POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: SASA39 on March 27, 2007, 06:23:49 am
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http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/10ThingsYourGymWontTellYou.aspx (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/10ThingsYourGymWontTellYou.aspx)
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2. "Don't touch anything -- this place is crawling with bacteria."
About 80% of all infectious diseases are transmitted by both direct and indirect contact ....
This is the #1 reason I will never join a gym. The thought of other people's nasty crud on the equipment makes me want to puke.
Totally gross!
Daniel
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That`s the main reason why I have posted that link
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This is why I walk everywhere.
It's free and comparatively sterile.
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The bacteria part really worries me. I think gyms are one of the reasons we are seeing more and more of MRSA on the outpatient setting. (Some people carry MRSA on the skin, others just plain old Staph. aureus). Some places are having a few cases of Vanc. resistant Staph. aureus, but luckily that is not common and hopefully the cases of that will not grow. Anyway, bacteria like that is why sterilizing and handwashing is so important. I try to wipe down equipment and I always have my trusty hand sanitizer, but I am very wary of whether the stuff the gym provides is effective.
About the inability to handle emergencies, our gym states that all staff has training in CPR from the REd Cross. My trainer was talking to me about how he'd panic if he actually had to do it, since the Red Cross trainer joked most of the time, blew through the class, and gave them all the answers, which means they were very inadequately trained. Really made me feel confident.
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Staph infections are a bitch man. I had one on my lower buttocks the size of an orange and they had 3 people working removing it with knives, injections and other utensils. STAY AWAY FROM GYMS!!!!!!!!!! and if you go to gyms where thick sweats and no thin shorts.
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Yes, gyms are dirty but stop licking the machines and use common sense. ::)
Sorry, but if they were all that horrible, people would be dropping like flies. I have been going to the gym (and steam room) for 5 days a week for over 5 years and I haven't had any significant sicknesses other than Shingles (which I know I didn't get from the gym).
Excuses!
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When your immune system is compromised it is easier to get infections, i think we all know that. I got the staph infection when I was seroconverting where I assume my CD4 counts dropped a whole bunch and my VL was very high. I was infected in April and got the staph infection in June. At that time, I didn't know I was poz, and even the doctor that treated my Staph infection asked me when my last HIV test was and these infections were more common with poz people.
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I would add for safety cautions:
With regard to the machines....make sure you can tell they are safely mounted to the floor. This is a BIG one in gyms. The assumption is made that the weight of the machines will keep them in place. Gyms are also reticent to bolt them down because of the effect on the floor and the possibility they may want to redecorate later. Much more work involved for them. Still, not properly mounted, I've seen several machine almost tip while being used.
With regard to use using water fountains....make sure they are properly filtered, or else you may not know what you might be drinking in. This can be a bad scenario- especially the lower your t-cells might be going in.
Still, I have to agree with Spud here: Some common sense going in can keep you safe fairly easily. It shouldn't be anything that absolutely keeps you out of the gym if you really have an interest in using one.
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Oh my goodness people don't use your toothbrush...studies reveal...and I ain't making this up that almost all of them contain fecal matter if left exposed in the bathroom...and speaking of poop never ever eat out again...there is a good chance that the dude restocking the lime jello at your favorite buffet didn't wash his hands after going poopy...never ever fly recycled baaad air...e coli in your spinach...kill your cat...it goes on and on...that skeeter bite is your ticket to West Nile...and quit watching your local news...next at ten 'green peas silent killer?'
How about a little common sense and a good hand washing?
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Haaaa the famous gym bacteria, the GB. Last time I heard about it was on local news about a year ago, when two women were showing horrible foot diseases, the GB was eating their feet, it was not a pretty picture, and they had to show it while I was eating, of course.
We like horror stories! "John Doe was doing his cardio on the treadmill of his favorite local gym, when he was ATTACKED BY THE GB, and died few hours later after a series of epilepsy, convulsions, and terrifying rash all over his 6'3 185 muscular body. John Doe leaves behind a wife, 4 kids and 2 cats, one of them ironically called 'virus'".
Guys gals, when you enter a place, you can see if it's clean, if there are people regularly cleaning it, how it's cleaned, no? I've been in places where I just get in and get out right away. Just apply common sense as MSP already said, and if YOU feel like you may be compromised, then don't go, and wait until you feel stronger!
Milker.
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I'm convinced that the MRSA infection I had a couple of years ago was from the gym.
Having said that, it's also true that MRSA can theoretically be picked up anywhere.
I agree with wearing heavy sweats for barrier protection and handwashing. Strangely enough, the gym that I went to, didn't have any disinfectant readiily available to clean equipment (probably liability issues).
In any case, it's a nasty bug to acquire. I missed 3 months of work and had to pack my wound twice a day (actually other people had to do it).
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Oh my goodness people don't use your toothbrush...studies reveal...and I ain't making this up that almost all of them contain fecal matter if left exposed in the bathroom.
O RLY?
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O RLY?
Yes.
Whenever you flush a toilet, it makes millions of tiny, poop-laden aerosol drops go whoosh throughout the bathroom.
I remember reading a bacteriologist who said that if you keep your toothbrush within six feet of your toilet, you're basically brushing your teeth in toilet water.
Oh, and putting the lid down doesn't help either. They found that these droplets stay in aerosol form for hours, so the next person who lifts the lid gets misty poop water in the face.
Benj
(Who keeps his toothbrush in the medicine cabinet.)
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"Whenever you flush a toilet, it makes millions of tiny, poop-laden aerosol drops go whoosh throughout the bathroom. "
:D :D :D!!!!
Makes you wonder what kind of germs activities like anal sex stir up.
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Makes you wonder what kind of germs activities like butt-fucking stir up, not to mention rimming, fingering and fisting.
Whenever you have buttsex, millions of tiny, poop-laden aerosol drops go whoosh throughout the bedroom. :D
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"Whenever you have buttsex, millions of tiny, poop-laden aerosol drops go whoosh throughout the bedroom. "
:o
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From Gym bacteria to Dirty Sanchez.. only on aidsmeds :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Milker.
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Yes.
Whenever you flush a toilet, it makes millions of tiny, poop-laden aerosol drops go whoosh throughout the bathroom.
I remember reading a bacteriologist who said that if you keep your toothbrush within six feet of your toilet, you're basically brushing your teeth in toilet water.
Oh, and putting the lid down doesn't help either. They found that these droplets stay in aerosol form for hours, so the next person who lifts the lid gets misty poop water in the face.
Benj
(Who keeps his toothbrush in the medicine cabinet.)
Misty Poopwater was my indian name in girl scouts.
edited cuz I thought this was funnier.
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From Gym bacteria to Dirty Sanchez.. only on aidsmeds :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
It's what got us here in the first place.
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i'm currently going through a course of meds/cream/bodylotion for what the doctor believes to be impetigo (due to staph.), the only place i can think that i picked it up from is at work..... (small town firm of 4 people, family run business in a converted house, toilet facilities can be used by the public but not designed for public use i.e. everyone uses same towel and same bar of soap..) /sigh, i'l have to get a new job lol
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I generally keep my toothbrush in the cabinet too so I hope I'm OK. I don't want to die from anal aerosol!
Now, what about my vetiver scented soap?
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Now, what about my vetiver scented soap?
Covered. In. Poop. Particles.
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I don't want to die from anal aerosol!
ROFLMAO!!
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I don't want to die from anal aerosol!
Anal aerosol = farts? Quite possibly a killer, yes.
Ann
(who now keeps her toothbrush in the cabinet! :o )
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And how `bout thanking me for starting this topic , he , he ;D
A bunch of loonie-toonies , ..........haven`t had that since highschool
Al
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I generally keep my toothbrush in the cabinet too so I hope I'm OK. I don't want to die from anal aerosol!
From housewife to housewife: To clean a dirty toilet brush, there's no better way than sticking it into the dish washer. Not quite sure where the particles go, but the brush looks amazingly clean afterwards.
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I work in an emergency department with every germ in town-- MRSA, TB, flu-- so going to the gym is no biggie for me. If you think about all the little bugs an contaminants that are running around everywhere you would want to live in a plastic bubble. As with everything a little common sense is required when going to the gym. Every gym I have been to has bottles of antiseptic and paper towels to wipe off equipment. Wear sandals if you go into the wet areas. Bring your own towel. Don't use gym equipment you are unfamiliar with. If you don't know how to workout hire a certified personal trainer. Of course read the contract before you join a gym.
If you are too germ phobic to go to a gym then you probably want to give up sex, which can be REALLY nasty when you think about it.
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Anal aerosol = farts? Quite possibly a killer, yes.
;)
Take it from one who can clear an entire town centre bar with a single blast!! :D :D :D
John.
P.S. I firmly believe that sensible handwashing is the most effective barrier to most common infections and that it is coming into contact with these bugs that helps strengthen our immune defences.
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If you think the gym is bad, what about public transport? At least in the gym you can see they make some effort with disinfectant. I shudder when I have to catch a bus and accidently grab hold of one of the slimy poles that feel like they have not been cleaned. Thankfully, I walk most places.
I've heard about the anal aerosol, too. eek.
They both sound off, sure, but if you take a swab to pretty much any surface in your home or office I'm pretty sure you'd be shocked at the results.
I used to test the waters in public swimming pools and spas (including brothels, hotels and gyms) for my job. I can tell you one thing, I would never use a public spa no matter where it is.
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Poor little gym rats...compared to being locked in a petrie dish teaching seven year olds you have it made in a sterile environment called a gym. In second grade classes each doornob you touch is a potential pinkeye time bomb...each seven year old head you pat may contain more lice than sixteenth century London...the handling of pee, poo, snot and vomit are an everyday occurrence that become part of the routine. No time to sanitize when little Johny decides to puke in reading circle...why bother you have little Sue's dried snot on your sleeve.
Hurry up or you will be late for your spinning class. ;)
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Kid germs are the worst. I pity you.
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I feel bad for you. Kids are dirty little creatures teeming with germs. I think for the gym for me personally, much of it is a mind thing. I work in a lab, so I am around pathogens all the time, so it doesn't bother me per se, but then I see women in the restroom leave without washing their hands (which probably have fecal flora on them) and then see them use equipment. Common sense is key and always disinfect and wash hands--it does a world of good.
You really would be surprised at what can live on environmental surfaces. At the hospital, they decided I needed another project and they gave me something to show how important hand washing is. Evidently despite all the data out there to show how important it is and the explosion of preventable nosocomial infections, some nurses felt the need to complain about it and said they were skeptical that germs really could be on common items. So I was told to swab surfaces and identified the bacteria on them. A few surfaces, just to scare them a bit, I "borrowed" a few colonies from a plate from a MRSA patient and streaked a plate. You should have seen the look on their faces. Maybe it was mean to mess with them, but I wanted to make sure that actual pathogens that you could potentially find in real life on these surfaces would grow.
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Did you know that all the bacteria in the body would fit into a soup can?
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I feel bad for you. Kids are dirty little creatures teeming with germs. I think for the gym for me personally, much of it is a mind thing. I work in a lab, so I am around pathogens all the time, so it doesn't bother me per se, but then I see women in the restroom leave without washing their hands (which probably have fecal flora on them) and then see them use equipment. Common sense is key and always disinfect and wash hands--it does a world of good.
You really would be surprised at what can live on environmental surfaces. At the hospital, they decided I needed another project and they gave me something to show how important hand washing is. Evidently despite all the data out there to show how important it is and the explosion of preventable nosocomial infections, some nurses felt the need to complain about it and said they were skeptical that germs really could be on common items. So I was told to swab surfaces and identified the bacteria on them. A few surfaces, just to scare them a bit, I "borrowed" a few colonies from a plate from a MRSA patient and streaked a plate. You should have seen the look on their faces. Maybe it was mean to mess with them, but I wanted to make sure that actual pathogens that you could potentially find in real life on these surfaces would grow.
A sneaky but very valuable lesson...you should have swabbed the candy machine. ;D
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Did you know that all the bacteria in the body would fit into a soup can?
So would you once Dahmer got finished with you!
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Did you know that all the bacteria in the body would fit into a soup can?
In your case you got the supersized one ? :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
Milker.
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So would you once Dahmer got finished with you!
If you're saying I'm thin, I love you longtime.
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If you're saying I'm thin, I love you longtime.
that's not quite what I was saying...but if it makes you happy we will go with that one
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that's not quite what I was saying...but if it makes you happy we will go with that one
It does make me happy.
Me and my clap-kebab cock are overjoyed.
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so in case i get bozorea
what do you do to avoid the burning? drink a lot or stop drinking or what? When you know you're gonna take a leak you pray Virgin Mary or what?
Milker.
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so in case i get bozorea
what do you do to avoid the burning? drink a lot or stop drinking or what? When you know you're gonna take a leak you pray Virgin Mary or what?
Milker.
I've been infusing my veins directly with cranberry juice right now.
I'm trying to turn my cock into an environment that's as hostile to bacteria as the atmosphere of Venus is to Soviet space probes.
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I've been infusing my veins directly with cranberry juice right now.
I'm trying to turn my cock into an environment that's as hostile to bacteria as the atmosphere of Venus is to Soviet space probes.
Since we are talking about the gym...maybe you got the drips sliding your schlong down a dirty pommel horse.
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so do you know who was the "gift giver" btw?
Milker.
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so do you know who was the "gift giver" btw?
Milker.
I told you guys... it was God.
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I told you guys... it was God.
How many times a day do I have to slap my forehead? OF COURSE IT WAS GOD! Who else!
Milker.