Lichenoid dermatitis in 3 professional footballers

Contact dermatitis in athletes

Athletes face numerous hazards in their daily activities. An athlete's skin, in particular, endures repeated exposure to trauma, heat, moisture, and numerous allergens and chemicals. These factors combine with other unique and less well-defined genetically predisposing factors in the athlete's skin to cause both allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) and irritant contact dermatitis (ICD). As with other cases of contact dermatitis, these eruptions in athletes present as a spectrum of acute to subacute to chronic dermatitis. Recognizing the unique environmental irritants and allergens encountered by athletes is paramount to facilitate appropriate therapy and prevention. This review comprehensively examines the literature on contact dermatitis in athletes. The different types of contact dermatitis have been classified under sport-specific subheadings. Furthermore, within each subheading, both ACD and ICD types are discussed.

Contact dermatitis in students practicing sports: incidence of rubber sensitisation

BACKGROUND

Over the last few years, changes in cutaneous homoeostasis resulting from sports activities have been reported. In particular, alterations in sweating mechanisms, the hydrolipid barrier, and surface bacterial flora, together with exposure to atmospheric conditions and the need to use medicaments, detergents, and other topical substances, predispose subjects to allergic contact dermatitis.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the incidence of allergic contact dermatitis in a group of young people practising sports activities.

METHODS

Patch tests were performed to confirm the diagnosis of irritant or allergic dermatitis; in addition, the radioallergoabsorbent test (RAST) to latex was evaluated in the group studied.

RESULTS

Allergic contact dermatitis caused by thiourams (23.3%) and mercaptobenzothiazole (20.9%) was prevalent. Other haptens, such as benzocaine and nickel, which are contained in clothing, equipment, topical medicaments, and creams used for massage, were also allergenic. In two cases, RAST positivity to latex was registered.

CONCLUSIONS

-The results suggest that close contact with sports equipment may increase the incidence of allergic contact dermatitis. Students practising certain sports may have "professional" allergic contact dermatitis to additives used in the production of rubber.