Gym member loses hair due to parasite found in dirty exercise equipment

This is a warning to all gym goers.

Fitness enthusiast Hillary Nguyen recently shared a video on TikTok describing the health crisis she faced after interacting with dirty gym equipment.

“PSA to all my gym girls, if you’re not wiping down every single piece of equipment before you use it, you’re going to want to start,” Nguyen said, per the Daily Dot, in a clip shared in the now-defunct video. – sharing platform.

“Three months ago I discovered I had patches of scalp and it literally went bald,” she explained.

Nguyen continued, “That same day I went to the doctor and they did a black light test and that’s how they found out it was a worm. She asked me if I went to the gym and I said basically every day, so that’s probably why.”

In another video, Nguyen said her scalp improved after three months of treatment.

Nguyen’s first video had over 40,000 likes and over 491,000 views on Saturday before TikTok was shut down that night following a temporary federal ban on the app.

Viewers praised her PSA about gym hygiene in the comments section.

“I clean my phone with alcohol wipes and wash my hands right after the gym. I am very afraid of catching something!!! “Nobody cleans things in my gym,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Well, the new fear has reopened. I wipe all devices, but that wasn’t like an active conscious thought about avoiding the ringworm until now.”

Someone else commented, “I rented from the mats at my gym a while ago it was soaked! Bring wipes and sanitizer if you can [i know] some gyms don’t keep it right.”

According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), people are at risk of getting infected at the gym.

“This is because the bacteria, viruses, and fungi that cause skin infections to develop thrive in warm, moist places like workout sweat gear and locker room showers,” the AAD website states.

The AAD recommends some tips for preventing skin infections at the gym, including wearing loose, moisture-wicking clothing, always wearing shoes, disinfecting equipment before and after use, washing or disinfecting hands immediately after exercise, and showering as often as possible. quickly. as much as possible.