How Healthy Is Your Child Athlete’s Skin?
Athletes put their bodies through a great deal to develop their skills and become great at the sport they love. Therefore, their outer body takes a beating, leading to potential problems with hair, skin, and nails. This wear and tear on the human body can start as early as childhood for young athletes. The good news about dermatology is that most skin challenges are visible, allowing individuals and their loved ones to see the signs that something may be wrong.
Below is a list of common conditions that can affect athletes, regardless of age. In addition to skin concerns, environmental factors can exacerbate issues, including excessive sweating, sun or cold exposure, contaminated dirt, and injuries from tight shoes. While this list is specific to dermatology, many more medical problems could affect athletes beyond the outer body covering, such as muscle, nerve, and bone injuries.
Skin: folliculitis, acne, fungal acne, excessive sweating, intertrigo, sunburns, irritant contact dermatitis, skin cancer
Athletes who spend a lot of time outdoors have an increased risk of skin cancer and can suffer from skin discoloration from chronic sun damage and sunburns. There could be bacterial, viral, or fungal skin infections, such as fungal acne (pityrosporum folliculitis), which can occur due to excessive sweating and colonization of the skin by organisms. Adolescent and teen athletes commonly have flares of puberty and inflammatory acne due to sweat and yeast. Repetitive use and contact with equipment, such as helmets, shin guards, or basketballs, can cause irritant contact dermatitis.
Hair: dandruff, oily hair, folliculitis, traction hair loss from tight hairstyles
Athletes who are otherwise healthy typically do not experience hair loss. They may need to wash their hair more frequently due to excessive sweating and dandruff that worsen with increased physical activity. Young women may experience traction alopecia due to the use of tight ponytails, as many sports require their hair to be pulled back to avoid interfering with performance.
Nail: toenail fungus, small and big toenail injury, bunions
Nails are an essential covering on the fingers and toes to help prevent injury. Particularly in sports where athletes wear cleats, there is a risk of injury to the toenails and the bones of the feet. This can give rise to both small and big toenail injuries, as well as bunions.
Infections: herpes infections, impetigo, warts, molluscum pox virus, athlete’s foot, jock itch
Infections of warm, moist areas of the body, such as the feet, toenails, and groin, can give athlete’s foot (tinea pedis), jock itch (tinea cruris), and toenail fungus (tinea unguium). Skin lesions, such as warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) and molluscum poxvirus, as well as herpes gladiatorum, are common in contact sports.
If your athlete develops skin irritation, rashes, itch, or bumps on the skin anywhere on the body, get them evaluated. Consult a local dermatologist or other healthcare provider to address your skin problems. Treatments may be topical or oral medications for acute infections and inflammation. Athletes with chronic skin conditions, such as eczema or psoriasis, may require ongoing therapy to manage symptoms that flare up as they participate in sports.
