Summer Olympic athletes must overcome skin conditions

Olympic athletes can suffer very badly from certain skin conditions brought on by their exertions, but there is a paucity of research into their conditions. It is known that they suffer from skin infections with dermatophytes such as tinea pedis and tinea corporis, bacteria such as pitted keratolysis, and viruses such as herpes gladiatorum. Frictional dermatitis such as jogger’s itch, athlete’s nodules, blisters, callosities and talon noir can make it hard to compete. Long training hours in the sun make athletes more susceptible to melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Those athletes that already suffered from dermatoses such as atopic eczema and physical urticarias find that these conditions can be exacerbated by practice.

Occasional outbreaks of dermatoses mean that the athletes can suffer from misdiagnosis and delays in treatment. This review calls for better diagnosis and management into sports-related dermatoses in Olympic sport.

Source: Sports Medicine

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