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Your skin at the gym

Working out at the gym - lifting weights, doing yoga or aerobics classes - can have many health benefits. Through exercise, you can reduce stress, strengthen your muscles, improve your cardiovascular fitness, and help yourself maintain a healthy weight. But the gym can also be a place where germs - bacteria, viruses, and fungi, invisible to the eye - wait to hitch a ride on your skin, clothes, or equipment, and may later cause infection.

In a confined space where people share equipment, they will likely also be sharing germs. Some of these germs can cause viral diseases such as warts or fungal infections like athlete's foot or jock itch. Reducing your chance of picking up these germs before, during, and after your workout is the best way to maintain healthy skin.

Before your workout

• Bring clean clothes for your workout. Germs can live on clothes for a long time, so it's important to protect your skin by wearing new, fresh clothes each time you exercise.
• Choose clothes made of materials that allow sweat to evaporate. Some of these materials are synthetic, while other natural materials like cotton also do the trick. Moist skin is a great place for bacteria to grow. This may lead to pimples or rashes.
• Remove make-up before working out. You'll prevent bacteria and sweat from becoming trapped in pores.
• Bring a clean towel to use during your workout. Consider bringing an extra one for your shower afterwards.
• Don't wait to hydrate. Drink plenty of water during the day before your workout. Keep drinking water throughout and after your workout to replace water lost through sweat.

During your workout

• Wipe down equipment each time you use a new machine. Use the disinfectant sprays provided at the gym to help reduce the number of germs left behind. If your gym does not have these sprays available, talk to a staff member. And as a courtesy to the next person, don't forget to wipe your machine down again when you're done.
• Wash your hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer in a gel or handwipes after your workout. If you use the bathroom during a workout, remember to wash and dry your hands well. Products containing ethanol or isopropyl alcohol kill all sorts of germs quickly, and you can easily carry them around with you.
• Do not share towels, water bottles, or shoes. Sharing personal items is a very efficient way of spreading infections such as tinea cruris ("jock itch") - especially if they're moist or damp. When you pass around a water bottle, you can pass around cold sores.
• Protect your feet. Many germs find a home in locker rooms, pool areas, showers, and other areas where water lies in puddles. The virus that causes warts and the fungus that causes athlete's foot may spread more easily from place to place if it lives on a wet surface. Wearing sandals in these areas can help minimize the contact your feet have with these surfaces.

After your workout

• Make sure to shower. A shower after your workout removes sweat and germs that you may have come into contact with during your workout. Thoroughly dry off - and remember the spaces between your toes. Water left in these areas provides a great home where germs can multiply, possibly leading to athlete's foot or warts.
• Don't share personal items. This includes water bottles and hairbrushes. Hairbrushes may contain fungus that can lead to fungal infections of the scalp (tinea capitis) - which can cause a rash and even hair loss.
• Remove your workout clothes, then thoroughly wash and dry them. Allow shoes to air dry. Wash clothes with bleach if the clothing label allows its use. Bleach, or bleach alternative for colours, will help disinfect and kill many of the germs that remain on clothes after a workout. Germs that are killed include Staphylococcus, fungus that cause ringworm (including athlete's foot and jock itch), as well as viruses that can lead to stomach illnesses, the common cold, and the flu.

If you notice any changes in your skin or have symptoms related to conditions such as athlete's foot, ringworm, or warts, be sure to talk to a Shoppers Drug Mart Pharmacist or your doctor. Early treatment is important, especially in the case of fungal infections, so don't delay - a Shoppers Drug Mart Pharmacist is there to help.