Unusual presentation of herpes simplex virus infection in a boxer: ‘Boxing glove herpes’

Abstract

Herein, we describe a patient with lesions of cutaneous herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection over the knuckles of both hands in the context of an outbreak among boxers. Interestingly, the infection had an unusually long duration (4 weeks), and was not acquired directly through skin-to-skin contact, as it usually does among athletes (herpes gladiatorum). In our case, transmission was acquired through the use of shared boxing gloves contaminated by HSV-1. To the best of our knowledge, herpes gladiatorum, or wrestler's herpes, has not been described previously in boxers and infection over the knuckles is not commonly reported.

Pull-Up Palms (PUP): A Case of Exercise-Associated Palmar Callosities and Review of Sports-Related Hand-Associated Skin Conditions in Athletes

“…The dermatologic disorders that may develop in athletes can be a direct consequence of the actions involved by the participant or an indirect sequelae of infection or allergy. Similar to our patient with pull-up palms, the designation of specific sports-associated dermatosis has been created by linking the athletic activity and the affected location [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…The hands can be affected by several sports-associated dermatoses (Table 1) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. These include infections from bacteria, fungi, and viruses.…”

“…They include not only infections, but also dermatoses from trauma and contact allergies. Several sports have unique skin conditions that may be observed in participants [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…They include sports with balls, racquets, or both. In addition, they include athletic activities requiring firm gripping of mobile or stationary bars such as gymnastics and weight lifting [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Knuckle lesions in inherited and acquired disorders

“…Herpes simplex typically distributed over the knuckles has described in boxers due to sharing of contaminated boxing gloves (boxing glove herpes). [ 91 92 ]…”