A blood rule is a rule used in many

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

that generally states that an athlete that receives an open wound, is

bleeding Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vag ...

, or who has

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in th ...

on them or their clothes, must immediately leave the playing area to receive medical attention. Though they may be able to play again later, they cannot continue until the wound is taken care of, bleeding has stopped, and all contaminated equipment has been replaced. The main concern addressed by these rules is the spread of

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable d ...

. Some sports where this is used are Australian Rules Football, NCAA Baseball, and some major American sports leagues. In the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

, for example, play stops whilst the player's medical staff attends to the wound. If the bleeding is not stopped to the referee's satisfaction, the player must then leave the field for further attention. In sports such as

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

, a player may leave the field without being substituted immediately, his team playing short-handed until he re-enters play, is replaced, or the match ends (if the injury cannot be satisfactorily healed and the team is out of substitutions).

References

{{Reflist Health and sports Sports rules and regulations Blood

See also

References