Dear editor,During my search for my microbes assignment on sports, I came across the article "Staph and Community Acquired MRSA Infections in Athletes.” I read it and it provides a good background about Staph, which included that it can be resistant to antibiotics such as methicillin, amoxicillin, and penicillin. It also included how athletes are vulnerable to getting Staph, its symptoms, and ways for athletes to prevent gaining this infection.
All the tips you provided were pretty good except the one that said “Avoid contact with other athletes who have wounds.” This is kind of inevitable because most of the time, one cannot tell whether someone has cuts or wounds because they can be too small to tell and/or one can be so focused on the game that it is impossible to be thinking “I wonder whether this person I’m guarding has an infected wound. I better get away and let him score.”
I have been playing basketball ever since second grade. I have played over a hundred games, and from my experience, even the person with the wound will not notice they have a cut until after the game. Cuts, scratches, and wounds can also happen during the game and that does not mean a person is infected. This mentality takes away the entire aspect of “going hard” and excitement of the game because it makes people afraid of getting Staph, thus making the game boring because the players would be afraid of coming into contact with each other.
Of course, an athlete with a serious wound infection will not be able to play because the fever and rash (visible symptoms of Staph). Even the referees will not allow that player to play because they are in charge of the safety of all the players on (playing) and off (on the bench) the court. Their coach is also responsible to know about the health of its student-athletes, not to the point that he or she knows of a minuscule cut on the arm, but enough to know whether the player is in good condition to play and will not mean a health hazard to other players.
Your article was very helpful and informational, but just that little detail bugged me and I needed to let you know the other side to that tip. It can be taken too seriously by some people and could kill the sport’s ambition in some people.
Sincerely,
Hilda Reyes-Saehb
All the tips you provided were pretty good except the one that said “Avoid contact with other athletes who have wounds.” This is kind of inevitable because most of the time, one cannot tell whether someone has cuts or wounds because they can be too small to tell and/or one can be so focused on the game that it is impossible to be thinking “I wonder whether this person I’m guarding has an infected wound. I better get away and let him score.”
I have been playing basketball ever since second grade. I have played over a hundred games, and from my experience, even the person with the wound will not notice they have a cut until after the game. Cuts, scratches, and wounds can also happen during the game and that does not mean a person is infected. This mentality takes away the entire aspect of “going hard” and excitement of the game because it makes people afraid of getting Staph, thus making the game boring because the players would be afraid of coming into contact with each other.
Of course, an athlete with a serious wound infection will not be able to play because the fever and rash (visible symptoms of Staph). Even the referees will not allow that player to play because they are in charge of the safety of all the players on (playing) and off (on the bench) the court. Their coach is also responsible to know about the health of its student-athletes, not to the point that he or she knows of a minuscule cut on the arm, but enough to know whether the player is in good condition to play and will not mean a health hazard to other players.
Your article was very helpful and informational, but just that little detail bugged me and I needed to let you know the other side to that tip. It can be taken too seriously by some people and could kill the sport’s ambition in some people.
Sincerely,
Hilda Reyes-Saehb
Emulated blog:
Quinn, Elizabeth . "Staph and Community Acquired MRSA Infections in Athletes." about.com. 29 Oct. 2008.<sportsmedicine.about.com/od/injuryprevention/a/MRSA_Staph.htm>.
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