What Happens If You Don’t Change Out of Your Workout Clothes?

When you sweat, your clothing gets soaked with moisture and bacteria. That’s why it’s important to change out of your workout clothes as soon as possible, especially if you plan on wearing them again. Rewearing them too long can lead to some pretty nasty — and potentially dangerous — consequences, which include body odor, skin rashes, fungal infections, and more.

Depending on the type of workout gear you wear, sweaty gym clothes can cause different types of rash and irritation. For example, if you wear tight pants or shorts that don’t allow your skin to breathe, you can end up with meralgia paresthetica, which causes tingling and numbness in the thighs, as Mental Floss reports. Then there are issues that can come up when you re-wear sweaty running shoes, which can lead to chafing in the heels and balls of your feet, as well as a bacterial infection called chlamydia. The good news is that by avoiding tight workout clothes and changing them out as soon as you finish a run or other exercise, you can prevent these kinds of problems.

In addition to causing chafing, sweaty workout clothes can also make you more susceptible to a rash that’s triggered by skin-to-clothes friction, known as intertrigo. It usually shows up in areas where there are skin folds, such as the groin and inner thigh area. This rash, which can be itchy and irritated, is often accompanied by oozing or bleeding. Another common rash associated with sweaty workout clothes is folliculitis, which is caused by inflammation of the hair follicles and can look like small pimples on your arms or buttocks. Finally, you can get a fungal skin rash called tinea cruris, which is more commonly known as jock itch and causes itchy scaly skin in the groin and buttocks.

Sweaty workout clothes can also cause a variety of other types of rash, including a type called irritant contact dermatitis. It’s a rash that causes red, scaly, itchy patches of skin, as the name suggests. It’s not as common as a rash that’s triggered when you sweat, but it can still be quite uncomfortable and irritating to deal with.

You can avoid these kinds of rashes by always washing your workout clothes after every use and hanging them up to dry in between uses. Choosing lightweight, breathable fabrics for your workout clothes can also help, as can showering right away after you’re done working out.

So don’t wait too long to get out of those sweaty workout clothes — doing so could save you some serious discomfort down the road. And if you do sweat a lot while exercising, you can try to reduce the amount of moisture by drinking plenty of water and using antiperspirants or deodorant. Taking a shower afterward can also rinse away the bacteria that contributes to chafing and other types of rash. So keep your gym bag stocked with plenty of clean and dry clothes, and be sure to change out of those sweaty workout clothes as soon as you can after a workout.