Tackle Sports Dermatoses

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I have been a football widow, which is what the wives of most football coaches call themselves during football season, for over 22 years. My wonderful husband, Andrew, was a high school football coach for almost 20 years and now is an athletic director. Our oldest son plays high school football. So, it goes without saying that we love fall sports.

Before we had children, I realized if I wanted to see my husband during football season that I should get involved with the sports community. Being a former college basketball player, I knew that athletic trainers and team physicians always need help. So, I volunteered to help with sports physicals, brought donations of sunblock and other skin care products to the school’s athletic training room, and made myself available for dermatology consults to student athletes in need. I had no idea just how many athletes would be in need. That fall, the football team had an outbreak of bullous impetigo. Just a few years later, a wrestler came to see me for a follow-up for acne with full-blown herpes gladiatorum after he and most of his team had been incorrectly diagnosed with a Staphylococcus aureus infection at a local urgent care facility. Yikes! These instances began a still-ongoing passion for me for treating sports-related dermatoses.

It’s important that dermatology providers can easily recognize and treat communicable sports dermatoses and know the rules and regulations that will allow their student-athlete patients to return to practices or game situations. College and high school level athletic associations, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes, and state-specific organizations, have rules about managing skin infections in athletes, including when an infected athlete can return to skin-to-skin contact.

Some common communicable skin conditions that prevent athletes from participating in their sport are detailed in the Table.^1,2

It may be necessary for a dermatology provider to come to an athlete’s defense when skin lesions are not communicable. We do not want our student athlete patients to be excluded from skin-to-skin contact sports because of psoriasis, eczema, pityriasis rosea, vitiligo, lichen planus, or other noncommunicable skin conditions. So be your patient’s advocate for them by filling out appropriate forms so they are allowed to participate and are not excluded from their athletic endeavors.

I encourage all dermatology providers to reach out to local high schools, college programs, or semiprofessional or professional sports organizations in your area. You can contact a school’s athletic director or certified athletic trainer, and let them know you would like to help their athletes. Whether you are the official dermatologist of a professional sports team (like our next Editor in Chief, Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, should be) or the very unofficial dermatology physician assistant of The Village School of Naples (like yours truly), all dermatology providers can make a difference, because all athletes need our help.

Shanna Miranti, MPAS, PA-C, is a board-certified physician assistant, a founding member of Riverchase Dermatology in Naples, Florida, and a Diversity in Dermatology board member.

References

1. Minooee A, Wang J, Gupta GK. Sports: the infectious hazards. Microbiol Spectr. 2015;3(5):10.1128/microbiolspec.IOL5-0014-2015. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.IOL5-0014-2015
2. Peterson AR, Nash E, Anderson BJ. Infectious disease in contact sports. Sports Health. 2019;11(1):47-58. doi:10.1177/1941738118789954