Brit Olympic Hopefuls Told Not To Shake Hands
Baku, March 7 (AZERTAC). British athletes are being advised not to shake hands in case they catch a bug which wrecks their Olympic dreams.
The warning has come from Dr Ian McCurdie, the British Olympic Association`s (BOA`s) chief medical officer.
He says athletes could easily pick up a harmful virus in the "quite stressful environment" of the Games.
Asked whether this meant shaking hands was a bad idea, Dr McCurdie said: "Within reason, yes. I think that is not such a bad thing to advise."
He added: "The difficulty is when you have got some reception and you have got a line of about 20 people you have never met before who you have got to shake hands with.
"Within reason if you do and have to shake hands with people, so long as you understand that regular handwashing and/or also using hand foam can help reduce the risk - that would be a good point."
However, Britain`s sporting bosses have has downplayed the warning.
Team GB tweeted: "To be clear: do shake hands, do use hand foam, do wash your hands, do reduce the risk of catching a bug. It`s all common sense."
Dr McCurdie`s advice follows a detailed study of health and related issues by the BOA, which has vowed to send a fully-prepared team to London 2012.
Tips for the 550 athletes and 450 support staff who will work with them include regular handwashing and use of a special hand foam for additional protection.
They are also being advised to be tested for allergies, report any symptoms early and consider the use of probiotic drinks to help ward off infection.
He added: "At an Olympic Games or any major event the performance impact of becoming ill or even feeling a little bit ill can be significant.
"Essentially we are talking about minimising risk of illness and optimising resistance."
The BOA says the Olympic environment is "a pretty hostile one" and that it will be a first-time experience for many athletes and support staff.
Housing is dense, people will share rooms and eat with competitors from the other 204 nations competing at the Games.
Anything from cutlery through to door handles could have unwanted bugs lurking on it, its advice says.
The team will also have to contend with sleep deprivation and longer working hours, and being on home soil will add "another layer of stress", says Dr McCurdie.
"Being at an Olympic Games means you are normally inside a bubble and so there is effectively quite a limited number of people that you interact with when you are away in another country," he said.
"In London we do not believe that is going to be the case. The variety of people the athletes and support staff are going to interact with is going to be huge."
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