Sharing Gym Equipments Or Sharing Germs? Here’s What You Can Do To Stay Protected

What if you were told that the equipment you use at your favourite gym has more bacteria than a toilet seat! Gyms are a great place to exercise and keep fit, but they are also places for bacteria and fungi to thrive and spread. In a study by Fit Rated it was found that the treadmills had 74 times more bacteria than a public bathroom faucet and free weights had a staggering 362 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. Warm and sweaty gym environments provide conducive environment for growth of organisms like fungi causing Athletes foot, nail fungus. It thus becomes critical to focus on gym hygiene. By adopting preventive measures, you can significantly lower your exposure to germs and thus your risk of infection.

Here are top 5 tips to keep you focused on your workout and not worried about an impending infection: 

1. Always use germ protection wipes before using any equipment
   With the sheer volume of people with varying hygiene habits going in and out of the gym on a day to day basis, there is no way that the equipment is going to be sterile even if cleaned every day. One of the easiest and the most effective ways to protect from germs causing infection is to wipe your equipment with a germ protection wipe. A great option is Savlon Germ Protection Wipes that provide 99.99 % germs protection and helps in removing dust, impurities. These wipes are travel friendly and have skin friendly pH. They are soft and gentle on skin. The fragrance in wipes provides a fresh and clean feeling post use. The wipes are truly multi-purpose: safe to use on hands, body, surfaces (glass, marble, wood, plastic, stainless steel, etc.) and even on gadgets (mobile phones and laptops) – to get those sweaty thumb prints off from our precious devices.
2. Bring your own towel
   You must get your own towel and preferably keep a few clean ones handy. If your gym has a sauna which you are wanting to avail, use your clean towel to sit and keep a distance from others to lower exposure to dripping sweat aka possible germ interactions. Make sure you keep any wet towels from the gym separate when you reach home, lay them out to dry and then put them in laundry.
3. Cover any skin breaks and never walk barefoot in the gym
   Going to the gym with a skin break is literally inviting bacteria and fungi into your body. Staphylococcus infections can spread from person to person or from person to object to person and the bacteria can easily make their way into your body through cuts in the skin. Staph or Streptococcus bacteria can also cause Impetigo, another skin infection, and can enter through cuts or even bug bites.  A study testing gym surfaces found that 10-30% of the surfaces had bacteria that could lead to skin infection.  Ensure that any wounds or cut in your skin are covered well before you start exercising.
4. Wash your hands properly
   One cannot emphasize enough the importance of washing your hands to prevent infections. After your workout, do not miss washing your hands properly with soap/handwash and water. Make sure you use your own clean towel to wipe your hands post washing.
   If you follow these tips and follow regular disinfection, you keep yourself and others safe. While you are being mindful of your hygiene practice, remember to encourage others around you to follow them too because, after all, hygiene sahi toh health sahi.

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