Germs at the Gym

by Diet Detective Editorial Staff
Thursday, 06 July 2006
Why you don’t need to be afraid of what’s lurking in the shower stall. There are millions of germs creeping around your gym. They're in the locker room, in the shower stalls and hiding in the crevices of the floor mats on which you do crunches. Even the treadmills and weight machines are covered with them. But before you swear off your health club for fear of working out in a giant petri dish, Jack DeHovitz, M.D., M.P.H, a doctor at Downstate Medical Center in New York whose specialty is infectious diseases, offers a reality check. "If you were to culture the surfaces in your gym," he explains, "you'd probably find the same amount of bacteria that you would in your local grocery store or mall. Germs are everywhere." Staph, strep and E. coli are just a few of the bacteria that are lurking in your gym. While these germs could spell big trouble if they entered your bloodstream, "skin is a great barrier against infection," says DeHovitz. The chance that these bacteria could get past your skin is slim to none. In fact, the gym is a safer place than most when it comes to evil germs and bacteria. "People who go to the gym are generally more healthy and fit compared to the rest of the general population. Therefore, people with whom you are working out might be less likely to pass infectious diseases onto you," says DeHovitz. The bottom line is that being at a gym will not place you at a higher risk of infection. You might be exposed to colds and flus at the gym, but this holds true for any crowded area. "Any place that is packed with a large amount of people could put you at risk. Crowded areas tend to transmit viruses more easily," says DeHovitz. DeHovitz stresses the fact that there's no need to take any precautions before you go to the gym. Preparing yourself to fend off gym germs would be a waste of your time and effort. "There are lots of other things to worry about in life, and this isn't one of them." Bookmark: Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Title Comment
Last Updated ( Thursday, 06 July 2006 )