Important Staph Meeting

I considered myself fairly well-versed in the fine art of obstacle course racing. After my recent Beast, I was pleased that for the most part I had emerged unscathed. Oh, some weird sore turned up in the corner of my mouth. Must be a cold sore or something.

Oh, now both of my lips are becoming tremendously dry. The corner of my mouth feels like hell, in particular, and is raw and cracked. This doesn't look like a cold sore, but what else could it be?

Oh god, it hurts. There is literally not enough Vaseline in the world to calm my mouth. The other corner of my mouth has become cracked now. I can't open my mouth more than half inch without serious pain. I might need to go to the doctor. If this is a cold sore, it is bad, and I might need some kind of anti-viral medication or balm.

Here I am at the doctor. She takes a look and says it doesn't look like a cold sore because there is no actual blister, it's just raw and cracked. She asks if I've had any scabbing and I said I had some skin-colored "gumminess" crop up overnight. Diagnosis: a staph infection, a.k.a impetigo. It is far more common in (gross, dirty) children and extremely contagious. Good thing I haven't been making out with anyone or sharing eating utensils. I was sent home with an $18 tube of antibiotic ointment and instructions to apply it 3 times daily for a week.

I did as I was told, plus some extra-credit Googling. Turns out staph infections are extremely common from OCRs. Getting small cuts and abrasions (from barbed wire, rocks, wood, thorns, etc) and being submerged in muddy water is a recipe for all kinds of ailments. And staph infections, although they will eventually probably go away on their own (after 3-4 weeks), should always be treated because they are so contagious. And you will need to throw away your Chapsticks and wash your pillowcases and towels really well.

After 2 days of antibiotic cream, my lips are feeling somewhat better. They are still cracked in the corners, but the pain is lessened and my entire mouth is not painfully dry anymore. Lesson learned: always go to the doctor if your gut tells you to. You don't want to screw around with your health.

(Other common OCR ailments: gastroenteritis, pinkeye, and poison ivy. If you think you may have any of these, be careful, because they are highly contagious and spreadable to others and other parts of your own body.)