Editor’s Note: This editorial was created in partnership with our good friends at BLDG Active.
Photo: BLDG Active
Life as an outdoor athlete is never complete without some battle wounds to show for it. Reef rash on a surf trip, a foot cut open on the rocks, chafing from a long day on a bike, or blisters from hiking, the injuries range from the pestering, nagging type to the nastiest of spills. If you’re one of the few people who has a first aid kit with you, chances are it’s not there when you need it or, if it is, 95 percent of that first aid kit will just be useless.
An active outdoor lifestyle and its inherent risks put a bit of wear and tear on your body and most of us do it all while under-prepared for both the serious and the basic injuries. Imagine (or remember) the scramble to disinfect a wound after a wipeout in the backcountry or the burn from armpit rash after a marathon session in the water. There’s no medicine cabinet to run to because, well, you’re out there.
Because of this, Justin Gardner, who used to work in the regenerative medicine field, founded BLDG Active, hoping to bring a cutting-edge regenerative technology from the hospitals to outdoor athletes. The BLDG Active product line, which consists of a topical spray and a topical gel, is more or less an all-in-one skin and wound repair solution for any kind of skin damage. In fact, Medical Director of the World Surf League, Dr. Chris Prosser, works with BLDG Active and uses the ACTIVE Skin Repair treatment for WSL athletes, calling it the League’s go-to for all skin damage, including reef cuts, wounds, insect bites, and even sunburns. He’s also used the same gel and sprays to treat X-Games athletes and even Nitro Circus athletes.
It works by using Hypochlorous (HOCl), a molecule naturally produced by our white blood cells. When formulated correctly, HOCL can kill 99 percent of all bacteria within as little as 15 seconds of contact and with no toxicity. In addition to being a powerful antimicrobial, it also helps reduce skin inflammation.
“If we are talking about a reef cut while surfing or a skin abrasion after a fall off a mountain bike the tissue damage basically leads to changes at the cellular level both in the skin and in the underlying tissue at the site of injury,” Dr. Prosser says. “This then causes the body to first activate an inflammatory response that leads to the second phase of cell proliferation and the healing process and ends with repair to the damaged cells and tissue including active scar remodeling.”
Essentially, somebody’s created a first aid product that uses the body’s own built-in processes for reducing inflammation, killing bacteria, and speeding healing. Your body will naturally create HOCl and use it from the inside out to heal wounds. Here, you’re simply applying it topically to boost the healing process. It’s a medical-grade product you can carry with you on any trip and use on any type of skin damage on any part of the body and yes, that means sensitive areas. It’s the WD40 of skin repair. Both the gel and spray come in three-ounce bottles, which is small enough to carry in any pack without taking up a lot of space. But perhaps just as important, it’s the precise allowable size for bringing through TSA, meaning you can always have it with you on any trip. You’ve wiped out enough times already to know it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
Photo Credit: Tommy Chandler
Location: Joes Valley
