Health Information

Research indicates that the majority of athletes and their parents are not aware of the cause of the odour nor the risks they face by wearing contaminated equipment. This is an important subject to consider in the area of controlling infectious diseases for athletes and within the teams.

The health risks are evident and the safety to the athletes is critical. Maintaining clean equipment is a significant component that is often ignored. No parent or person would knowingly put on articles of clothing or expose their child to equipment that has been contaminated with sweat, bacteria, fungus and possibly Hepatitus C, which undeniably could lead to infections such as Staphylococcus and Streptococcus, without it being cleaned and properly sanitized. This is especially important in regards to equipment that is passed on from one individual to the next and then not properly disinfected.

Click here to read article, "Should You Wash Your Gear? "

The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has issued warnings and made recommendations to schools and sport teams to regularly clean and sanitize their equipment due to the significant risks that are involved.

Hockey Canada also has made such recommendations and the OHL has now made it mandatory.

Many young athletes have experienced skin irritation and rashes from contaminated equipment that are difficult to treat and often requiring medical attention. Contamination is a product of the sweat, blood, mucus and dander that accumulates in the equipment, which causes the bacteria, fungus and mould. These contaminants pose a health threat to players and athletes and the only way to get rid of the problem is through properly cleaning and sanitizing the equipment. It is much easier to prevent this problem than to treat them.

Professional and amateur athletes in both football and hockey have been hospitalized due to bacterial infections associated with Staphylcoccus. Furthermore, there has been a noticeable increase in infectious disease outbreaks in schools that have a direct connection to sports equipment. The perfect breeding ground for bacteria in the sports equipment has an even greater concern attached to it. The overuse of antibiotics has created a resistance to infection treatments and has allowed new strains of bacteria to evolve.

They are deadly, difficult to treat and within hours can leave a victim with permanent skin and bone damage, and in some cases, cause death. In 2002, six University of Texas players were diagnosed and in 2003, seven players from Southern California University became infected, resulting in four being hospitalized. As well, four players in the NHL were hospitalized and missed games due to skin infections in 2003. The death of a collegiate all-star football player within two weeks after contracting a Staph infection confirms the seriousness of this health threat. As well, three children in Houston have died from this infectious disease in 2003-2004.

The need for specialized cleaning and disinfecting is becoming more prominent in today’s world. Schools and the general public can simply not afford to ignore the substantial health risks involved, especially when equipment is passed from one individual to the next. Nor can parents ignore the fact that disease is manifested by bacteria that accumulates in any equipment that is not properly disinfected and sanitized on a regular basis.