A leading doctor has weighed in on viral claims on social media that it is possible to contract chlamydia from touching gym equipment.
The fears were first raised by a TikTok user who claimed to have contracted the infection. in the gym after drying his eyes with a towel that was placed on a seat.
User @grinny45 initially visited his doctor complaining of “conjunctivitis,” also known as conjunctivitis, a minor benign infection of the eyelid.
Tests revealed that the cause was chlamydia. Since the creator had not been sexually active, the doctor asked him if he exercised frequently, to which he responded yes.
“Chances are, someone sweated in the seat you put your gym towel on, wiped your face, and got conjunctivitis,” his doctor allegedly told him.
In a reaction video viewed nearly 10 million times, another user, @alaskaaayoung77, blames the phenomenon on “women going commando at the gym.”
Others have responded by posting clips of them thoroughly cleaning gym equipment before using it, citing fear of “ocular chlamydia” as the reason.
Now Dr Joe Whittington, who has more than three million followers on social media, has offered his medical verdict and offered an alternative explanation.
A leading doctor has weighed in on viral claims on social media that it is possible to contract chlamydia from touching gym equipment.
In a reaction video viewed nearly 10 million times, another user, @alaskaaayoung77, blames the phenomenon on “women going commando at the gym.”
In an Instagram reel that has been viewed 638,000 times since it was posted two days ago, Dr. Joe, as he is known, poses the question: “Can you really get chlamydia from gym equipment?”
The emergency doctor continues: ‘Well, we all know that it is transmitted mainly by doing something, not through casual contact or touching surfaces.
“So unless you’re doing something very unusual with those gym machines, you’re safe.”
Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in the UK and chlamydia, caused by a bacteria called chlamydia trachomatis, is by far top of the list.
The virus is transmitted through contact, primarily through vaginal, anal or oral sex, and spread often occurs when people do not show any symptoms and therefore do not get tested.
However, according to sexual health experts at SH:24Concerns that it may be transmitted through gym equipment or towels are unfounded.
“Chlamydia is transmitted through sexual contact, such as oral, vaginal or anal sex,” he summarizes.
«It can also be transmitted by sharing sex toys. You can’t get chlamydia from kisses, hugs, towels or toilet seats, as the bacteria cannot survive outside the body for long.’
The fears were first raised by a TikTok user who claimed to have contracted the infection at the gym after wiping his eye on a towel placed on a seat.
Despite this, Dr. Joe adds that there are infections that could be transmitted through gym surfaces.
“You have to worry about MRSA, ringworm and skin warts, so be sure to clean the equipment before using it.”
Earlier this year, the UK Health Security Agency reported that 401,800 new STIs will be diagnosed in England in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 4.7 per cent.
The sharpest increase was among 13- and 14-year-olds, where the number rose by almost a fifth (19.5 percent) to 459.
Pensioners aged 65 and over followed, with an 18.2 per cent increase in new cases, to 2,885.
Some Brits engage in risky unprotected sex after meeting on dating apps, while others begin new sexual relationships after getting divorced or widowed in old age.
Concerns have also been raised about children copying what they see in pornography, which they freely access on their mobile phones.
There was a big drop in STI infections during the Covid pandemic, followed by a boom, as people began to return to normal sexual activity.
However, rates are still below what they were before the pandemic.