Herpes Gladiatorum
Herpes gladiatorum is a kind of herpes most commonly occurring among wrestlers, judo players or other athletes who have with very close skin contact with each other.
Herpes Gladiatorum is sometimes misspelled as Herpes Gladiatorium. Among athletes it is commonly called mat herpes.
It is a serious kind of herpes and, just like any other form of herpes, is contracted through physical contact.
Catching this desease can be a major problem for an athlete because he might get disqualified from not only competition but also
training, even though he cannot be blamed for catching it from someone else. If you have wrestled for most of your life,
being banned from getting on the mat because of herpes gradiatorum would be a tragedy, not to speak of your sports carreer.
Although one cannot be held responsible for contracting herpes gladiatorum, or any other kind of herpes, one still has to be
mindful of others who might contract it. Thus staying off the mat is not a punishment but a precaution for the sake of others.
Once someone contracts herpes gladiatorum in a gym or a dojo, all efforts must be made to clean the mat itself too. This has to be done
by scrubbing the mat with some serious chemicals, not once but several times. But the best method is doing the same kind of scrubbing
in advance, as a prevention.
When several athletes contract herpes gladiatorum in the same club, it can ruin the club because people will stop coming altogether. So if you
suspect that you have something you are not sure of, go and see a doctor immediately. There are always solutions and ways to deal with
any problem so even if you are diagnosed with having herpes, it does not necessarily mean the end of your wrestling carreer.
