By Dr. Galloway
As we all know, football is a violent sport that is fraught with injuries. Fractures and dislocations as well as tendon and bone injuries are commonplace and limit the ability of athletes to participate in their sport. Recently, however, an uncommon cause of sports disability has become apparent and is at risk of affecting your team. Skin infections with methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on sports teams are on the rise nationally. These bacteria that are especially aggressive and can be easily spread from person to person through direct physical contact or among athletes using the same equipment, such as weights and exercise machines. They are difficult to treat because they do not respond to the antibiotic drugs that are traditionally used to treat community acquired skin infections.
Once only acquired in hospital settings, it is now commonplace for emergency room physicians and family doctors to diagnose these infections in individuals that have never been near a hospital. These infections are most commonly seen affecting the arms, legs and shoulder regions. They appear as boils that may be solitary or may occur in clusters. These abscesses are usually red, warm, swollen and tender. They are spread by another person coming into direct contact with the involved area (such as during contact drills) or through the contamination of equipment, clothing, personal items or facilities that are shared by a team. Individuals with break in the skin, (minor cuts or scrapes) are especially susceptible to becoming infected in this way. Treatment of these infections involves first, an accurate diagnosis through appropriate wound cultures, then drainage of the abscess and administration of the appropriate antibiotics. The goal however is prevention.
A recently published article in the Southern Medical Journal advocates that “earlier detection and topical treatment of the athlete's skin wounds by their coaches, avoidance of contact with other participants' cutaneous lesions and their drainage, and good personal hygiene are measures that can potentially prevent the spread of cutaneous MRSA infection in participants of athletic activities.”
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has come forth with specific recommendations to help curb the incidence and spread of MRSA infections among athletes. The CDC advises that athletes practice “good hygiene (e.g., keeping your hands clean by washing with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand rub and showering after working out); covering any open skin area such as abrasions or cuts with a clean dry bandage; avoiding sharing personal items such as towels or razors; using a barrier (e.g., clothing or a towel) between your skin and shared equipment; and wiping surfaces of equipment before and after use.
“The Journal of Athletic Training advises that important additional measures include educating athletes and staff as to the warning signs, “following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, identifying CA-MRSA carriers with nasal cultures, introducing hexachlorophene 3% soap intermittently in the showers, making alcohol-based hand sanitizers available on the field, disinfecting weight training and rehabilitation equipment, and using disposable towels on the field during practices and games.” By keeping these warning signs in mind and instituting these relatively simple preventative measures coaches and athletic trainers can keep their athletes where they belong….on the field.
