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Hi
We do not see sexually transmitted infections (STI) passing the way you describe.
The bacteria and viruses that cause most of the sexually transmitted infections (STI) do not survive for long when they are out of the body. We also find that you need to come in direct contact with the STI when having sex by either coming in contact with sexual fluids while having sex or from direct skin to skin contact with the person’s genitals.
Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.
Health Nurse
For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.
This answer was posted on June 17, 2014
Community comments
Feb 10, 2018
Feb 13, 2018
Hi Ruthy
Thanks for your comment. We really want to encourage people to leave comments if we do not answer their question or if they need some additional information.
It is really difficult to give a specific answer when a person asks such a general question. It is also very difficult to predict the survival of many bacteria and viruses when outside the body as it depends on so many factors for example how many of them are there, what type of surface is it, the temperature, the humidity etc.
Feb 13, 2018
It also depends on what people mean by a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The common cold can pass to you when having sex but we would not call this an STI. We see STI as being infections that mainly pass when people are having sex for example gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, hepatitis B, HIV and herpes simplex virus (HSV) on the genitals. We find that for someone to get these they need to be having sex with someone. By sex we mean sexual fluids coming in contact straight away or by having direct contact with skin to skin rubbing/grinding of the genitals together.
Feb 13, 2018
Some infections like hepatitis B and HIV are also in the blood and can pass if this blood gets into your body. HIV dies very quickly when it is outside the body but hepatitis B can survive for several days. These would not pass in the gym as you would need a way for these to get in your body, it wouldn’t pass by just touching it or rubbing somewhere you would need to share something like a razor or toothbrush.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) on the genitals is a tricky one as new technology is showing us that it is very common and some people have had it on the genitals without having sex. More studies are needed to determine how this is happening for example are they having oral sex/genital to genital rubbing or could it be passed if someone touches their genitals and touches yours straight away. Or could it possibly be passed by sharing towels or sitting naked on a bench in the changing rooms. Currently we do not know all the answers for these questions.
Feb 13, 2018
It can certainly be stressful when people are concerned about STI and we do not know the full picture on how some may be passed. I can certainly give you some general information on how to protect yourself.
There are vaccines available for hepatitis B and HPV. The majority of STI pass when having sex but as some of them can be in the blood it is a good idea not to share things that could have blood on them like razors and toothbrushes. Currently with genital HPV the majority of cases are from sexual contact (oral, vaginal, anal and genital to genital rubbing) but there is some growing evidence that it could also be passed by other ways. We are unsure what these ways are but knowing that HPV on the genitals needs direct contact with HPV I would suggest, not sharing towels, not sitting naked on benches in changing rooms and washing your hands before and after touching the genitals.
Let us know if you have any more questions or concerns.
Health Nurse
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Posts like this drive me crazy! The poster asked a question and it was not answered. Peple wonder if there are different ways people get STDs. I have read studies about virgin girls getting HPV. How is this? We want to put our minds at ease but websites like this don’t do that. Can I get an STD at the gym? If the person answering the question would have answered it clearly we would all know.