[Microbial colonization of the nasopharynx, external auditory canal, hair of the head and armpit in high performance swimmers]

Abstract

From 50 high-performance swimmers, who were subdivided into three training groups, swabs were taken before and after the swimming training from the nose, throat and the external auditory canal, and bacterial samples were taken according to the Rodac method from the hair of the head and the armpit for a quantitative and qualitative analysis. - No significant quantitation differences were found to exist in the bacterial flora before and after the swimming training, except for the external auditory canal where the bacterial population had increased, and the armpit where it had diminished. - A qualitative comparison of the normal flora revealed no noticeable differences in the population before and after the swimming training for the three training groups. - However, differences in the pathogenic flora were identified in the three training groups. A higher germ count was found in those swimmers who had been training more intensely for a longer period of time than the members of a junior training group. This finding is particularly striking for P. aeruginosa which was located in the ears of those high-performance swimmers who belonged to the group with the most intensive swimming training. The carriers of Staph. aureus accounted for 46 per cent of the test persons. This species had primarily settled in the vestibule of the nose. - The swimming training hardly influences the invasion of the hair of the head with pathogens. The compulsory use of bathing cap serves general hygienic aspects rather than prophylactic hygienic purposes.