Who's winning the H1N1 battle: Canada or the U.S.? How are athletes dealing with swine flu? Should I vaccinate my child? Every one has questions when it comes to this strain of influenza.
Bronwyn Daigle's job as a receptionist at a popular Ottawa yoga studio involves one chore that "sucks," she says.
But the smelly task sure makes her popular among Rama Lotus regulars in this era of unease over the spread of H1N1 influenza.
"People have been asking a lot more if we clean mats between use," she says, "which of course we do."
Normally, gym rats try not to imagine all the sweaty body parts that may have touched a dumbbell - and reach for it anyway. But warnings about the rapid spread of swine flu have ushered in a new ick-factor at exercise facilities across the country. Hockey players are hoarding their water bottles. High fives are being replaced by fist bumps. And communal towels are being eyed extra closely on the bench.
"There's always the guy that wipes his face with the visor towel," says Grant Breen, who plays twice weekly in a men's recreational hockey league in Calgary.
Such changes aren't only being seen in beer leagues, of course. NBA star LeBron James didn't get any sympathy from teammates when he came back to work after spending two days in bed with an illness thought to be H1N1. "You come back around and everyone is like, 'Ugh, you got the cooties,'" Mr. James told reporters. "They don't want to be around you."
The Globe on H1N1
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Canada's Olympic athletes are being urged by the team's chief medical officer, Bob McCormack, not to shake hands with competitors at the Olympics in February. Instead, they're being told to fist bump.
And in youth sports leagues across the country, officials are urging children to take precautions. The issue became particularly salient this week when a 13-year-old Toronto hockey player died from H1N1 a day after he began feeling ill at a tournament in London, Ont.
The Facebook memorial website for Evan Frustaglio has been flooded with condolence messages. A few parents are wondering whether to pull their children out of competition, including Stew Beckett, whose 13-year-old son Jesse played baseball against Evan.
"We've been talking about this for the last couple days," Mr. Beckett said in an interview. "Do we quarantine ourselves? What do you do?"
While some large fitness chains have put hand-sanitizer stations in their facilities, the community gym where Jesse exercises and swims has not. Mr. Beckett has made sure Jesse goes in well armed.
"We give him one of those big [water]jugs, and we tell him all the time that he doesn't share. Not to be mean, but you just don't know right now."
Coaches like Jeff Schneider of Calgary are giving young players the same message. He's brought in tape and markers so his players could identify their water bottles, and encouraged the league's other coaches to follow the new recommendations from Hockey Canada. Sharing gear is out; extra hand sanitizer and fist bumps are in.
Ironically, Mr. Schneider says, those rules weren't exactly top of mind when he and his team gathered recently for their Friday-night hockey game. Twenty guys showed up with only two water bottles to go around.
His friend, Mr. Breen, says most guys aren't worried because the risk of transmission seems minimal. "I haven't had too much issue sharing water bottles. I don't stick my lips all over it."
Besides, he says, "there's not a lot of hugging in men's hockey."
Mark Starkey, head of the Vancouver Metro Basketball League, says he hasn't sent out notices regarding H1N1 because none of his 200 players have been sick, according to his attendance sheets.
"We got hit a bit last week because Steve Nash was in town playing against the [Portland]Trail Blazers," he said. "Attendance dropped there, but it wasn't from H1N1."
Mark Bury of Toronto, who plays pick-up basketball once a week, says the fears seem overblown.
"I try to be careful in terms of washing my hands. But I don't know if I would think about it any more than that."
H1N1 has affected his sporting life in one frustrating way, however: His regular Wednesday-night basketball game has been cancelled for two months so health officials can use the gym to administer vaccine to the public.