Hygienic assessment of risk factors for skin infections in athletes wrestlers
Study by virtue of informed consent and questionnaire survey involved healthy male volunteers: 91 athletes of wrestling and 52 students not doing sports. It was found that most respondents (55% among wrestlers suffered from skin contagions at least once. To do hygienic assessment of risk factors for skin infections in wrestlers there's a recommended "rule of nines" method by A. Wallace which estimates open skin areas (i.e. unprotected by sports outfits) in different types of wrestling. The athletes study results showed high risk of skin infections in this target group, especially in wrestlers. The number of skin infections cases among wrestlers surveyed was 9.5 times higher (p <0.001) than among students not involved in professional sports. The basic risk factors for wrestlers' skin contagions in sport training and competitions processes are: direct factors which include regular contact "skin to skin" during competition; failure to meet body hygiene, clean sportswear and shoes requirements; athletes with obvious signs of infection at competitions and trainings. Indirect factors include regular state of stress due to frequent competitions, daily workouts, etc. Therefore we think it vital to systematically inform all the participants in sport training and competitions process on the existing risks of skin infections for athletes and negative consequences thereof.