What Newark Beth Israel Medical Center has to say about Reducing Skin Infections and Conditions in Athletes

September 9th 2011

Team sports is a must among athletes since spirits would soar high and that would lead to better performance, say experts. However, when athletes come into close contact with one another, they could be infected with contagious skin issues as well, says a source. Athletes often suffer from ringworm outbreaks and this is not only for professional athletes, but it has been seen in the case of those who are in school and colleges as well, say doctors.

A recent report for Skin Infections in Athletes says there could be a wider spread of skin infections when there is skin to skin contact. Such skin issues can be caused due to fungi, bacteria and viruses, says a source. It is thus very important for players and coaches and even parents of players to be aware of such issues and find ways to bring them down or to reduce it altogether, say doctors.

One of the most recent cases spoken about which is common in athletes and can be very life threatening is the MRSA, sadly this condition is not wary of the common antibiotics being used to treat the condition and persists, sometimes making life hell for the athlete and life threatening as well, say doctors. The infection of the tissue or the skin could be well a pimple or even a boil, but the redness and the swollen part of the tender skin shouldn’t be ignored and must be treated at the earliest, says a source.

Mostly those who play football would have reported more on the MRSA infection. When the diagnosis for the same is done soon and proper therapy for the same is given, MRSA can be treated very well and the spreading of the disease can thus be prevented, says a source at NBIM.

Most of the sportspersons that suffer from impetigo are those who dapple in wrestling, says a source, this is a very contagious skin issue that can affect the skin and infect one to many at any given point of time. This could also spread if the players have too much skin contact amongst themselves, if they share their sport equipments that carry the infection and even if they are in overcrowded places where personal hygiene is not taken care of well enough, say specialists at NBIM.

Ringworm can be red and itchy and in circles, says a source. They would mostly happen around the neck, head and can come to an individual through sin to skin contact as well. Reports have also spoken about the athlete’s foot fungal issue, which attacks the skin and many athletes suffer from, says a source. In such a case there would be excessive peeling of the foot, scaling and even cracking as well, accompanied by redness of the feet and soles as well, say doctors.

If such symptoms are seen, NBIM specialists opine and encourage people to visit their physician without wasting any further time. Personal hygiene and care at all times for athletes is a must and one shouldn’t avoid or ignore the symptoms as something minor which would go off soon.

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