A skincare expert has shared the top reason he avoids hot tubs at all costs, and people have been shocked to learn why.
Justin Spracklin is a derm laser specialist who has grown a following on social media by sharing his expertise and debunking viral beauty trends. In one video, which has been viewed over 37million times on Instagram, Justin shared his thoughts on hot tubs and the reason why he will never get into one.
The skin expert started the video by sharing a clip of another video of a woman showing how enjoying some time in an Airbnb hot tub left her with a rash all over her torso. “Although I used to have a hot tub and it was well-maintained, this is not a place that you’ll ever see me dipping my body into,” he explained.
“Hot tubs are notorious for being breeding grounds for bacteria because they are the perfect, ideal conditions for them to thrive. Hopefully this person got their rash cleared up and moving forward, they avoid the hot tubs.”
He wrote in the caption of his video: “Hot tubs are one of the easiest ways to get a bacterial infection because it’s the perfect conditions for bacteria to thrive. For me, I won’t go in them unless in the case it was my own and I know it’s maintained well. But, I’m also not a big public pools/waters in general, so that might be my own thing.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, one bacterial infection you can catch in this way is called Hot Tub Folliculitis, an infection of hair follicles. The most common way of getting infected is by spending time in a hot tub or swimming pools where the bacteria thrive. Chlorine and bromine are used to effectively kill bacteria that accumulate in hot tubs and keeping pools clean.
It’s a very common condition, with researchers estimating that the bacteria is present in about two-thirds of hot tubs and swimming pools at any given time. Besides a rash, the most common symptoms are diarrhoea, eye pain, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, and a sore throat.
People quickly took to the comments of the video to share their own experiences with the hot tub infection, while others shared their shock in learning about it.
One person commented: “Yess, I have a hot tub at my house and I started getting a rash too, I stopped going in and the rash went away. I even called the pool man to shock it a few times. Nothing helped. I’m considering changing to salt water.”
“I don’t even trust the shower enough to walk in barefoot in an airbnb, let alone a hot tub…” another user wrote, while a third added: “Working in derm def ruined my love for hot tubs.”