It’s Tuesday morning and I’m in the gym just wailing on my quads. Feel the burn baby! Pain is just weakness leaving your body. Ok…so maybe I wasn’t sumo squatting with 200lbs on my shoulders, but the booty bar class I was participating in was still very intense. In the midst of 20 or so women, I had just started working up a sweat when I hear the door behind me open. I can see in the mirrored wall, a woman who was dressed like she is ready to go to church. She was gripping a can of something mysterious as she glanced around the room. Before I could figure her out, she began methodically dumping white powder from the container in each corner of the gym.
Now she’s caught my attention. I could barely concentrate on the instructor in front of the group. This happens to be one of my pet peeves. It drives me bonkers when people just stroll into the gym and walk into an exercise class already in progress. It is completely disruptive. I could be perfecting my forearm scorpion stand, which requires extreme concentration when someone comes clumping into the room. Ummm, yeah… the world does not revolve around your busy schedule princess.
All right, now back to the woman who is obviously not there for the booty bar class and is dumping white mysterious powder at her leisure. I see small clouds of dust forming with every shake of her enigmatic can. Unless the powder is dander from a unicorn, which can cure Parkinson’s disease, I would prefer her not to crop-dust in the space where I am inhaling and sweating profusely.
Well, now I am irritated. Not only did my class get interrupted by an inappropriately dressed woman, but she has just peppered the floor with an unknown substance. Do you think that I wouldn’t investigate? After the class ends, I probe the instructor and find out that the powder wasn’t dander from a mythical creature… shocking… but was in fact, a chemical that absorbs moisture from all the glistening bodies in the class.
I stare at the piles of a-neurological-disease-waiting-to-happen and I start feeling angry. It’s not bad enough that we are inhaling the dust, but now I see a woman drop her weighted bar into the chemical, while another one accidentally knocks her water bottle into it and then continues to drink out of it. I know… crazy! I feel betrayed.
I’m extremely aware of the correlation between chemical exposure and Parkinson’s disease. I look back at times in my life where I could have been in contact with Pesticides or other dangerous chemicals. When you’re young, you don’t even give a second thought to the environment and what you’re exposed to, let alone how it could impact your health and those of future generations. But now being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I see many potential threats, but not one this obvious.
Next time I go into the gym I’m sure the powder will be gone. It will have been tracked around the facility and maybe even found its way home to an unsuspecting family. This probably happens every day in many different ways. I guess I just felt that I was in a safe place, when in fact I was being exposed to chemicals without my permission. What’s worse? They were doing it right in front of me. I wish I could go back to thinking that the powder was magical unicorn dander. I guess it’s true what they say… ignorance is bliss.
As I’ve said to many in the past…. WE are our own best advocates…. because we know this insidious disease better than anyone out there, especially what random chemicals can do.
Brigitte
You are so right Brigitte!
Anyone treating a public facility is required to provide and/or post a M.S.D.S. sheet which identifies the material and treatment remedies for those who may be adversely affected. Further, they are required to post when they will be treating the facility on the main entry door, so those who may be adversely affected (even by airborne material) can avoid the facility on that day. Complete bullshit your class was not advised.
That’s exactly how I feel!
I feel the same way with phone trees and self-checkout lines. People with the tendency to get on our last never by messing with our pet peeves / PD overload inducing issues are lucky that we don’t sic the pukwudgies on them when they go to their car.
Now, if it was unicorn dander!
Thanks for a really well-written article. Hope things lead to a more positive weekend.
Dan, I didn’t even think about phone trees! Thank you for your comment!
As a consumer or an employee, you have a right to know the potential hazards you may be exposed. In OSHA, it’s called the hazara communication standard. You can ask for a MSDS (Matterial Safety Dats Sheet) of the product and read the potential hazards and precautions that can be taken. If they don’t have one, tell them to get one because they could be in violation of safety standards. If you need more information, please contact me if you need further information. I was a safety professional for 22+ years
Great advice Dan! Thank you.
How odd. I too would not like it if someone were to walk into my fitness class and sprinkle some unknown substance on the floor. At the vey least you should have been notified ahead of time. I’ll now be on the alert for this when I go to my Rock Steady and Yoga classes.
Yes! Too many unknown chemicals used by too many untrained people. I knew the family that owned and worked in a convenience store and once for the monthly pest control the tech fogged the whole store instead of spraying the liquid around the baseboards. About a month later all had severe Neuro problems.
Scary!
I enjoy attending daily fitness classes as a treatment for balance, range of motion, strength and concentration issues pertaining to my PD symptoms.
What irks me are the inconsiderate souls that meander into a class in progress to fetch a piece of equipment, when they more than likely could wait until the 45 to 55 minute class is complete.
Add to that, a mysterious circumstance involving a substance of unknown origin and I can only imagine how it would have distracted me and to what extent, as it did for yourself.
Definitely a recipe for disaster from a Parky perspective….as mentioned, an posted notice of a planned procedure would have been more appropriate ..
I am happy to hear that you share my irking-ness! Thank you for the comment Shane!
Welcome to agent orange. Didn’t know what that it was being sprayed, or what it was. Thank you Uncle Sam.
Where have you been my friend? We miss you in class!
SQUIRREL! What were we talking about… oh yeah, bathing ourselves in chemicals and then being surprised there are side effects. Not a surprise. Anyone putting down anything but normal cleaners, should post a note what the material is… period.
Now if we can get everyone to think like that!
Damn right Allison!! Pity you couldn’t rub their faces in it 🙂
But Lord knows your right and ‘to know is to forearm, doesn’t make a damn bit of difference outside your home!
Ha! So true Lisa.