They’re swapping equipment, sharing water bottles and throwing sweat-drenched towels to each other – while kids love organized sports, germs can spread quickly through a team.
If kids and their parents aren’t paying attention to hygiene and what to do if a child gets sick, infectious bugs can spell defeat for an entire team, the American Academy of Pediatrics is warning in a new report.
“Joining an athletic team is a fun, physically challenging and healthy way for kids to practice teamwork and sportsmanship, but they do need to understand the importance of good hygiene,” Dr. H. Dele Davis, the report’s lead author, said in a statement.
“Besides showering and washing hands, athletes should be discouraged from sharing their water bottles, towels, mouth guards and other personal items,” he said.
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The report warns that about 10 to 15 per cent of injuries that force college-level athletes to take time off from sports are infectious diseases.
So how are kids most likely to spread germs?
- Through skin-to-skin contact while playing sports like football or wrestling
- Sharing contaminated food or water
- Swapping equipment like mouth guards, towels or helmets
- Coughing, sneezing or spitting (anything that spreads germs through respiratory droplets or airborne particles)
And what germs are doctors worried about kids spreading?
- MRSA (or methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus)
- Group A Streptococcus
- Cold sores (or herpes simplex virus)
- Ringworm (or tinea capitis)
- Athlete’s foot (or tinea pedis)
- Scabies
- Lice
- Airborne infections: chicken pox, measles and mumps
In the report, the pediatricians are calling on doctors to pay attention to kids’ skin to scan for potential infections. Students should also keep an eye on their health and make sure their vaccinations are up to date.
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“Some of these germs can be picked up in weight rooms, on mats or in locker rooms,” Dr. Mary Anne Jackson, the paper’s co-author, said.
“Coaches and trainers should develop a plan for proper cleaning and maintenance of all sporting facilities and equipment,” she said.
So what else can athletes, coaches, doctors and families do?
- Teach kids about proper personal hygiene, from washing their uniforms, to avoiding sharing drinks or personal products like mouth guards and razors
- Develop a plan for cleaning equipment and change rooms
- Pay attention to the management of blood and other bodily fluids
- Keep an eye on the health status of your team and teammates. If someone’s sick, they shouldn’t come into practice or a game because they could be spreading germs
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The report follows a resurgence of the mumps, an outbreak that even made its way through NHL locker rooms, decimating entire rosters of players.
The outbreak made its rounds in 2017 and in 2014.
Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry and Ryan Suter were among the superstars that fell victim to mumps.
It makes sense, the experts say. There’s a reason why some infectious diseases spread like wildfire through sports teams, cruise ships, daycares and old age homes, for example.
It’s all about being within close proximity of people shedding the virus or sharing items with them.
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“This is why you start seeing it on hockey teams. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen what happens in a hockey game but there’s spitting and snorting and you see the splash of fluids and you don’t know what it’s supposed to be,” Canadian microbiologist, Jason Tetro, told Global News.
“There’s a lot of sharing going on. It’s not romantic but it’s still bodily fluids making the rounds,” Tetro explained.
Read the full AAP report.
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
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