the Connecticut Department of Public Health. "This emerging cosmetic behavior among young men may contribute to the risk of infection in populations of athletes, especially in areas covered by clothing."
The study appeared in the Nov. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and noted "turf burns" and whirlpools as factors that also may help spread staph.
Both body shaving and the whirlpools found at bathhouses are suspected of helping fuel the spread of staph among gay men, Melton said.
"It's been known for some time that shaving could promote skin infection," said Melton, who noted many doctors now clip, instead of shave, a patient before surgery.
The towels and linens recycled among men at bathhouses and in locker rooms at gyms may also facilitate the spread of staph, Melton said.
People with HIV may be more at risk for acquiring staph because of their "increased exposure to antibiotics and the healthcare setting," according to the CDC. They may also be more susceptible to severe illness if infected with MRSA, Melton said.
Gay men who use anabolic steroids for bodybuilding may also increase their chances of contracting staph if they develop acne or other skin infections, Melton said.
Skin-to-skin contact is the most common mode of transmission for community-acquired MRSA, which usually appears in the form of a swollen, puss-filled skin boil. But the infection may also progress into a life-threatening blood stream infection if antibiotics fail to control it, said Coffin from the CDC.
Staph is the most common cause of skin or soft tissue infection in the U.S., and 90 percent of infections continue to occur in a hospital setting, Coffin said. But no national reporting system to track the prevalence of staph exists, mainly because of how varied its severity is, she said.
Four states--Connecticut, Minnesota, Georgia and Maryland--are collecting data on MRSA to help the CDC better understand the illness, according to the CDC.
According to a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Georgia Epidemiology Report, a publication of the state Department of Public Health, community-acquired MRSA infections accounted for 8 percent of all MRSA cases in Georgia in 2002, up from 4 percent in 2001.
The average community-acquired MRSA patient in the study, which reviewed data from eight counties surrounding Atlanta, was 38 years old, whereas patients who acquired MRSA in a hospital setting were an average age of 67.
The public health researchers wrote that they wish to continue to study the impact of MRSA in Georgia "by adding these infections to the list of notifiable diseases."
Top of article: Commonly mistaken by patients and doctors as a spider bite, a strain of staph continues to puzzle health experts who aren't sure how prevalent the drug-resistant bacterial skin disease is, or exactly what contributes to its spread.
"There's still no clear reason why this particular strain of staph is spreading," said Dennis Melton, a physician with the Infectious Disease Group of Atlanta. "But the incidence seems to continue to increase."
The infection, known medically as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, surfaced more than two decades ago, but was commonly found only in the elderly or individuals who had been hospitalized.
Teammates can spread staph infection
11/18/2004 7:06 PM
By: Mercer Merrill, News 14 Carolina
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg school administrators are warning parents about a health problem that has affected some student-athletes.
(snip)...Dr. James Horton, an infectious disease specialist at Carolinas Medical Center...sees about five cases of MRSA a day, usually with people who play full-contact sports such as football or wrestling.
Why American Indians, I wonder? Just poor sanitation due to poverty? I wouldn't think shaving would be a big issue for them!
Is there any level below these people won't sink to pervert their already perverted lifestyle?
Say it out loud, "I'm hirsute and I'm proud!"
My FIL died from a MRSA infection after surgery.
With younger, healthier people I guess there's a better chance of surviving it, but treating the infection is really costly because only the "big gun" antibiotics work and they have to be administered via IV.
My question is this, if "body shaving" is what is really causing the increase in cases, why aren't women more susceptible. They shave their legs almost daily.
Could it be that the men getting it are already immune compromised because of HIV?
Any clue as to why women don't seem to get it?
They shave a lot more of their body hair than men do. Legs, armpits, etc.
Personally I can't stand to shave my face every day let alone consider shaving any other part of my body.
Was that STAPH infections or STAFF infections?
AIDS, no marriage, now staph infection--sure is tough to be a homo these days.
You JUST beat me to that one!
ROFLMAO!!
Ugh.
I believe in the gay community it is the combination of this shaving, plus other activities that is leading to the infections.
Now that is just frightening to contemplate.
MRSA infections among gays are up, and also up among the students on the team.
Makes an odd coincidence.
Manscaping?
Sounds like alot of work.. I hate shaving as it is, and I have a five o clock shadow at 3pm. I'd hate to see the rest of my body have a five o clock shadow. (Plus, when I'm 55 and stop shaving, I'll be a sasquatch!)
They do. Anyone can get MRSA. My wife and I got it this summer, her first and then myself. I believe we both got ours by scratching mosquito bites. The hospital was treating several during the times we were there, and most of the people did not fit the homosexual profile.
But what is going on among homosexuals is a combination of risk factors: shaving, common baths, and contact.
The bacteria is fairly ubiquitous, but most of the time it doesn't have the opportunity to enter your body in sufficient numbers to overwhelm your immune system.
By the way, it is a myth that shaving causes you to grow more hair, if that were the case I would simply start shaving the thinning area on the back of my head, and it would come back.
Ok Freepers, help me out with this one.
As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner/Submission Wrestler, I experience frequent close contact with other men. (not that there's anything wrong with that....)
It looks like I'm safe as long as I don't shave my body and/or share towels? Is that the key here?
Geez, I thought ringworm was the only thing I had to look out for.
Thanks!
Got it thanks.
The commonalities are locker rooms and hot tubs.
Around these parts, YMCA's are the number one pick up spots for homosexuals.
I was a teenage manscaper.
God bless our troops wherever they may be.
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