Medical concerns make Olympic debut
Along with cutting-edge sports — kitesurfing, anyone? — certain health issues take on a new twist for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. While infectious diseases are always a concern, the potential threat of Zika transmission, along with pollution at venues for water sports like rowing, pose unique prevention challenges for event organizers and competitors. Plus, the ever-present risk of injury will keep medical and training teams hopping as they work to keep Olympic athletes in the game.
Keeping Zika mosquitoes away
Avoiding Zika infection is the top health topic of the 2016 Summer Olympics. While the Brazilian government has been spraying insecticides from planes to kill virus-bearing mosquitoes, athletes still need to protect themselves. Zika can cause a birth defect called microcephaly, which causes small head size and can include severe brain damage. “[Athletes] ought to be using insect repellent constantly,” says Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Fortunately, he says, Brazil is into its winter season, which is low mosquito time. Pregnant women should not go to the Olympics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns.
Paddling in polluted water
Aaron Mann, director of communications for USA Canoe/Kayak and a former international competitor, has paddled in rivers from the Potomac in the District of Columbia to the Vltava in Prague. “We get in rivers a bunch, and we do get in water that’s polluted,” he says. “If you have open wounds, you want to make sure they’re covered and dry or cleaned immediately after.” While declining to comment on the sanitation of the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon in Rio, Mann says it’s wise to shower after any race: “In general, you just want to get as clean as you can as quickly as you can.”
Watching food and drinking water
New antimicrobial suits for the U.S. Olympic Rowing Team have drawn media attention, but how much they’ll help protect athletes is uncertain. When it comes to infection, Schaffner says, “The real hazard is what goes into your mouth, not what goes onto your skin.” While athletes can easily shower surface germs away, he says, contaminants they swallow have more staying power. Travelers’ diarrhea, which is similar to food poisoning, could really cramp a competitor’s style. “Food is the most important,” he says. “Drinking water will be the next. I’m sure everybody’s using bottled water.”
Checking vaccination
“Anybody who travels to the developing world, and Rio is part of that developing world, would of course have their immunizations reviewed,” says Schaffner, who is also a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “I would anticipate that the Olympic athletes would be appropriately vaccinated.” That would include making sure their tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccination is up to date. “Then, in particular, they would want to get a vaccine against hepatitis A,” he says. “That’s the kind of hepatitis that’s spread by potentially contaminated water and food.”
Addressing health conditions
The U.S. Women’s Soccer team — which just beat New Zealand in an early game — is well-versed in international competition. Before they travel, players are educated on preventive measures to stay healthy, U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer Dr. George Chiampas explained in an email interview. “Brazil is a country which has hosted major events in the past, and in collaboration with the [U.S. Olympic Committee], we have put forth a plan to prevent and manage our players’ and staff’s medical issues,” he wrote. When it comes to individual medical conditions, he adds, it helps that elite athletes tend to be keenly in tune with their needs and know how to manage for matches.
Helping hard-worn legs recover
Compression wraps for sprained joints and cool-looking athletic tape seem like part of the uniform for many Olympic sports. With soccer, Chiampas writes, “Most commonly, we see musculoskeletal injuries, typically in the lower extremities.” Some injuries are caused by player-to-player contact, he says, while others are due to fatigue or overloading of specific muscle groups. Sports performance and medical specialists use a multidisciplinary approach to training and recovery that addresses every aspect of players’ health, including nutrition, he notes.
Using condoms
Young, healthy athletes mingling in Olympic Village — it’s no wonder the International Olympic Committee is reportedly handing out record numbers of male and female condoms. Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies and well-known sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, condoms have a new role in Rio. The Zika virus can be passed between sexual partners, making effective protection even more important.
Preventing injuries in young athletes
The path to the Olympics starts years before athletes reach the opening ceremonies. At very young ages, talented kids are already training heavily in a single sport while their bodies and minds are still maturing. Young gymnasts, swimmers, soccer players and runners are vulnerable to joint and overuse injuries, sleep deprivation and eating disorders. Some kids train and compete while coping with chronic conditions such as asthma, ADHD and diabetes. Stress and burnout are common. Next year, Seoul, South Korea, site of the 2018 Winter Games, will host the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport to promote healthier training of future Olympic athletes.
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8 Health Challenges Facing Olympic Athletes originally appeared on usnews.com
