A fitness finatic has warned gym-goers never to skip wiping down equipment before using it — after she contracted debilitating ringworm from an ‘abs cruncher’ machine.
Jamie Samnang, 41, initially thought she’d suffered a mosquito bite when she developed an intensely itchy rash on her arm that caused her to scratch so hard she drew blood.
However, after pus-filled bumps started appearing and the rash spread further to her legs and ankles, she sought medical help.
Medics then revealed that Mrs Samnang, from Silver Spring, Maryland, had been infected with the highly contagious fungal infection, ringworm.
While the disease is usually mild, causing a characteristic ring-shaped rash, in severe cases it can even lead to permanent scarring and hair loss.
Mrs Samnang said she believes she caught the infection by placing her bare arms on the exercise machine at her gym without wiping the equipment down first.
After her diagnosis, medics ordered the make-up and beauty specialist to avoid work, the gym or even sleeping in the same bed as her husband to avoid spreading the contagion to others.
Recalling the ordeal, she said she first started to notice something was wrong a few hours after she arrived home from the gym.
Jamie Samnang, 41, initially thought she’d suffered a mosquito bite when she developed an intensely itchy rash on her arm which caused her to scratch so hard, she drew blood
‘I started to feel a slight tingling, a slight itch,’ she said.
‘I thought maybe I’d been bitten by a mosquito, but as the days went on it kept getting worse.
‘Bite cream wasn’t working and I started to get these red raised bumps that were filled with pus.’
She said the itching was so ‘intense and severe’ she ended up scratching until she bled.
Ringworm patients are urged not to scratch the affected areas as this enables the fungus to spread to other body parts, as occurred in Mrs Samnang’s case.
‘It spread to my legs and ankles because I was itching my arms and then touching my legs,’ she said.
After being diagnosed with ringworm by a dermatologist, Mrs Samnang said she was ‘shocked and disgusted’ adding she had no idea that gyms were a hotspot for the infection.
Medics then revealed that Mrs Samnang, from Silver Spring, Maryland , had been infected with the highly contagious fungal infection ringworm
‘They said gyms are one of the number one areas for ringworm because it’s hot, sweaty, and moist,’ she said.
‘It’s the perfect breeding ground for fungal growth.’
Mrs Samnang used an anti-fungal cream three times a day for three weeks to treat the infection, and was also forced to take other measures to decontaminate her belongings.
‘I had to wash everything. I had to bleach, I had to sterilise, I had to get new bed sheets and I couldn’t sleep near my husband because I was going to get him infected,’ she said.
‘I couldn’t go to work. It was really, really bad. It was so severe.
‘I usually go to the gym five days a week but I couldn’t go for a month because I had to wait for my doctor to give me the all clear.’
Mrs Samnang, who was infected with ringworm in September of last year, said she is speaking now to help other gym goers avoid the same mistake she made.
‘Not everybody is always going to remember to wipe down and unfortunately I was one of those,’ she said.
Mrs Samnang, who was infected with ringworm in in September last year, said he is speaking now to help other gym goers avoid the same mistake she made
‘My outlook is completely different now. I used to wear short sleeves or even a sports bra — now everything is long sleeved. I just can’t take that risk because it was so severe.’
‘I’d never been in contact with ringworm and I just don’t want that to happen to anybody else because it’s a nightmare. For three weeks I was itching so severely that I was bleeding.’
Despite the name, ringworm is not actually caused by a worm but is instead a type of fungus.
Common signs of the fungal infection include itchiness, a scaly ring-shaped area, scattering of bumps, which range in colour from red on white skin to reddish, brown or grey on black skin.
Slightly raised expanding rings or a round flat patch of itchy skin are other key signs, according to the NHS.
Cases of ringworm are usually treated with antifungal medications available on prescription such as gels and creams.
But sometimes oral antifungal medication is also needed.
In addition to gym equipment, patients can also contract ringworm from an infected person or animal or objects that have been in contact with them, like bedsheets, combs or towels.
Late last year, Britons were also warned about a wave of cases of ringworm in barber shops.
