Rash guard

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A rash guard is a type of athletic shirt made of either lycra or nylon and intended to be worn in the water. Rash guards are used for light coverage in warm to moderately warm temperatures for several watersports including surfing, scuba diving, snorkelling, wakeboarding, and kayaking.

Rash guards are also worn in practice for many grappling martial arts such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, both to prevent skin irritation from the mats and to speed the evaporation of sweat.

There are several possible meanings to the name rash guard itself. A rash guard provides some coverage from sunlight to prevent sunburn. It also provides some protection to the skin in watersports from a "rash" or irritation caused by rapid impact with surface water or a wave.

In surfing, a rash guard is worn for protection against the sun and against irritation from lying on the board paddling. Sunscreen has the disadvantage of making surfboards slippery. In the past rash guards were worn under wetsuits to prevent chaffing, but with modern softer, lined wetsuits, that is now often unnecessary. Currently, Rash guard is most often worn when weather is warm enough to not require a wetsuit, to prevent wax-based chaffing and prevent nipple chafe. In these contexts often referred to as a wax guard.