Preventing MRSA in sports, gyms and locker rooms

• Shower immediately after practice with soap and water. Don't wait until you get home.
• Cover every wound — cuts, turf burns, mat burns, blisters — with a clean dressing before playing.
• Don't share personal items — towels, razors, bar soap, water bottles, deodorant, hair clippers, uniforms or pads.
• Launder hot, dry hot after every session. Don't leave sweaty kit in a locker or gym bag overnight.
• Wipe down shared gear — mats, benches, helmets, pads, weight bars — with disinfectant daily.
• Check skin regularly. Athletic trainers should do quick skin checks in wrestling, football and rugby, and report suspicious lesions.

Return-to-play rules exist for a reason. Do not let an athlete practice or compete with an active, draining or uncovered MRSA lesion. Most guidance requires at least 72 hours of appropriate antibiotic therapy and a lesion that is dry and can be securely covered. Wrestling rules (NCAA and NFHS) are stricter — check the specific sport's requirements before clearing return.

Two or more MRSA infections in a team within a short window is a cluster. Contact your local public health team. Typical outbreak-response measures include targeted nasal screening of contacts, decolonisation of confirmed carriers with mupirocin plus chlorhexidine washes, deep cleaning of the training environment, and temporary restrictions on skin-to-skin contact drills.

Back to the prevention hub, or read about preventing MRSA at home, in hospitals and why MRSA comes back.