Advice: Cysts on the Leg: MRSA?

[YMCMBYOLO]

Hello everyone,

I recently have started practicing for my hockey team. Bought some new equipment a few weeks ago, such as a hockey shell, girdle, shin guards, and elbow pads (girdle, shin, and elbow pads were used which I bought at Play It again Sports). Two weeks ago I developed a large pimple on the back of my leg. It started to get real big and black/blue. Apparently, it was a large cyst which the doctors had to take out. This was the week right after my first hockey practice (developed a few days after the first practice).

A few days ago, I noticed another large pimple growing, and it was about an inch away from my other cyst (which is now basically a scab). Went to the doctor, got prescription for it, and the doctor put in an acculture for it. The doctor said it may be MRSA but is not sure yet.

Question is, would this be a direct cause of my equipment? So far the only thing I have done is take out all of my equipment and let it air dry for 3 days or so after every practice.


Thanks!

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[PorkChopSandwiches]

Hello everyone,

I recently have started practicing for my hockey team. Bought some new equipment a few weeks ago, such as a hockey shell, girdle, shin guards, and elbow pads (girdle, shin, and elbow pads were used which I bought at Play It again Sports). Two weeks ago I developed a large pimple on the back of my leg. It started to get real big and black/blue. Apparently, it was a large cyst which the doctors had to take out. This was the week right after my first hockey practice (developed a few days after the first practice).

A few days ago, I noticed another large pimple growing, and it was about an inch away from my other cyst (which is now basically a scab). Went to the doctor, got prescription for it, and the doctor put in an acculture for it. The doctor said it may be MRSA but is not sure yet.

Question is, would this be a direct cause of my equipment? So far the only thing I have done is take out all of my equipment and let it air dry for 3 days or so after every practice.


Thanks!

Dont mess around. Get all the gear disinfected immediately so you are not continually reinfecting yourself. I hope for your sake that the culture just comes back as a staph strain that is more easliy treated. If it comes back positive for MRSA, im afraid i would recommend tossing it.

You can take your gear to one of those disinfecting stations if there is one local to you, alternatively you can mix a bleach solution in your bath tub and soach all the gear for a few hours. note that your gear will be saturated and will take a long time to dry if you cant get it into the direct sunlight. Use old towels so you dont ruin stuff with the bleach.

1 tbsp per gallon of water is the minimum ratio you need.

You will never be able to definitively know if your gear was the source, since if its now positive, it could have come from you to the gear.

 

[JoeCool16]

I'll second that if you're buying anything second-hand, you should always make some effort to disinfect it. I've never used a drying station as the one near me doesn't really disinfect, it just flash dries it, but I have put my gear through the wash several times using disinfectant in the laundry machine. Super easy to do, you just need the right solution and a mesh bag for your harder stuff.

 

[YMCMBYOLO]

Thanks guys. The doctors are taking it as if I have msra, as I got antibiotics to kill the mrsa bacteria/virus. I'm washing all of my equipment tonight in the bathtub, as recommended. Also bought disinfectant spray.

Thanks!

 

[Malarowski]

Also in the future, in addition to drying it, spray it all down with alcohol immediately after practice when you hang it up to dry. That eliminates a lot of smell and a most bacteria.

 

[YMCMBYOLO]

I washed and sprayed all of my equipment! thanks for the help!

Got the culture back today and I had a negative for mrsa, just have a bad staph infection.