Gym Germs

I read how nasty cracks and holds can be at the gym. How do they clean/disinfect them?

Depends on the gym. Some gyms never clean the holds. Some gyms clean their holds with miuriatic acid every time they take the holds off the wall. It all depends. Cracks are NEVER cleaned though.

But yes, gyms are generally pretty gross breeding grounds for bacteria. It doesn't really stop anyone from using them though. Just wash your hands when you leave.

yer gonna die.

Any suggestions on the cracks?

For cracks, tape up before climbing to prevent scrapes and gobies and minimize potential for infection.

People who worry about this, do they worry about getting germs when they climb outside? Unless you count rain, outdoor stuff never gets cleaned, and if it's overhung then even the rain won't be helping out.

I pretty much just ignore the problem and hope I don't catch rabies and die from a dirty gym hold. It's worked so far.

Ya the only time i think about germs is when climbing a crack covered in bat guano or pigeon crap.

We participate in a dangerous sport on so many levels. Minimize you risk and don't sweat the small stuff. A little extra bug resistance is likely a good thing

powhound84 wrote:There is a crack at our gym that has blood stains all the way up it. At least some of it is mine. What can ya do?

Rappel down and clean the crack with some antibacterial soap and water, using a sponge with a light scouring pad?

I dunno, but a bloodstained crack doesnt sound too healthy. (hehehe)

powhound84 wrote: Well, the gym could do that but I sure as hell am not going to. Every time I head up it I start thinking about infectious diseases but then I convince myself that anything in old dried up blood is probably dead anyway haha.

Not to try to scare you, but Hepatitis B and C can live in dried blood for up to a week. So, dried blood is still a health risk.

It's not unreasonable.

I used to be a lifeguard as a kid and my feet still get warts from it. Public places have people's bugs.

The fortunate thing is that gyms are mostly dry. This makes it a lot harder for critters to breed and transfer back and forth. In theory, chalk dust could attach to some things and transport to your lungs, I have never heard of this and it's highly unlikely. If holds or cracks are still wet and bloody and you've got a bunch of open wounds, you could be exposed. Seems unlikely still.

The drinking fountains, the doorknobs, and talking to people are probably still your greatest risk.

Outdoors, is there a documented case of a climber getting Hanta virus? I've always worried about that one.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:It's not unreasonable. I used to be a lifeguard as a kid and my feet still get warts from it. Public places have people's bugs. The fortunate thing is that gyms are mostly dry. This makes it a lot harder for critters to breed and transfer back and forth. In theory, chalk dust could attach to some things and transport to your lungs, I have never heard of this and it's highly unlikely. If holds or cracks are still wet and bloody and you've got a bunch of open wounds, you could be exposed. Seems unlikely still. The drinking fountains, the doorknobs, and talking to people are probably still your greatest risk. Outdoors, is there a documented case of a climber getting Hanta virus? I've always worried about that one.

Don't you have to inhale aerosolized rodent feces to get hantavirus? I can't imagine that scenario being common...

Outdoors, my biggest health concern is definitely Lyme disease. Deer ticks are super common where I live.

Indoors, I'm much more worried about catching a cold or something from another gymgoer than I am about hold grossness. But, like I said earlier, blood on holds would really concern me lol, but luckily my gym is pretty good about hold cleaning.

Quinn Baker wrote: Not to try to scare you, but Hepatitis B and C can live in dried blood for up to a week. So, dried blood is still a health risk.

Would there be any risk if you had intact skin and washed your hands afterwards?

I ask because a titer test of mine showed that I contracted and fought off Hep B sometime in my distant past. Somehow they knew it was from the wild and not a vaccine I'd forgotten about. It might be those Cambodian brothels but the climbing wall actually makes a little sense.

I've had weekly exposure to those germs for 5 years. I could probably eat it for dinner with no ill effects.

Staph infection anyone?
rockandice.com/lates-news/i…

lohud.com/story/news/health…

and don't forget the fecal veneer. Gyms aren't likely to get the same cleansing action of wind, rain and sunlight.

climbing friend,

do not touch your face after squeezing down your crushing on the fecal veneer, especially at climbing rocks of movement denver. there are many dirty hippy and filthy hipster there, and perhaps those with animals growing in their dreadlock. wash your hands most vigorously after with soap, alcohol, and all manner of harsh chemicals.

You'd have to stick your head into a crack where rodents have been pudding and shitting an take a big wiff to get haunta while climbing, or stumble into a cave, even then you'd have to be in the desert southwest, where haunta lives in the US.
I'm not as familiar with hepatitis B, hepatitis c is pretty unlikely to be contracts from a gym, in fact I would bet impossible. You'd have to have hep c infected blood running down the crack and a freshly open wound on your hand, that's why you typically only see it in IV drug users.
I'd say your biggest risk is MRSA.

mediocre wrote:.. I'd say ...

Based on what knowledge?

MRSA is spread through contact while Hepatitis C is a blood born pathogen.

mediocre wrote:MRSA is spread through contact while Hepatitis C is a blood born pathogen. You can have a MRSA colonization while not having an infection.

Hepatitis can still be infectious in dried blood. From what I understand, it is far more durable than say, AIDs.

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote: Would there be any risk if you had intact skin and washed your hands afterwards? I ask because a titer test of mine showed that I contracted and fought off Hep B sometime in my distant past. Somehow they knew it was from the wild and not a vaccine I'd forgotten about. It might be those Cambodian brothels but the climbing wall actually makes a little sense.

I doubt there's much risk if you came into contact with dry blood and you didn't have any open wounds, especially if you washed your hands. But, I'm not a doctor so take that with a grain of salt lol.