Skin diseases in athletes

Sports and the development of nations are very much intertwined. Sports dermatology is a growing discipline. Athletes’ skin diseases are a distinct group of diseases, and that repetitive physical activity combined with environmental stressors puts the athlete at the highest level of risk.The purpose of this study is to equip physicians with basic knowledge of skin diseases in athletes. Lack of knowledge about the role of exercise in the pathogenesis of skin diseases can lead to delayed diagnosis and consequently, incorrect treatment. Skin diseases can be caused directly or indirectly by exercise; there are some skin diseases which exist in a person but appear or intensify with the onset of exercise. In general, before an athlete should exercise, he should be examined dermatologically to prevent the spread of skin diseases. They should be considered especially for lesions on the less noticeable areas such as the back and inner side of ears. It is better to prepare a map of the patient’s lesions that can be tracked over time, which the possibility of following their changes (Body Mapping). Athletes should have no general symptoms such as fever for 72 hours before exercising. There should be no secretory skin lesions, otherwise, it is necessary to receive treatments before going to the gym and using the equipment to ensure that the disease does not spread to others.