HOW TO AVOID EYE INFECTIONS AT THE GYM
With the start of spring later this month, it means that summer is right around the corner! Summer brings about so much to look forward to… sunny days, beach fun, family picnics, and eek that bathing suit! As we all hit the gym over the next few months to shed that winter warmth and prep our summer bod, there’s a lot lurking behind that heavy equipment that could really ruin your day or week. Here are some tips to help avoid picking up an eye infection at the gym.
Wear Daily Contacts: If you typically wear glasses or extended wear contacts, our doctors would love to help fit you in daily contact lenses to wear to the gym. Glasses can get steamy, sweaty, and just down right annoying when working out. We fuss to keep them on our face and in turn transfer bacteria from the gym equipment to carry around with us on our face all day long. Extended wear contacts can hold any bacteria from the gym that may be on your hands when you go to remove them after your workout. The next time you insert that contact in your eye, that bacteria can grow and cause an infection that will stay with you as long as you keep that contact lens, whether for two weeks, a month, or don’t tell me you stretch them even longer! Daily contacts, or single use contacts, are the perfect solution. No fuss of wearing glasses, avoid bacteria growth on your eye by discarding your contact every day after use, and be able to see what you’re actually doing at the gym!
Don’t Rub Your Eyes: Rubbing our eyes can cause any bacteria or germs from our hands to be transferred to our eyes, which is exactly how infections start! It can also cause more irritation, makeup to flake off into our eyes, or even a scratch or cut on the front surface of the eye, called the cornea. Bottom line, typically more harm than comfort comes from rubbing your eyes so try to avoid doing so in any situation. If your eyes are bothering you, itching a lot, or watering, try using artificial tears to comfort them in a pinch. Our favorites are Systane, Refresh, and Blink, which can all be found at your local grocery store, drug store, or Target. If this is something that you constantly notice, make an appointment at our office so we can nail down a solution to your problem.
Wash Your Hands: This seems like a no brainer, but sometimes we’re so focused on getting in that extra set of bicep curls before running home to eat dinner that we completely forget the easiest way to help ourselves avoid infection. Please be sure to take an extra minute to wash your hands after that workout so you can tackle the rest of your day with ease.
Keep Sweat Out of Your Eyes: Sweat running down your face to your eyes may cause your eyes to sting and burn, and in turn, we resort to rubbing those eyes again. Let’s just stop the sweat from getting in the way from the get go by wearing a sweatband on your wrist to wipe it away or wearing a thicker headband to keep it at bay to start. You can also bring a towel with you to the gym to wipe away any extra sweat. This will aid us in not touching our face or eyes and running any risk of bacteria transfer.
There are so many good things that can come from a little exercise in your day, but by keeping these extra tips in mind, you can help to avoid any red eyes and keep that adrenaline high all day long. These are just some of the ways we like to kick eye infections to the curb and make sure the only thing you gain at the gym, is that perfect bathing suit ready summer bod!
