Combat MRSA At The Gym

Is everyone familiar with MRSA?  The acryonym stands for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Areaus (bacteria).  This strain of bacteria is resistant to many of the commonly used antibiotics.  It has been in the news over the course of the last 2 years, having been blamed for a number of deaths in hospitals, schools, and gyms.  MRSA is has been blamed for a number of skin infections, thought to have been caught at gyms by the sharing equipment that was not wiped down by infected individuals.  Several schools have been shut down when a student was determined to have to have been infected with MRSA.

I ran across two new (to me) tools to use against MRSA.  One is Byotrol, a broad-spectrum biocide.  The other is near-infrared light.  I gather Byotrol has been effectively used in hospitals, while the near infrared light technology is newly approved.  Hopefully, these tools will gain widespread use in gyms, hospitals, and schools.  I have mixed feelings on the subject, as I feel that the overuse of antibacterial products has out us to this situation, but I digress.

For gym rats.  Please take the time to wipe down your equipment after use.  It has been shown that most people carry a variety of MRSA strains on the surface of their skin.  Grabbing some of those wipes available around the gyms you frequent and wiping off equipment after you’re done can go a long way toward preventing infection.  It may be worth considering wiping equipment down before use as well, just to be safe.  Also, if you frequent the yoga or pilates classes, you may want to consider getting your own mat for class, rather than using the gym-supplied mats.  Those things are great places for bacteria to hide, and it seems that most people do not wipe them down after use.

Anyone have thoughts on this?  Any more suggestions for preventing MRSA infections?