MRSA Infections Can Bug Fitness Buffs

Tag : exercise mats

While infections from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) usually occur in hospitals and health-care settings, theyare on the rise in community locales, according to Jorge Parada,director of the infection control program at Loyola UniversityHospital in Maywood.
"There is no doubt that MRSA and other infections can betransmitted without direct person-to-person contact," Parada saidin a prepared statement. "Although it's low, it is possible tocatch MRSA by using shared gym equipment like free weights orexercise cycles. The first step in preventing the spread of anytype of infection is awareness of the possibility."
Generally, 5 percent to 10 percent of people are infected withMRSA. The superbug can survive for hours, even days, on the surfaceof gym equipment and other inanimate objects, Parada said.
"If we were dealing with something that virtually nobody had, thenit wouldn't be a big deal," Parada said. "The problem with the MRSAepidemic in the community is you don't know when you're going totouch something that somebody with MRSA touched."
The benefits of exercise outweigh the risks of catching MRSA, soParada suggests taking these precautions:
Use clothing or a towel as a barrier between your skin and sharedequipment, such as weight-training machines, wrestling or yogamats, and sauna and locker room benches. Insist your gym haveantiseptic wipes readily available to clean equipment before andafter each use. Cover any open wounds or sores with a bandagebefore working out. Keep the area clean. Never share personal itemssuch as towels, clothing, swim wear, combs, soap, shampoo orshaving gear. Inquire how high-touch areas and equipment are beingcleaned, how often and what type of cleanser is being used. If thegym provides towels, customers need to know if the gym washes anddries them in temperatures high enough to kill MRSA.
Finally, practice good personal hygiene in and out of the gym.
"Washing your hands a number of times a day is the best defense wehave against MRSA infections. That simple act trumps everythingelse that you can do," Alex Tomich, an infection controlpractitioner at Loyola University Medical Center, said in aprepared statement. "And you should always make sure to showerafter every workout."
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about MRSA .
SOURCE: Loyola University Health System, news release, June 11,2008