October 27, 2016

Top 3 Things You Should (And Shouldn't) Do in Your Hot Tub

Hot tubbing is the way to go for intimate social contact or to Zen out in a solitary soak. Believe it or not, there are some do’s and don'ts about a hot tub, beyond just cleaning it occasionally and checking for bacterial growth. Some of these seem self-explanatory, but interesting things have been known to happen in hot tubs, not all of them good. Here are a few tips for tubbers.

Play some games and make it a party!

There are all kinds of hot tub games to play. One great easy game is Ping Pong Panic. This game can be a terrific idea to have fun, simply because there are few rules to remember:

  1. Drop five ping pong balls into the water.
  2. Make sure to get out of the way of the ping pong balls, while keeping both feet inside the tub at all times.
  3. If you are touched by a ball you have to sit outside the tub in the cold air. The game continues with periodic drops of two more balls into the water until there is only one person left in the tub. The winner then gets to impose fun sanctions upon the unlucky losers.

Don't fall or dive into or out of the tub

This warning is related to alcoholic over-serves. A hot tub is, well, hot. Heat magnifies the effects of alcohol, which may lead to all sorts of unexpected events. For example, suddenly rising to your feet to climb out of the tub while spinning with

champagne could end up with a tumble backwards into the jets or a face plant on the tiles outside of the tub.

The heat and alcohol combo could also inspire enough machismo for someone to suggest diving into the hot tub. Just don't. If it was something you wouldn’t do while sober, then it is definitely something you shouldn’t do while drinking.

Don't crank up the temperature as a challenge to tub guests

This may sound like another alcohol-related provocation, but sometimes it's not. The frog in hot water anecdote comes to mind. Our bodies all adjust differently to extreme heat. Add the dehydration of alcohol or caffeine consumption and the health stakes may be higher than the water temperature. Another thing to remember is that if one of the hot-tub guests is pregnant, the super-heated water might be more than the developing fetus can tolerate. It is recommended that pregnant women limit hot tub exposure to less than 10 minutes at a time, especially in the first weeks of a pregnancy.

Cardiologists state that hot tubs and saunas have potential to be dangerous for those with heart disease. It could be especially hazardous to get trigger-happy with the thermostat if a guest has a heart condition and is unaware of the issue. Loss of normal blood pressure can occur, with dizziness, fainting, and nausea.

These warnings needn't take the fun out of hot tubbing or a sauna soak. Remember to stay hydrated, cool it on the temperature, and don't be a victim of mixing too much alcohol with your hot tubbing.

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