Claims gym-goers have contracted chlamydia from fitness equipment are causing panic – top doctor reveals if YOU are at risk

A leading doctor has spoken out about viral claims on social media that it is possible to contract chlamydia from touching exercise equipment.

The fears were first raised by a TikTok user who claimed he had contracted the infection at the gym after wiping his eyes with a towel placed on a chair.

User @grinny45 initially visited his doctor complaining of “pink eye,” also called conjunctivitis, a benign minor infection of the eyelid.

Tests showed the cause was chlamydia. Since the creator was not sexually active, the doctor asked if he worked out often, to which he replied yes.

“Chances are that someone sweated on the chair you put your gym towel (on), wiped your face and got pink eye,” his doctor reportedly told him.

In a reaction video that has been viewed nearly 10 million times, another user, @alaskaaayoung77, blames “women going commando at the gym” for the phenomenon.

Others have responded by posting clips of themselves extensively cleaning gym equipment before using it, citing fear of ‘eye chlamydia’ as the reason.

Now Dr Joe Whittington, who has more than three million followers on social media, has issued his medical opinion – and offered an alternative explanation.

In a reaction video that has been viewed nearly 10 million times, another user, @alaskaaayoung77, blames “women going commando at the gym” for the phenomenon

In an Instagram video that has been viewed 638,000 times since it was posted two days ago, Dr. Joe – as he is known – asked: ‘Can you really get chlamydia from exercise equipment?’

The emergency doctor continues, “Well, we all know that the disease is spread primarily by doing the deed, and not by casual contact or touching surfaces.

“So unless you do something really unusual with those exercise machines, you’re safe.”

Sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in Britain, with chlamydia, caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, by far at the top of the list.

The disease is passed on through contact, usually through vaginal, anal or oral sex – and spread often occurs because people don’t show symptoms and therefore don’t get tested.

According to sexual health experts Z: 24concerns that it can be passed on through fitness equipment or towels are unfounded.

“Chlamydia is transmitted through sexual contact, such as oral, vaginal or anal sex,” it summarizes.

‘It can also be passed on by sharing sex toys. You cannot get chlamydia from kissing, cuddling, towels or toilet seats, because the bacteria cannot survive for long outside the body.’

The fears were first raised by a TikTok user who claimed he contracted the infection at the gym after wiping his eyes with a towel placed on a chair

Nevertheless, Dr. Joe adds that there are infections that can potentially be transmitted through surfaces in the gym.

‘You do have to worry about MRSA, ringworm and skin warts, so make sure you wipe down the equipment before using it.’

Earlier this year, the UK Health Security Agency reported that 401,800 new STDs would be diagnosed in England in 2023, an increase of 4.7 percent year-on-year.

The strongest increase occurred among children aged 13 and 14, where the number rose by almost a fifth (19.5 percent) to 459.

This was followed by pensioners aged 65 and over, with the number of new cases rising 18.2 per cent to 2,885.

Some Brits engage in risky, unprotected sex after meeting on dating apps, while others start 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 can freely access on their mobile phones.

There was a huge drop in STD infections during the Covid pandemic, followed by a boom as people returned to normal sexual activities.

However, rates are still below pre-pandemic levels.