If you are a fan of the hot tub, you know that it’s particularly enjoyable on a cold winter day to slide into a steaming vat of water. Swedes have been promoting hot springs and saunas for years – including a plunge afterwards into cold water or snow.
While most of us might want to skip rolling in the snow on a cold winter’s day, a rise in allergies is causing others to skip the hot tub too.
Hot tubs are like pools in that they need to be kept clean – and that usually means chemicals. The primary chemical in hot tub maintenance is potassium peroxymonosulfate. According to Dr Matthew Zirwas of the Dermatitis Center at Ohio State University, this chemical can leave allergic users “intensely itchy, red, flaky to the point where they scratch so much that they start to bleed.”
Zirwas is a dermatologist. However, to figure out this particular allergen, he had to use his detective skills too. It’s a rare allergy, although on the rise. In fact, he’s seen more patients with this unusual medical condition than have ever been on record before.
Zirwas said that most people who get this allergy don’t realize they’ve got it until after they’ve immersed themselves in the hot tub’s water – and this can mean a severe reaction. His suggestion is to progress slowly with hot tub use. Start with just your feet, for instance, and leave them in the water for a few minutes. If they have turned red and itchy in that time, get out!
Consider it a home-administered “patch test” for the hot tub, much the same as is recommended for home hair coloring users. Buyers of any kind of hair dye are instructed on the package to do a “patch test” each time they color their hair, just in case an allergy has developed.
Hot tub owners don’t have to despair, even if they or a loved one has developed a chemical allergy. They can also use alternative chemicals or cleaning approaches with their units. Other ways of keeping bacteria down may involve a bit more work, but it could mean the difference between enjoying your hot tub or not.
Source: WTAE Pittsburgh
