If hot tubs are not properly sanitized with the appropriate cleaning chemicals, they can harbor potentially harmful bacteria. It’s also important to disinfect your hot tub with the correct amount of chemicals because chlorine and/or bromide in contents that are too high can irritate the skin and even the respiratory system.

Aside from improper cleaning, simply soaking too long in your hot tub/Jacuzzi can be harmful for several reasons:

• Skin can become red and irritated, but that is the least of your worries.
• Too much time in a hot tub can cause nausea and vomiting – not the rejuvenating hot tub experience you had in mind, I’m sure.
• Ever get dizzy when you get out of a hot bathtub you have been in a while? The same can happen in a hot tub. Blood pressure can actually drop to potentially dangerous levels and you could faint or worse.
• You can also overheat to the point of heat exhaustion or even heat stroke.
• Another thing that can happen when you overdo it in the hot tub is that your blood pressure can drop to potentially dangerous levels.

However, if you are in good health and you don’t spend crazy amounts of time in your hot tub, a hot tub soak can be one of the best ways known to man to relax…often as helpful as a glass of wine as large as your head. From 15 to 30 minutes – and even occasionally 45 minutes to one hour – can be a safe amount of time to spend in a hot tub. Children soaks should be limited a bit more. Another good rule is to stay hydrated. Regulating the temperature helps too. Most tubs don’t get hotter than they should, but reducing your hot tub temperature by even just a degree or more can extend the time you can safely spend in your tub.

For more hot tub tips and information, contact the hot tub experts at SE Pool and Spa on Dixie Freeway in New Smyrna Beach.