Sweat. Expended energy. Stress relief. Weight loss. Heart health. Friend time. Or alone time. An excuse to wear the ridiculously cute new workout duds from Nike Dance Line. I mean, really, what’s not to love about working out?
Well, there is one part of you that doesn’t appreciate your dedication to exercise – and I’m not talking about your butt after an hour of Spin class. I’ll give you a hint: it’s the largest organ in your body. (Bonus are-you-smarter-than-a-fifth-grader question: What is the closest star to earth?)
Your Skin in the Gym
Not only is your skin great for showing off those new muscles you’re building but more importantly your epidermis is there to protect you from all the germies waiting to get you. So what do we do to it? We lay it on ancient bodily fluid filled mats. We recline in puddles of stranger sweat on the weight bench. We use public restrooms. We bite our nails while using the elliptical. We hold dumb bells that 3 generations of gym goers have sneezed on. We even scrape it on Gym Buddy Allison’s nails when she blocks us from making a basket whilst playing horse. (What, you too??) Frankly, you’d think we’d treat it better.
For all the abuse we subject it to, most of them time it still manages to serve and defend – and if we’re really lucky get a nice glow. Until it doesn’t.
I’ve Got Sweat in Strange Places
I got an interesting reader mail the other day. Reader L writes, “I have an exercise problem. I hate working out because every time I sweat it runs down my back and gives me seriously bad bacne. (That would be acne on the back for those of you not linguistically hip and/or not avid fans of ProActiv infomercials.) It turns into a vicious cycle because I don’t want people to see my bacne so I cover up more. Which makes me sweat more. Please tell me I’m not alone! What do I do?”
Before L brought the subject up, the extent of the Gym Buddies and my conversations about sweaty skin issues was limited to making up silly and slightly perverted names for the weird sweat marks we get working out. Gym Buddy Jen came up with “swack” for sweaty crack and Turbo Jennie coined “swoobs” for boob sweat. I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination as this is a family friendly site. I’ll just leave you with this: there’s a reason nobody should ever work out in tight gray pants or shorts. If that’s all you ever learn from me, my work here is done.
Now, while I don’t get bacne, I do have a cyst on my back that at its largest was the size of a golf ball. That is if the golf ball was red and painfull and filled with a “cheese-like substance” and shoved torturously under my skin. The doctor said that it could easily have been caused by a sweat duct that got clogged and infected. Thankfully the second doctor I saw (not the one who so vividly described the cyst’s innards by the way) gave me antibiotics and now it just looks – like I explained a few days ago – like an overly aggressive hickey. Or maybe a rabies shot. I’m sorry to say that I never did get a picture of it in its inflamed glory so you’ll just have to trust me that it was really really disgusting.
Anyhow, I wasn’t sure what to tell L. I gave her some lame response involving the brilliant “shower right after you work out?” and the obvious “make sure you wear wicking clothes” to the spendy “buy one of those sports bra with the mesh back.” Surely you all can do better than that!
Invasion of the Super Bugs
Bacne and cysts are tame compared to what else lurks in your gym. A girl I go to boot camp with got impetigo on her face from resting her cheek on a yoga mat. Lice has been found in improperly laundered gym towels. Athlete’s foot has been around as long as there have been athletes. The bacteria that cause yeast infections has popped up on spin cycle seats (for the love of little green apples people, wear underwear!). But the scariest bug of all is CA-MRSA.
Community acquired multiple resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is the long way of saying “an infection that has no known cure.” Once found only in hospitals, this antibiotic-impervius germ has started cropping up in public spots, most notably gyms, where it can be quite contagious. My family has had a couple of close brushes with this bad guy and both times the victims ended up in the hospital. Even once the victim has gotten over the infection, the process of sterilizing the home is quite the production. It involves a special anti-bacterial body wash that all members of the family must use for weeks in addition to top-to-bottom cleaning and even swabbing the nostrils with antibiotic ointment.
My brother got the infection in his face. It started out as what he thought was a zit and then quickly became infected and spread over his face. The excrutiating pain sent him to the emergency room where they tried one antibiotic after another to no avail. At last, when he was looking at last resort surgery, something worked. An antibiotic or his body’s natural defenses finally started overcoming the infection and today, thankfully, he is all clear.
What To Do
Basic rules of good hygeine apply here, whether we’re talking acne, psoriasis or CA-MRSA:
– Try to shower as soon as you can after working out.
– Change out of your gym clothing as soon as you can.
– Launder all clothing and towels appropriately.
– Wash your hands frequently and/or use hand sanitizer at the gym (don’t worry about looking nutso – there are lots of ways to look crazy and looking OCD is the least of your worries, really.)
– See a doctor immediately if you get any weird rashes or bumps start to look infected.
– Sanitize all equipment that you use and/or lay down a towel to provide an extra barrier.
– Protect any open cuts with band-aids.
That covers most of the common sense stuff, so I’ll add the stuff that I know you’re secretly asking:
– Don’t exercise nude. I don’t care if everyone else is doing it.
– Don’t eat and workout at the same time. A swig of protein shake from your sports bottle is okay. Using a weight bench as your picnic table is not.
– Don’t pop your zits in the mirrors on the weight floor.
– Don’t suck your thumb.
– Don’t sniff your fingers after sticking them in your bellybutton. I know it smells funky. But, seriously, that’s gross.
There you have it! So, I know some of you have got some better advice for Reader L. Any of you suffer from bacne? Have some good tricks for avoiding or getting rid of it? Anyone else get a weird skin condition from the gym? Lastly, anyone else have a funny word to describe their sweat in inappropriate places??
WOW that is terrifying! I’ve never even heard of picking up anything so extreme at a gym.
Poor skin. Mine doesn’t seem to mind sweating so much, but it’s not happy about the chafing from the bulky I-pod armband and sports bra strap if I stay on the treadmill for a few extra Ks….
TA x
I am so completely grossed out right now. My boss is a total germaphobe and I could just hear her voice in my head while reading this.
I don’t have any advice, and luckily, no weird skin problems of my own, either. (Except when I start to sweat sometimes my face burns, but that’s only been since the weather got cold, so I’m sure it’s from dry skin.)
I love the word “swoobs!”
As someone who is a heavy gym user and has worked in gyms in the past, this is not at all surprising. Some of the things that people leave behind on the equipment (unintentionally, of course) is just plain disgusting.
I always try to lay a towel down (my own clean towel from home) on the equipment before I use it.
Remember what you mom told you when you were smaller, “don’t put that in your mouth, you don’t know where its been.” Now imagine all of the people using that equipment. Do you know where their hands (and other body parts) have been?
This is a great post about a subject that is very rarely talked about but is one of the most important aspects of using the gym facilities.
Gaaaah! That picture! Aaaaaagh! Gak! P’tooooui!
I used to get a LOT of small acne-like things on my back and chest when working out… now the back MIGHT be from the gym equipment and whatnot but the chest?!?! I guess my body just doesn’t like my own sweat, and I do shower RIGHT after I finish working out. For some reason It doesn’t happen any more, I’ve changed absolutely nothing and now I only rarely get it. Yay… i guess.
Ugh Charlotte, you’ve got me all paranoid now! I usually don’t worry too much about germs…just make sure to wash my hands a lot. However, I freak out if I forget my own yoga mat and have to use one at the gym. Some of them just stink. Gross…I’ve also been wondering about the floor at my Hot Yoga studio. It’s some kind of funky rubber, and I’m wondering how they sanitize it. People leave freaking puddles in there. I wish they had hardwoods, but I don’t think that would work for Bikram. People would be sliding all over the place.
I’ve totally made the mistake of working out in gray leggings…would that be swrotch? 🙂
I so wish I had read this last week – for two reasons:
1. I have bacne. BAD. And i am a clean person, so it frustrates me to no end – the worst part is that it only seems to go away in the summer when I can wear tanks and expose my skin to the air – but on the flipside, who wants to expose THAT to anyone!! I have tried every cleanser, toner, wipe, swipe, lotion, potion and cream out there….no use. I have accepted my spotty-backed fate and hide it under T’s and sweats, which probably only makes it worse…agh! Never ending cycle.
2. I used a giftcard I got for Christmas and bought some great new workout pants that were marked down to a ridiculously low price. The colour of said pants? Yep. Light Grey.
Thanks for the post, you have become for me a daily ritual….
T
Gaah! I don’t have any advice, but thanks for a really gross article!
No wait, I might have some advice: even though it would seem sensible, don’t bleach your gym clothes, especially undergarments. Bleach attacks the elastic and makes it even more irritating than usual: it can lead to a rash that looks a lot like acne. So if you’re getting bacne right around the bra strap areas, it might be due to the elastic.
This post made me think of boys on a playground with worms in there had trying to make the girls scream. Of course they up the ante in high school where they go for the most outrageous gross out story to make their friends gag. I think you won this round Charlotte.
As for tips:
Please, please wear some sort of undergarment under those grey shorts and tops.
Don’t pick and flick – that means anything that comes off your body or in your ears or nose.
Please don’t push yourself so hard that you need to spit in order to breathe. That lungy has to end up somewhere.
Lastly, If you do have some sort of body infection, don’t feel like I’m your dermatologist. I don’t need to see it and I have nothing that can help.
For the backne I'd shower as soon as possible using a salicylic acid (1 or 2% is the highest you can go w/o a Rx.) or peroxide wash (up to 10% solution) (like whats in those those face washes) and then use clearasil or Clean & Clear on the back and/or chest. I don't get it as bad anymore but I still spread a bit of clearasil on my upper back, shoulders and chest after I work out, it seems to help a lot, and that skin tends to be less sensitive so you don't have to worry about over drying as much as you do with the face.
Hope that helps.
You never fail to dissapoint!! I used to suffer from bacne, but I noticed it was because I never left it alone…always touching it, picking at it and washing the crap out of it. Now my back is free and clear and I exercise waaay more than I did when I suffered from it. I’m sorry, I’m no help.
Oh, and this article makes me glad that I don’t belong to a gym! But in all other aspects I’m completely envious!
Ouch. I’m kind of disgusted right now. And afraid. I have the worst habits when gym hygiene is concerned. I lay my face down on studio floors, have no qualms about using equipment where someone has just left a pool of sweat. I think my acrobatics experience has left me immune to all these things, since we spend a lot of time with our faces in other people’s crotches or on people’s feet. But the visual of an infected face sure is making me rethink some of my laxness. Uhm, thanks for this post. I think.
We have a mix of very careful and who cares types at my gym! I tend to use plain water to wash with after using stuff at the gym.
I did pick up my girlfriend at the gym. That’s been a mixed blessing
🙂
I play tackle football, and our women’s club rents gear from the local minor football assn, which essentially means that I’m wearing a helmet and shoulder pads that were previously worn by adolescent boys. So, ew. My first year playing I had a lot of skin problems, both chin and forehead (from the helmet) and back (from the shoulder pads on top of jersey on top of tank top on top of sportsbra in dead-of-summer heat). Here are my strategies that have proved effective.
If borrowing equipment sterilize anything that’s going to touch your skin using rubbing alcohol and then let it dry (I do the entire inside of my helmet). If not possible, keep something between your skin and it (i.e. put a towel on the weight bench where your tank-top bared shoulders will rest).
Aside from washing right away, I also use an anti-bacterial body wash on my back (I find it too drying everywhere else, so I just limit it to my back, but I have VERY sensitive skin). Neutrogena makes a good one that I’ve found very effective.
If a big ol’ pimple forms, take a clean facecloth and wet a corner under water that is too hot to leave your hand in. Place that hot corner on the pimple. Repeat several times a day. See, a pimple is a small bacterial infection, so localized heat can kill much of the bacteria under the skin. The only proviso to this is that you same redden the surface skin (like to the degree of a sunburn), so you may not want to do this to your face. However, I was in a wedding last summer, and realized that a localized sunburn was easier to cover than the giant spot emerging on my chin.
Before I learned about MRSA from my coworker whose son had it, I stupidly only wiped down the machines and equipment AFTER I used them. Now I wipe down everything BEFORE as well. I suppose that’s common sense to most people, but I just figured my flimsy towel would be enough.
This is why I’m OCD about disinfecting EVERYTHING in the gym when I’m working.
Tea Tree Oil and a body wash with Salicylic acid worked wonders on the cluster of pimples on the shoulder I sleep on.
I don’t suffer from bacne but this post is making me realise that my gym habits need to be cleaned up a bit. I put a towel down when I remember or when my face is going to touch a surface – mats or benches in particular. But I could be more vigilant.
I don’t shower straight away because I walk 5 minutes home and I’m usually too exhausted to think about it. Must change that – face and back etc infections scare me!
Oh my god, I may never go to the gym again!!!!!!
I’ve always been good at wiping down equipment after I use it, so no one gets mad at me, but have been really lax about sanitizing stuff before I use it, figuring I’ve never gotten anything bad before so I must be invincible.
I need to rethink that. Yikes.
I have acne everywhere – face, back chest, arms – whether I work out or not. I have extremely good hygiene habits (I even floss regularly) so it’s frustrating to look like I don’t wash my face!
I have tried everything from washing much less, to harsh chemicals (Oxy Max Strength etc.) to a detox/natural regimen, to not picking… And it seems to be the same no matter if I eat very healthy or not.
If anyone out there has any new suggestions, I’m all ears! I reckon it’s something internal rather than external though. Perhaps hormonal? When I was pregnant my skin was much clearer.
Gah. Thank goodness I don’t usually go to the gym!
I think I got athletes foot about a year ago. Either that or the place I got a pedicure at wasn’t so sanitary. At any rate, I’ve got some kind of fungi ish infection on my big toe, and it’s gotten so ridiculous that I can’t wear some shoes because the pressure hurts it. If I accidentally brush the toe against anything, it causes my eyes to water because it hurts so bad. I’ve been using yin care but it’s pretty slow to treat it. Should really get myself to a doctor one of these days…
MRSA is actually methicillin-resistant staph aureus
Ewww. I always always wash my hands and change immediately after working out, but I have a hard time in the locker rooms. I can’t seem to manage the shower shoe thing, and I keep getting athlete’s foot. I try to remember to keep some spray in my locker to use every day, but sometimes I forget. I guess if that’s the least of my problems…
I never take any precautions at the gym, and I’ve never caught anything, either. This stuff is around us ALL THE TIME, EVERYWHERE. I once heard that the average dollar bill has a greater density and variety of germs on it than the average toilet.
The best thing we can do is keep our immune systems in tip-top shape throught exercise and good diet.
(Mind you, I still clean up my puddles of sweat for the benefit of others.)
Ahh! Now I’m too creeped out to touch anything! I have a yoga class tonight and will definitely be stopping home to get my own fresh mat for tonight.
EWWW.
We religiously wipe down the reformers after every Pilates session. I encourage my mat students to purchase their own mat, rather than using the ones the gym provides. And I do all my other workouts at home or outside.
One of the best cures for body acne I’ve found is, ironically, to apply a really good moisturizer while your skin is still a bit damp from the shower, then air dry. Yes, it does mean being naked for a while, so you may want to try it at home.
Hubby has a funny name for sweat “down under,” but this is a family blog and I don’t want to post it here, lol!
At my gym there are bottles of cleanser to spritz down the machine you just sweated all over. I would even go so far as to spritz it down before too and use a towel. Staph is some scary shite!
i am so scared of germs that if I happen to forget my flipflops at home, I have actually been known to tie plastic baggies to my feet and shower in them, to avoid whatever viruses are floating in the shower. Blech!
swass is the only term i’ve heard.
i like “swoobs” though. i only notice that when, go figure, i’m wearing my gray sports bra and playing hockey.
Another vote for salicylic acid – Aveeno makes a good foaming cleanser with it. It’s marketed as a face wash, but squirting some on a shower puff and using it on my back and neck (my sweatiest places) keeps the bacne at bay.
Also, if you don’t want to shower at the gym for whatever reason (modesty, time, fear of athlete’s foot), at the VERY LEAST change your underwear before walking/driving/biking home. It’s not as newsworthy as MRSA, but yeast infections are still a pain in the… well, you know.
GROOOOOOOOSSS! CHARLOTTE!
Ahem. Ok, got that out of my system. 😉
I go so early in the morning that I’ve never encountered a sweaty machine (thank Heaven), but I do wipe them down after I’m done (just in case). And I either wear a t-shirt and yoga pants so none of my skin touches the machines or I use a big towel underneath me. Because really, laying in someone else’s sweat (dry or otherwise) is just gross.
For the bacne: tea tree oil on the ones you already have, and buy a back brush for prevention. I found that I didn’t even need a chemical body wash (salicylic acid) if I used a back brush every day in the shower. Everybody’s different though, so good luck!
I’m torn between being very glad I read this before going to the gym today, and wishing I hadn’t.
On the plus side, I did take the extra time to wipe down everything my hands could possibly touch on the treadmill both before and after running.
On the negative, I spent the whole 70 minutes studying the people around me, judging their germ factor, paranoid of any flying sweat or sneezing. And giving anyone touching their nose dirty looks.
I miss warmer weather. Can’t wait to be back out in the fresh air.
oops – read my comment after hitting publish. Should have said extra time to wipe down treadmill BEFORE…
Lest anyone think I’m such a louse as to not wipe off my own sweaty germs after using a machine.
Last night I was thinking to myself that I missed having a gym membership. Suddenly feeling very content with my home gym…
Thank you for reminding me to wipe the equipment down BEFORE I use it as well as after. =)
At the gym I work at we recommend that 1) you wipe down the equipment before & after, and that 2) you use the foam sanitizer dispensers on wall as often as possible… and wear flip flops in the shower. Personally, I also always try to keep my towel folded so that the same side is on whatever machine I'm using, then unfold to use the inside to wipe my sweaty face, and refold so the outside is again on the next machine.
DermaDoctor makes a great line of products that WILL get rid of bacne. It’s not cheap. The line I have used with success for the first time in 20 years is Derma Dr “Ain’t Misbehaving.” They have a website that usually has free shipping and good samples. Some Ulta stores carry it as well. Not sure about Sephora. This crap does work. I use the Ain’t Misbehaving cleanser, the pore perfect astringent, and the sunscreen which is SPF 30. They also have a spot treatment. That whole batch of products will cost over $150, but it lasts much much longer than the drug store products.
They DO carry DermaDoctor at Sephora.
Ever since my relationship with Shirley, the boil on my belly, so long ago, I have used Cetaphil antibiotic soap to wash head to toe (as recommended by a derm). I still get occasional backne, which I blame on not showering soon enough (but when you only have 2 hours of childcare at the gym I’m not gonna shower for cryin out loud!) Still, I refuse to wear underwear under bike shorts. Are you serious? But I did recently buy a new personal yoga mat. Because those things are gross…
ew. but the question now is do you use the gym towels??
Eeek! I haven’t even thought about this… I’m going to have to be more careful.
I prefer to come and shower at home, but what normally happens is that I’m hungry and anxious to log my workout, so I grab a bowl of fruit and plonk myself down at the computer, get carried away and only shower hours later… Bad!
Hi Char!!
When I play trivia at the local pub, my used name is SWOOBS. I thought it was a little cleaner than MILF!
When using the mats at the gym, I try not to think about how many people and gross things are on it. I usually see the “dust bunnies” and think that’s pretty bad too! I will just keep using the mats and hope for the best! 🙂
BYOM. Bring your own mat! Spend the 11.99 to lay your swass on everytime you are at the gym!!! As a gym employee I know how much the equipment is NOT cleaned by the gym staff.
For the Anon who wanted an internal approach to the bacne: drink lots of water and try to cut down on the acidity of the foods you are eating and drinking. I have had to face the fact that raw tomatoes, for instance, are just bad for me. 🙁 And the poster who mentioned that exposure to the air is helpful was right on. Skin needs to breathe, too!
Haha! I love the picture at the top. Definitely catches the eye! Get some work out plans and that will keep the sweat going! I still love that picture lol
i have mild chest and back acne, my question is should i shower in the locker room there where i always wear flip flops or should i wait 15 min till i get home?? and for me my acne on my body seems mild when i wake up and my skin is soft, but when i go to bed my skin is more irradiated and more acne at night.. anyone have any idea why or some way? ive heard sun ex poser can help get rid of mild acne seeing as my skin is somewhat light would that help maybe to tan outside?
There are things in this world which have both, the good side besides the bad one. Now I realized that working out is one of those too. I feel happy because now that I'm aware of this, my life can change for better
Oh no, that's crazy!
Now you got me worrying about germs at Gym…
Usuallu, I freak out if I forget my own mat and have to use one at the gym.
Some of them are just Gross…
I've also been wondering how they sanitize the floor.
People leave freaking puddles in there.
This post is old but I’m going to post my tip anyways. Whenever I get done working out and finally hit the shower I use Nuetragena Body Scrub (I think is what its called, its orange and has those beads in it) on my back and butt to help keep the acne at bay. It works really well actually. I had a problem with it drying out my armpits so I only use it on butt and back, but I seem to be the only person who’s had that issue.