Herpes gladiatorum: Facts, Symptoms, Causes, Risk Factors, Diagnosis, Treatments, Prevention and Outlook.

Clinical Issues

Herpes gladiatorum is an infection caused by herpes simplex virus type 1, a virus similar to that which causes cold sores. It is common among those who engage in high-contact sports, such as wrestling, and is also known as mat herpes. Those infected with herpes will carry the virus with them for life as there is no cure.

There will be periods where the virus is inactive and no symptoms are present, and times where it is active and causes various symptoms and flare-ups.

When the virus is active, the person carrying it is infectious and can spread herpes gladiatorum to others. The virus can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and is easily passed from one person to the next.

In this article, we examine the symptoms of herpes gladiatorum and the parts of the body that can be affected. We also take a look at diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the condition.

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Identifying and Treating Inflammation

There are three types of inflammation: acute, chronic and life-threatening.

When basketball star Steph Curry slipped and injured his knee in late April, he reacted by tearing up on the sideline, while fans and media reacted by wondering how many games he would miss. His body? It reacted by inflaming around the outside of the knee, protecting the area as it recovered from a medial collateral ligament sprain.

The word inflammation can conjure up visuals of a swollen, red and throbbing knee or, thanks to some TV ads, a lit match doused by a medicated pad. Conventional public wisdom frames inflammation as being adverse, painful and harmful – something most people want to resolve quickly with medication.

Read more: Identifying and Treating Inflammation

Treat acute inflammation by managing it, not trying to cure it.

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