Nick Diaz Hospitalized With Staph Infection

[Dr.Chicago]

Nick Diaz Hospitalized With Staph Infection

Date Posted: Sunday, September 23





Nick Diaz has been hospitalized with a severe staph infection that he contacted a few days prior to his EliteXC fight. He was admitted to the hospital when he arrived in Las Vegas to watch his brother's fight. He has been on an antibiotic IV since Tuesday and will probably remain so through the weekend.

"I felt pretty crappy in my match in Hawaii but I figured it was jet lag or maybe something I had eaten the night before. When I left Hawaii the next day I was getting chills and had to be covered with several blankets on the plane but I just kept having cold sweats. By the time I got to Vegas the infection had ballooned up and so I went to the hospital to have it checked out. They admitted me and I've been here ever since".

Source: GracieFighter.com:


I hope he gets well and comes back stronger and more exciting than ever!

[Mulla]

Damn, I hope he makes a speedy recovery!

A lot of people said he didnt look to impressive at EliteXC (I havent seen it yet), this could be a good reason as to why!

[FatCatMC]

Yeah, he looked absolutely terrible last weekend. This makes sense.

[Saskabush]

This is good news in a way, I am glad there is a reason as to why he didn't perform up to his potential at the EliteXC event.

[Switch]

Whats with all these top fighter getting bad staph infections? I would think they would be taking better care of themselves. I mean look at Sanchez, how the hell can you as a fighter or a trainer of a fighter let something like that advance so far that a docotor thinks you have Hepatitis C?

[Pitbull]

Get well soon, Nick.

I hope this was the reason why he looked so slow at his last fight.

[Gygax]

Originally Posted by Switch

Whats with all these top fighter getting bad staph infections? I would think they would be taking better care of themselves. I mean look at Sanchez, how the hell can you as a fighter or a trainer of a fighter let something like that advance so far that a docotor thinks you have Hepatitis C?

MRSA (the staph infections) are growing at an alarming rate throughout the sports and medical communities in the USA. Its not a matter of not taking care of themselves. I dealt with a MRSA case just 2 weeks ago. Kid presented with what looked like an insect bite on his inner calf. The next day it was slightly infected, looking like when you get a cut that gets tender and pink. Just 2 days after it appeared, he was admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotic treatment. He was in for 6 days and was cut open to drain the infection. It hits very fast. BTW, this athlete was a football player and was the second one in the last year to have it. The other one got it around his waistline last season.

[Crashsti]

Originally Posted by Gygax

MRSA (the staph infections) are growing at an alarming rate throughout the sports and medical communities in the USA. Its not a matter of not taking care of themselves. I dealt with a MRSA case just 2 weeks ago. Kid presented with what looked like an insect bite on his inner calf. The next day it was slightly infected, looking like when you get a cut that gets tender and pink. Just 2 days after it appeared, he was admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotic treatment. He was in for 6 days and was cut open to drain the infection. It hits very fast. BTW, this athlete was a football player and was the second one in the last year to have it. The other one got it around his waistline last season.

Gygax, what do you believe to be the underlying cause for the increase in both number and severity of Staph infections? also, what can we do to prevent them from occuring?

[Gygax]

The problem with MRSA is that its a staph infection that is resistant to most antibiotics, especially oral therapy. The so called super-bug. As much as its being seen in the athletic community, its absolutely rampant in the medical/hospital setting.

Other than the obligatory cleanliness precautions, there isn't much that can be done to prevent it. Early recognition is the key. The majority of the time, if you have something that looks like an infected pimple or even more commonly a spider bite, get it checked. Call it an overreaction, but its just the way its become. There are some pretty scary stories including death where high school athletes have waited too long to get treatment.

Here are a couple of articles written by colleagues of mine that give more in depth info including prevention techniques.

When MRSA strikes

Are you protected

[Switch]

Well that is part of what I am talking about. I can see fighters shrugging a staph infection off but I would hope that their trainers would care enough to talk them into treatment.
As far as the antibiotic issue this is a very serious problem. In my opinion with the development and wide use of antibiotic items (cleaning supplies in particular) I think we are culling out the things we can affect through treatment. Leaving a vacuum for things we can't affect to breed.

[Gygax]

Originally Posted by Switch

Well that is part of what I am talking about. I can see fighters shrugging a staph infection off but I would hope that their trainers would care enough to talk them into treatment.
As far as the antibiotic issue this is a very serious problem. In my opinion with the development and wide use of antibiotic items (cleaning supplies in particular) I think we are culling out the things we can affect through treatment. Leaving a vacuum for things we can't affect to breed.

I hear what you are saying, Switch. Its just that MRSA can hit so fast, that no amount of prevention/early treatment can prevent it from affecting fighters. It looks like a bug bite, and the very next day its blown up. No amount of attention a coach pays attention can really help a lot.

I keep very close attention to my athletes, and still have had 2 hospitalized in the last year.

I also understand what you are saying about the bacteria void we have created with all the anti-bacterial cleansers. I don't disagree with that at all.

[Switch]

I wonder how aware of this threat fighters are. I think I will find some information and post it at the gynm I work out in. Any suggestions Gygax of where to find good printable information on the web?

[Gygax]

Originally Posted by Switch

I wonder how aware of this threat fighters are. I think I will find some information and post it at the gynm I work out in. Any suggestions Gygax of where to find good printable information on the web?

The two articles listed above in the #9 post are by certified athletic trainers, what I am. They deal specifically with prevention for the athletic community. The problem with most of the images on the net are they show worst case scenarios and end results rather than early recognition stages.

Training and Conditioning has a series of 9 posters. They are free to download (pdf files) or you can purchase professional copies for $25. Check them out here. Hope this helps.

[fullonshred]

How much chance is there from picking up a freaking bug like this at a weightlifting gym, using ordinary weightlifting equipment like bench press and weight stack machines?

[Mulla]

Originally Posted by Gygax

The problem with MRSA is that its a staph infection that is resistant to most antibiotics, especially oral therapy. The so called super-bug. As much as its being seen in the athletic community, its absolutely rampant in the medical/hospital setting.

Other than the obligatory cleanliness precautions, there isn't much that can be done to prevent it. Early recognition is the key. The majority of the time, if you have something that looks like an infected pimple or even more commonly a spider bite, get it checked. Call it an overreaction, but its just the way its become. There are some pretty scary stories including death where high school athletes have waited too long to get treatment.

Here are a couple of articles written by colleagues of mine that give more in depth info including prevention techniques.

When MRSA strikes

Are you protected

Wow, I had no idea staph and MRSA were the same thing!

MRSA is really bad in the hospitals over here too. My gran was in hospital with a broken hip earlier this year and one of the old dears on her ward came down with it so the whole ward had to be quarantined for a week.

[Switch]

Originally Posted by Gygax

The two articles listed above in the #9 post are by certified athletic trainers, what I am. They deal specifically with prevention for the athletic community. The problem with most of the images on the net are they show worst case scenarios and end results rather than early recognition stages.

Training and Conditioning has a series of 9 posters. They are free to download (pdf files) or you can purchase professional copies for $25. Check them out here. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info. Yah I was noticing that about the images when I was searching.

[Crashsti]

Originally Posted by fullonshred

How much chance is there from picking up a freaking bug like this at a weightlifting gym, using ordinary weightlifting equipment like bench press and weight stack machines?

its possible if the santiation on the gym is'nt up to par. its always been recommended to wipe off any piece of equipment before using it to avoid any type of illness/infection. i don't see a problem with cleaning eqiupment before using it. i quick spray with a cleaner and a wipe with a towel and your clear. also, hand sanitizer is easy to use. taking a shower as soon as possible will also help. you can't leave it up to the gym to take your health into thier hands.