How Grody Are You At The Gym?

I have spent the last month with major eye problems. I’ve had a couple of infections, and major irritation most of the time. The only common factor is that I get them after working out at the gym. I’ve had to throw out three expensive pairs of contact lenses, three mascaras and about five different eyeliners. And I’ve spent countless days looking not-so-glamorous in my old pair of glasses. (I have nothing against bespectacled people--I think rocking glasses can be quite sexy--I just really need a new pair!) As you can imagine, I was desperate to figure out the exact cause of my problem.

And it turns out it was entirely my fault! My gym, Crunch, does a good job of putting hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes everywhere. Plus they provide clean towels so you can wipe yourself dry when you’re dripping all over the place. So what was the cause? Not even my eye doctor could figure this one out at first: Apparently the combination of sweat, eye makeup and tons of hair product getting into my eyes was seriously bugging me. I can’t believe it took me three bouts with a nasty infection to figure this out.

See our tips: How Much Do You Really Know About Germs?

So now I carry eye makeup remover in my gym bag. And although I don’t really like pulling my hair completely off my face, (just my personal preference) I carry bobby pins as well. I’m thinking about getting some cute headbands too...

Even though my eye problems were of my own making, gyms are notorious for germs. Sarah over at Vitamin G has talked extensively about this. (See what the germiest places at the gym are here.) Glamour also recently held a poll to assess how gross women's habits can be, and the results were surprising.

How about you--are you super-hygienic at the gym, or are you grody? Have you had any gross experiences? I think everyone has had a few. Have you ever forgotten a fresh pair of underwear and had to reuse the old ones? (I have--after washing them by hand!) Do you skip the shower right after your workout? Do you wear flip-flops in the shower? And do you reuse the same smelly gym clothes? Do tell!

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