We all want to look good, and that's why more and more of us are using gyms. But, have you ever thought about the germs that are floating around your free-weights, sickening you, from the Stair-master?
That's because skin is covered by millions of germs. When people sweat, a lot of the junk from their skin, along with other germs from coughing or nose rubbing, travels in that sweat onto gym equipment. And that's not to mention what's crawling around in locker rooms and in the showers.
That means possibly coming in contact with a bunch of germs that can get you sick. But there's one germ, MRSA, which is popping up in gyms a lot, that can get you gravely ill, according to the Loyola University Chicago School of Medicine. MRSA is “methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus” and it can cause serious skin infections that get into the blood stream and lungs. It is often fatal.
According to Michael Connors, RN, of Desert Regional Medical Center, “if somebody has MRSA and they work out on equipment and it doesn't get wiped down in between the next person to use it, there's a potential that that person could contract the MRSA infection.”
After swabbing the gym at one local apartment complex, here is what we found.
While the swab of the free weights was relatively free of germs, the swab of the medicine ball was the worst offender. The bike seat wasn't too pretty either. The swab of the bench from the bench press and the swab of the handle from the Stair-master showed some growth as well.
Fortunately, we didn't find any MRSA, but we did find a lot of other staph, which can cause bad infections throughout the body.
How To Stay Clean
So, what can you and your gym do, to make sure you are not gym-ing in germs?Carlos Ariss, the founder of Power of Fitness, says they "have staff going all day long cleaning the equipment with disinfectant." And Ariss adds, it's something you shouldn't be shy about asking your gym to do either.
Other gyms may tell you to simply wipe off your machine with a cloth towel. But, don't think you're helping yourself or the next person by just doing that. According to John Frazier of Desert Regional Medical Center, "toweling is just going to re-distribute everything." Our experts say you should even bring Clorox wipes to your workout.
But as with all germ investigations, washing your hands always turns out to be the best way to solve your germ problems.
