Hot tubs

[oden]

I love the fantasy of sex in a hot tub but have always been wary of the possibility of catching something unwanted or unexpected in one. As a former athlete the regime was clean, clean clean before you get in and when you get out; and the tub was cleaned after every use.

I got a call from a cousin this month that she had contacted Toxic Shock from a hot tub at her local gym after a routine pap smear and almost died. Thank goodness her daughter was a nurse and got her to the hospital on time or she would have died.

What precautions do those of you that use hot tubs take to prevent these types of scenarios?

[Camille]

Sorry to hear that happened to your cousin. Very scary stuff.
I avoid hot tubs like the plague. I'm a bit skittish when it comes to communal use of things like showers etc. If I go to the gym I shower at home afterwards..which means I have to go to the gym after work. There as a campaign geared towards women (in the UK) in the mid 80's I think and it scared the crap out of a lot of people. What I remember from that is that the two major causes of TSS are Staph and/or strep. A friend of mine here got a staph infection from using a gym. Like me, she didn't shower there, but you can't guarantee that someone wipes down the equipment thoroughly after use. You can pick up a staph infection from hospital too. The question is..where do you draw the line so you don't avoid everything? I think the gym incident was quite extreme...but I avoid public shared water facilities like gym showers, swimming pools, hot tubs etc....I'm surprised more people don't get them staying in hotels to be honest....

[nevergaveitathought]

Originally Posted by Camille

Very scary stuff.
I'm surprised more people don't get them staying in hotels to be honest....

i detest bedspreads in hotels

i hate men's restrooms...walking up to the urinal..i look down and see all the spots and dribbles and pools on the floor and think of the soles of my shoes and stand ever further from the receptacle... standing so far from the thing that i find myself needing to lean with a finger on the wall way above to have any hope of not adding to the mess on the floor below....

i open doors at the most obscure place on the door handle hoping it hasnt been ever used before with just one finger if possible...

when served food in a restaurant, i detest the place serving some of the food in small bowls or cups placed on the plate and sidling up to the rest of the food on the plate as i think well that cup has been held and filled besides having been stacked and gathering dust for a while and now the outside of it is spoiling the food on the plate.

i even hate vegas for the chips are filthy..i was playing craps and got an infection in my cuticle which before i knew it became one in my eye as i rubbed my eye...and in the one in my finger became quite difficult and the one in my eye has finally been defeated after three different medications. i asked them when do you ever wash these chips and they said we don't.

there are many more things..lol

i know this sounds freaky but there it goes

[mansfield]

the regime was clean, clean clean before you get in and when you get out; and the tub was cleaned after every use.

Problem with a lot of hotel hot tubs is the plumbing area. The tub itself gets cleaned great but all that funky water from the previous users is sitting in the plumbing waiting.

The only way to clean that is to run bleach through the pumps, but I can't imagine many hotels actually doing that.

[atlcomedy]

Not a fan of hotel hot tubs either...when the check-in agent tells me with excitement I'm getting a "spa room" or a "jacuzzi room" I say (or think) "I hope I'm not paying extra.

@Camille: I think public showers like at health clubs are fine. Wear "flip flops" use hot water and a clean towel. I think a lot of communal shower horror stories are because people use (often their own) unclean towel.

Speaking of unclean towels....the worst is when you are a guest in someones home (e.g. a dinner party with 30 guests) and in the bathroom all there is is a single cloth towel hanging from the rack. If you visit my bathroom there is a nice roll of paper towels. Sure not fancy..but clean.

[MissMollyMcGrath]

Can I just say I could really use one.Hot Tub would be grand :P.

[Sa_artman]

The only surefire way to keep bug free: http://www.amazon.com/FULL-BODY-COND.../dp/B000HCN530