Going to the gym is a healthy behavior associated with a longer life and healthier living. However, it can sometimes trip you up. If you don’t want your hands when you get back from the gym, you can land yourself in trouble.
Why Wash Your Hands After The Gym?
There are several reasons for washing your hands after you get back from the gym, and some of them aren’t what you might expect.
Foot And Face Contact
The first reason is “food and face contact.” The idea here is that you could transfer germs from your hands onto your face or into your body, providing a vector for infection. Hand washing prevents this by killing all the bacteria at the source.
Sweat
Sweat is another reason you want to wash your hands after an intense workout. It can mix with the bacteria and increase the risk of contamination, especially if it is dripping off your body.
Risk Of Illness
The risk of illness from bacteria on your hands from the gym is also high, which is why many people carry hand sanitizer with them. Fungi, bacteria, and viruses can linger on gym surfaces for hours, and can quite easily get into your body and start multiplying, which, again, is something you’ll want to avoid.
High-Touch Surfaces
Lastly, gym equipment is what many people in the medical literature refer to as “high-touch surfaces.” In other words, a lot of people are touching the equipment with their hands, increasing the risk of spreading the disease even further. It’s not the sort of place you want to be in a pandemic.
How To Wash Your Hands
Fortunately, you don’t have to take risks. Instead, you can wash your hands regularly to avoid problems.
The easiest method is to take a dollop of alcohol-based hand sanitizer and rub it between your fingers until it evaporates. This process will kill any germs it comes into contact with.
You can also use soap and water, although you will need to be more careful and diligent. Washing hands for at least 30 seconds is what the experts advise, and even that may not be long enough to kill everything.
You can, of course, submerge your hands in bleachy water if you don’t have any skin conditions, but be careful. Sodium hypochlorite is strong stuff and will irritate the skin if you don’t manage it properly.
How To Stay Hygienic In The Gym
Staying hygienic in the gym is challenging because of the sheer number of people using it. Therefore, always find methods to clean your hands, especially when you leave.
If hand sanitizers are available, they should be at least 60% alcohol by weight. Most reputable brands offer this level, but it is always worth checking the label.
You can also wipe down equipment before you use it with disinfectant spray. A lot of gyms now offer this instead of relying on staff to do all the work for them.
Finally, it helps if you bring your own gear as much as possible. It is likely less contaminated.
Image: Pexels – CC0 License
