Coaching and Care of Athletes

CARE OF THE ATHLETE IN TRAINING for the athletes to dip their feet in them when they come out of the showers or other baths. The foot-bath may be filled with a 5 per cent. to 10 per cent. solution of sodium hypochlorite. Each athlete should immerse his feet in this solution for a few seconds, but the solution must be changed frequently. All old athletic clothing should be burned, and clothing that is in use shoul<;l. be frequently washed, the washing including boiling for about fifteen minutes. Infection from the athlete's footwear can be largely safeguarded against by dusting into the shoes a powder made up of 20 per cent. sodium hypochlorite and So per cent. boric acid. Another hint for the coach is to get his athletes to wear bath-shoes made of sponge rubber when they are in the gymnasium and dressing-rooms, because the fungi do not thrive on sponge rubber. If such bath-shoes are disinfected with the solu– tion contained in the foot-baths a further precaution will have been very wisely added. There is one final word to be said. I have already indicated that athlete's foot 'is highly contagious. It is therefore well for the coach to train his athletes not only to use perfectly clean towels when taking their baths, but to carry· out the drying process from the head downward, as athlete's foot does start in the region of the foot, but may very easily spread upward. Both 'gym itch' and skin irritation may cause the athlete in training quite an amount of trouble. Gym itch is a definite infection which is spread in, much the same way as is athlete's foot. It is caused by a type of fungus which usually attacks the lower part of the abdomen, the groin, and the buttocks, although it may appear in other places. Gym itch is characterized by small red pimples, which develop into a ringlike patch, with the margin of the sore sharply defined and very much inflamed. One of the chief sources of spreading this disease is the jock-strap, or sup– porter. I ha~e already said, probably more than once, that the supporter must be kept perfectly clean. That is why I recom– mended that each athlete should have two or three of these, so that when one is in use the other two can be properly washed, with boiling for fifteen minutes. Irritation, caused by the rubbing of skin against skin, usually occurs in the athlete's crutch, because of the contact between the scrotum and the thighs, although it may be found lower down in the case of heavily built individuals, whose thighs are prone to rub against each other. Again I must refer to the jock-strap, or 151