Answer:

Playing sports like pickleball enhances physical health, improves blood circulation, and reduces stress. However, excessive exercise, especially late at night after a tiring workday, can temporarily lower the body's resistance and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.

During strenuous activity, the body releases hormones that maintain stamina and alertness. Simultaneously, the immune system is suppressed, slowing the body's response to invading viruses and bacteria.

Additionally, minor muscle and tissue damage can occur during exercise. The body triggers an inflammatory response for recovery, reducing its ability to fight off external pathogens. Insufficient rest and unhealthy habits hinder immune system recovery, making the body more prone to illness. Moreover, equipment like paddles, balls, and court surfaces can harbor germs, which can be transmitted to players through hand-to-face contact.

Pickleball players and other athletes should prioritize illness prevention and avoid overtraining. Illustration: Vecteezy

Pickleball players and other athletes should prioritize illness prevention and avoid overtraining. Illustration: Vecteezy

Therefore, pickleball players and other athletes should focus on prevention by exercising moderately, maintaining a balanced lifestyle, staying hydrated, changing into dry clothes, and keeping warm after exercise. Avoid crowded or poorly ventilated areas, and wash hands before touching the face to prevent infection.

Proactively vaccinate against respiratory illnesses for which vaccines are available, such as influenza, meningococcal disease, pneumococcal disease, chickenpox, measles, diphtheria, and pertussis. Adults typically require an annual flu shot. There are 5 types of pneumococcal vaccines; adults may receive pneumococcal 13, 15, 20, or 23, depending on age and vaccination history. For meningococcal disease, complete vaccination against serogroups A, B, C, Y, and W-135 is necessary.

Athletes are also prone to injuries and scrapes that can allow tetanus spores to enter the body. If you haven't been vaccinated or are unsure of your vaccination history, you should receive three doses and a booster every 10 years or after an injury.

Doctor Nguyen Nhu Dien

North Region Medical Manager, VNVC Vaccination Center System

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