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"We feel it is worth the extra effort," said Raider principal Bill Oblas in a note sent to parents and athletes.
Going above and beyond guidelines by local health officials, the Raiders cancelled practice over the weekend while a team from Loudoun County Public School support services came in to disinfect the locker room, shower room, equipment, and other athletic areas such as the weight room and the laundry room.
Oblas in his note:
"I just want to update everyone on everything we are doing this evening at LCHS. First of all, I want to assure you that we feel very confident that all of our measures being put into place are preventive in nature. We have contacted our Health services department who have been in touch with the Loudoun County Health Department. In all of our conversations, they are giving us instructions about what we need to do. They all say that we are going beyond what they recommend, but we feel it is worth the extra effort.
"This evening your sons will bring home all of their equipment. In addition, they will be given a copy of the health department instructions. Please follow the instructions so that we can be sure all measures have been taken to properly disinfect the equipment.
"Also, a team from our Support Services department is coming to the school to disinfect the locker room, shower room, equipment, and other athletic areas such as the weight room and the laundry room.
"We also want to assure you that disinfectant wipes are available in the weightroom and we will be following a strict cleaning schedule of all locker room facilities daily.
"Please encourage your sons to continue to shower immediately after every practice and to keep their equipment and uniforms laundered.
"As I indicated earlier, we are taking measures beyond what is recommended by the Loudoun County Health Department in hopes of eliminating any future problems."
According to the CDC, staph infections are easily spread among athletes because of the repetitive skin to skin contact, the increase in cuts and abrasions that may be left uncovered and vulnerable to infection, the players share items that come into direct skin contact, and during practices have limited access to hygiene measures unless they come to the athletic trainer.
Loudoun County asked parents to do the following:
*Please launder all cloth materials in the washing machine, and use a dryer to dry them completely. Also wash all sheets and towels.
*Take all plastic and foam pieces of the shoulder pads and dunk them in soapy water (using disinfectant soap). Literally dunk them in a tub.
*Wipe down shoulder pads and helmet with disinfectant spray or wipes.
*Hang shoulder pads out to dry.
*Encourage your athlete to wash EVERYDAY immediately after practice, using an antibacterial soap (not just body wash such as AXE)
*Example of a strong disinfecting soap is Defense Soap which can be found at some drug stores.
*Encourage your athlete to cover ALL wounds before practice, as skin to skin contact with open wounds is how the infection is spread.
*Encourage your athlete to avoid sharing personal items, such as towels, washcloths, razors, clothing, or uniforms.
Staph infections were a hot topic three years ago when a host of NFL players contracted staph infections including star quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, skin diseases accounted for 56% of all infectious diseases in competitive sports from 1922 through 2005.
Try Defense soap. Wrestlers use it and it works great. http://www.defensesoap.com/
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