Infection risks?

[alan_n]

The main reason why I am always in favour of swimsuits or bikinis being worn in mud is for hygiene reasons. Seriously, sensitive body parts being in direct contact with mud is a health risk isn't it?

[Duncan Edwards]

The main reason why I am always in favour of swimsuits or bikinis being worn in mud is for hygiene reasons. Seriously, sensitive body parts being in direct contact with mud is a health risk isn't it?

Most "sensitive" body parts come into contact on a regular basis with stuff a lot nastier than what we have here. I've never heard a complaint from any of the many dozens of naked ladies I've worked with in clay, peat, ash, coal slurry, river mud, desert silt, cork, etc. Obviously anything is possible but humans aren't quite as fragile as modern life would lead you to believe. After you have experienced child birth, third world living conditions, sex in scummy ponds, and farm life, you don't think of wet earth as being all that un-hygenic or female anatomy as that fragile.

It still pays to use reasonable caution though.

[tempman]

I was out once messing around near a muddy area fuelled by an draining pump that went under some hills. It mustn't have been the cleanest area ever. But i sliced deep into my big toe on some kind of bush... infact it's making me cringe just thinking about it . I thought it was just a little poke, so i carried on messing around for about half an hour. it was only on the way home that it really hurt. i stopped against a wall and inspected my sock. Was bleeding quite badly but my feet were slightly numb from the temperature of the mud.
Maybe i was lucky but I had no infection from that, just had to limp a bit as to not put any pressure on it for a few days. Didn't even apply any germ or bacteria killing stuff just had a regular warm shower!

[stevensenechal]

I was out once messing around near a muddy area fuelled by an draining pump that went under some hills. It mustn't have been the cleanest area ever. But i sliced deep into my big toe on some kind of bush... infact it's making me cringe just thinking about it . I thought it was just a little poke, so i carried on messing around for about half an hour. it was only on the way home that it really hurt. i stopped against a wall and inspected my sock. Was bleeding quite badly but my feet were slightly numb from the temperature of the mud.
Maybe i was lucky but I had no infection from that, just had to limp a bit as to not put any pressure on it for a few days. Didn't even apply any germ or bacteria killing stuff just had a regular warm shower!

Whoa dude! if you're going to go sinking around sewage lagoons or chemical dumps take some litmus paper along and at least test to see if your spot has the PH of battery acid before you dive in!

MODERATOR - Funny image but off topic. Sorry.

[mudxdresser]

Most mud is anerobic, meaning, about the only organisms in it are anerobic (no oxygen) bacteria. Therefore, most of the normal world is toxic to those anerobic bacteria, including the human body, because for the last billion or two years, most of the world has been aerobic (oxygen). Anerobic bacteria used to rule the world, but were then wiped out mostly when the earth became aerobic. Clay environments are one of the few places where anerobic bacterial can still survive.

So, if your mud is primarily clay, it is relatively "clean" and unlikely to have anything in it as little will grow in it besides those anerobic bacteria because clay is an anerobic environment. That is why it works to put it on wounds, it isolates the wound from the oxygen that allows other harmful stuff to grow. Anerobic organisms are basically anhilated on contact with oxygen molecules. Since the body is full of all sorts of oxygen molecules, anerobic bacteria are not that big a threat.

[tempman]

Whoa dude! if you're going to go sinking around sewage lagoons or chemical dumps take some litmus paper along and at least test to see if your spot has the PH of battery acid before you dive in!

Hehe yea. I gave up on that spot now, it was kind of open anyways. I worry more about ticks and other nasty insects up on the hills where i go now.

I'm still cringing too! I remember feeling the deep cut it made, being able to feel both sides to it and having to clean inside. FFF!

[stevensenechal]

Most mud is anerobic, meaning, about the only organisms in it are anerobic (no oxygen) bacteria. Therefore, most of the normal world is toxic to those anerobic bacteria, including the human body, because for the last billion or two years, most of the world has been aerobic (oxygen). Anerobic bacteria used to rule the world, but were then wiped out mostly when the earth became aerobic. Clay environments are one of the few places where anerobic bacterial can still survive.

So, if your mud is primarily clay, it is relatively "clean" and unlikely to have anything in it as little will grow in it besides those anerobic bacteria because clay is an anerobic environment. That is why it works to put it on wounds, it isolates the wound from the oxygen that allows other harmful stuff to grow. Anerobic organisms are basically anhilated on contact with oxygen molecules. Since the body is full of all sorts of oxygen molecules, anerobic bacteria are not that big a threat.

Hey! I think I have an aerobic bacteria in my pool, how do I get rid of her?

MODERATOR - I'll take care of her for you. We need to manage the off topic stuff a little better just to be fair to everyone else. Sorry.

[Boggy Man]

I have often considered people who do sinking to have fairly good immunity systems, because of the exposure to soil microorganisms/bacteria. When we get scrapes/scratches from various things, such as hikes to the bog, the wounds come into contact with the soil, and whatever lives in it, and would theoretically result in some type of immune response, helping to exercise the body's immune system. People who get mud in contact with their faces, such as those who submerge (such as me), or who go for coverage, or like to lay down with their head in the mud, may tend to inevitably get mud into their mouths, and perhaps even ingest some, although usually it is, hopefully but not necessarily, all spat out. There can be some trace amount that does get into the digestive system, once again allowing the body's immune system to get more exercise. Therefore, we should have healthier immune systems than those who live in sterile environments all their life.

However, the greatest risk for infection is when you get the type of puncture/cut/wound where it is possible for foreign matter to become trapped inside the flesh or under the skin. Then, if it isn't cleaned out, it can fester and become infected.

[Swampficious]

I've heard immune systems mentioned a few times on here, but I don't believe they play as large a part in avoiding infections from sinking as much as from illness etc.

My only reasoning being, from experience, my immune system is nowhere near as good as it should be to the point it was practically non-existant 2 years ago.(wont bother with details)

Anyways, I've only been sinking a few years, since roughly i turned 16 in fact, and never had a problem with infection.
That supports the anaerobic vs aerobic idea, as I have wound up with a few cuts here and there and never infections...

But yeah, I could just be flukey.