Extreme sports dermatology

Abstract

Extreme athletes endure many challenges, and the skin represents the main barrier that interfaces with this unforgiving environment. The athlete’s skin experiences solar, traumatic, thermal, and frictional forces that may ultimately impede their activities. The athlete’s skin also must contend with insults from creatures in their environment. Unfortunately, sports equipment, medicinal topical agents, and items in the sporting environment also commonly cause allergic skin disorders. Lastly, myriad cutaneous infections also plague athletes. This chapter will discuss the specific ailments relevant to the above categories. The epidemiology, etiology, clinical presentation, therapy, and prevention of these cutaneous conditions will all be discussed. Through expeditious diagnosis and attentive prevention, the clinician and athlete can minimize any disruption to their training or competition.