The locker room is an essential place for a gym setup. Here, you refresh yourself with a sweet cold bath after a heavy workout regimen. However, this place isn’t always the cleanest. Although gym management may try to provide top-notch cleanliness, it’s hard to get rid of some bacteria and germs completely. This means that if you’re not careful about your hygiene, you may end up suffering severe illnesses.
Therefore, regardless of whether you’re a first-time user of the locker room or a professional gym enthusiast, it would help if you observed proper locker room hygiene. The following are useful hygiene tips for the locker room:
Don’t Share Your Items
- Soap and Other Toiletries: It would help if you didn’t share your toiletries such as soap with anyone. Sharing soap can lead to the contraction of skin rashes and other dermatological problems. Even sharing a fresh but unwrapped bar of soap is against good hygiene for the locker room as it can land you in trouble. Besides, different types of skin may react differently to a particular type of soap.
The same applies to shaving creams. Although shaving is better done at home, sometimes, you may do it in the gym’s shower. When that happens, you should not share the cream or razor. It would be best if you always kept them as clean as possible.
- Your Jock: For men, you must wear your jock and not anyone else’s. It’s not a good idea to borrow clothing, especially underwear, even when they have been freshly washed. By doing so, you could risk contracting terrible skin infections, which are common in athletes.
- Your Towels: Just like clothing and toiletries, you shouldn’t share towels as well. Ensure you bring your own towels and only you get to use them. Borrowing another person’s towel can also cause skin issues. For example, the towel you borrow has been washed with a strong detergent that isn’t friendly to your skin. As much as possible, avoid having to borrow other people’s towels.
Otherwise, the likelihood of picking up fungi, germs, or skin-related diseases is usually high. Some gyms provide their members with clean towels. If you forgot to carry yours, this should be your best bet. Ensure you utilize these towels in every appropriate situation.
Clean Up Any Mess at the Sinks
It would also help if you tried cleaning up any mess that you make while taking care of your hygiene. For men who shave in the locker room, ensure you wash all of your whiskers down the drain. Additionally, wipe any water on the counter with a paper towel, and if you brush teeth, ensure you don’t leave a streak of toothpaste on the faucet. All in all, take care of all messes before you leave the locker room.
Wear Flip-Flops
You should avoid walking barefoot in the locker room. Instead, wear your flip flops or sandals. That way, you’re less likely to get bacteria on your feet as you walk around. Also, wearing flip flops will help not to leave anything harmful behind in case you have any open sores.
Moreover, tight and closed shoes, wet and sweaty feet, as well as walking barefoot can cause athlete’s foot. Prevent this from happening by getting the best athlete’s foot treatment and practicing proper locker room hygiene.
Don’t Urinate in the Shower
You may think that your urine will be washed down the drain while you bathe, but there may be some drops left behind. So, ensure you visit a stall or urinal before you head into the shower. The last thing you would want is someone standing on whatever is left behind and gets an infection.
Wash Your Hands Thoroughly
There are a lot of people who walk around the gym. Their hands may be carrying all sorts of germs from the weights, mats, and whatever else they come into contact with while inside. From the shaking of hands to the use of the same equipment, your hands will be dirty. Therefore, you should not leave the locker room before you wash your hands with a proper sanitizer. You don’t want to contaminate your skin with germs. After all, staying healthy and active also means practicing proper hygiene.
Don’t Mess Up the Floor
Many people use shoe deodorizers or baby powder that they shake from a bottle. If you’re going to do that, it’s better to stand on a towel to avoid causing a mess on the floor.
Final Thoughts
Proper locker room hygiene must be practiced to avoid health problems. Some of the severe illnesses that most gym enthusiasts and athletes encounter (particularly skin illnesses) are results of improper hygiene in the locker room. Follow the tips above to help improve your hygiene routine.
Additionally, you should seek medical attention anytime you notice an itchy or burning sensation on your skin. That is because it could be an infection, which can worsen and spread to other parts of the body if it goes untreated.
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