I Love My Hot Tub Everyone That Uses It Is Fine But My Wife Getts Itchy And Bumpy

[potpie]

I know there has been a few posts about itchy bumpy stuff.

I take a lot of pride in keeping my tub in tip top shape. I stay on top of the chems and are always within specks(aquacheck strips). I currently use bromine spa essentials, I shock once a week, more w heavy use, along with stain and scale. I keep ph in check which stays stable ,but after a water change takes a lot of decreaser! I use chlorine in summer and the itchy bumpy stuff still occurs with the wife but everyone else is fine. Any have any suggestions is there a better brand to use! I dump tub every 60 to 90days my tub is a sundance 880 so it has the microban filter. (I keep that clean too) She gets the bumps a few hoursafter soak and bugs her a few days? At first thought it was egsima but not sure. Ive got sensitive skin and so does my kids they have no prob my 3 year old tries to drink water while in tub so I am absolutly on top of keeping levels right?

[Whoneedsavacation]

She could be sensitive to the shock (MPS), that's a fairly common sensitivity. Bromine apparently bothers more people than chlorine, but if you switch in the summer that's probably not the culprit.

[JerimiahR]

potpie it sounds more like Folliculitis to me. This is commonly called "hot tub rash" and is created by growth of a bacteria in your spa (specifically Pseudomonas). This is a bacteria that lives on our skin, and is introduced into the spa as we sit in it and sweat. Unfortunately for us, a hot water environment is the perfect breeding ground for this bacteria. And, when we soak in hot water our skin pores and hair follicles open up, thus allowing the bacteria to insert itself.

Usually this is visually attested to by red bumps, which are irritating and itchy. This "rash" can last anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks. It's important that the infected person STAY OUT OF THE SPA until their rash is COMPLETELY gone, otherwise it will simply aggravate the condition, and help infect the spa further.

If this is what your wife has, then you may be due for a super sanitization of the spa. This would include draining your spa, soaking your filters in a Chlorine bath solution, and refilling.

If it's been recurring, she may also want to see a dermatologist (skin doctor) just to be sure. Although it's possible to have reactions to Chlorine or Bromine, I've found more often than not most skin irritations or rashes come from imbalances in the water (high pH/TA for instance), or bacteria/mold growths in the spa.

[botsjt1839]

I know there has been a few posts about itchy bumpy stuff.

I take a lot of pride in keeping my tub in tip top shape. I stay on top of the chems and are always within specks(aquacheck strips). I currently use bromine spa essentials, I shock once a week, more w heavy use, along with stain and scale. I keep ph in check which stays stable ,but after a water change takes a lot of decreaser! I use chlorine in summer and the itchy bumpy stuff still occurs with the wife but everyone else is fine. Any have any suggestions is there a better brand to use! I dump tub every 60 to 90days my tub is a sundance 880 so it has the microban filter. (I keep that clean too) She gets the bumps a few hoursafter soak and bugs her a few days? At first thought it was egsima but not sure. Ive got sensitive skin and so does my kids they have no prob my 3 year old tries to drink water while in tub so I am absolutly on top of keeping levels right?

I am experiencing the same issue with my skin. Guests, children or my wife are not impacted - the issue started a few months after owing the tub (the first few months were fine). For me the itching starts after I am out of the tub for about 6 hours. Over the past few months the condition has worsened (less time to take effect and increased intensity).

I was wondering if this was going on with your wife ever since you purchased the tub or did it start a while after?

I think I've narrowed it down to a chemical sensitivity (I beleive it is my cartridge cleaner). Do you use a cartridge cleaner - perhaps you should look at that.

Let me know and what you've tried.

Good luck!

[potpie]

I know there has been a few posts about itchy bumpy stuff.

I take a lot of pride in keeping my tub in tip top shape. I stay on top of the chems and are always within specks(aquacheck strips). I currently use bromine spa essentials, I shock once a week, more w heavy use, along with stain and scale. I keep ph in check which stays stable ,but after a water change takes a lot of decreaser! I use chlorine in summer and the itchy bumpy stuff still occurs with the wife but everyone else is fine. Any have any suggestions is there a better brand to use! I dump tub every 60 to 90days my tub is a sundance 880 so it has the microban filter. (I keep that clean too) She gets the bumps a few hoursafter soak and bugs her a few days? At first thought it was egsima but not sure. Ive got sensitive skin and so does my kids they have no prob my 3 year old tries to drink water while in tub so I am absolutly on top of keeping levels right?

I am experiencing the same issue with my skin. Guests, children or my wife are not impacted - the issue started a few months after owing the tub (the first few months were fine). For me the itching starts after I am out of the tub for about 6 hours. Over the past few months the condition has worsened (less time to take effect and increased intensity).

I was wondering if this was going on with your wife ever since you purchased the tub or did it start a while after?

I think I've narrowed it down to a chemical sensitivity (I beleive it is my cartridge cleaner). Do you use a cartridge cleaner - perhaps you should look at that.

Let me know and what you've tried.

Good luck!

Well, she went to the doctor and doctor said it was foliculitus , keep in mind no one else has this problem! He thinks it might be a combination of things, maybe irritants to the heat of the water, water jets and possibly chems. Foliculitus is in everyones skin and when exposed to the hot water it is released due to sweating, The doc suggested trying a lower temp, and to use eucerin lotion and to shower after soak. I switched to chlorine now to see what happens she is waiting till spring to go in again due to winter climate and dry skin can also be a trigger. Meanwhile my childeren and I go in tub every other day with no probs, I feel kinda bad and dont really know what else to try I thought about trying baqua spa or some other kind Ive seen at my hot tub dealer it is natural enzymes, its like 180 bucks and you put drops of this stuff in b4 u soak? If this continues in to summer I will send my wife to dermetoligst. Some people are more sensitive to things than others. Some people get itchy and bumpy just from the sun. this also happens to her when she is in sun all day in a tropical climate like mexico

[Dr. Spa]

Did the Dr actually do a culture?? If not, he guessed.

[potpie]

Did the Dr actually do a culture?? If not, he guessed.

Whith today's lovely health care he did not do a culture. I do hate our family clinic! Im almost to the point with health insurance Id rather go to the vet clinic! It is good to know that cultures can be done on that stuff probably not at my clinic there too lazy to get out the med school manual to remember how to do somthing like that. She will be going to a skin doc (dermetologist) next

[whodyawant]

Did the Dr actually do a culture?? If not, he guessed.

Whith today's lovely health care he did not do a culture. I do hate our family clinic! Im almost to the point with health insurance Id rather go to the vet clinic! It is good to know that cultures can be done on that stuff probably not at my clinic there too lazy to get out the med school manual to remember how to do somthing like that. She will be going to a skin doc (dermetologist) next

Give us an update. We have been going through the same problem. However, since my husband's last soak, his rash has remained for... well the last time he was in it was on January 16th. His rash appeared 3-4 days later. His rash has not cleared up and it has been over a month. He has not been to the doctor, he does not have dry skin or sensitive skin, but he has been using moisturizer to help it clear up... however, that does not seem to be working.

We are also using bromine and shocking with MPS. I am considering a decontamination, refill and switching to chlorine so I am trying to get little bits of information from people who are having the same problem. Any update would be appreciated.

[cofive]

We are also using bromine and shocking with MPS. I am considering a decontamination, refill and switching to chlorine so I am trying to get little bits of information from people who are having the same problem. Any update would be appreciated.

I am also going through a second round of a rash. It does not appear to be folliculitis, in that it isn't presenting as the typical "bug bite" breadout. This is definetly more of a rash. I had been using Enhanced Shock (2tsp) daily as instructed by my dealer in conjunction with the Nature 2. I was trying to maintain a minimal FC residual but based on use needed to increase the amount to try and maintain this. As the rash developed I assumed it may have been the MPS in the shock, but to test that I went to just an MPS treatment as the Nature 2 prescription calls for. It appears the rash has worsened with the increase of MPS. I've now stopped using the MPS and am using only dichlor to see what happens then. I will be doing a water change in the near future and going with strictly dichlor and maybe the dichlor/bleach routine if CYA becomes a problem.

I'm guessing a reaction/allergy to MPS is a real possibliity especially if you try to maintain a residual as the N2 program suggests. Anyone else have any info on sensitivity to MPS?

Ken

[Mona_canada]

If you are using Spa Essentials, your Guardex dealer should have access a product called Spa Synergy. Most people that use it end up with no problems. It is a chlorine based product.

[BlueSpa]

We are also using bromine and shocking with MPS. I am considering a decontamination, refill and switching to chlorine so I am trying to get little bits of information from people who are having the same problem. Any update would be appreciated.

I am also going through a second round of a rash. It does not appear to be folliculitis, in that it isn't presenting as the typical "bug bite" breadout. This is definetly more of a rash. I had been using Enhanced Shock (2tsp) daily as instructed by my dealer in conjunction with the Nature 2. I'm guessing a reaction/allergy to MPS is a real possibliity especially if you try to maintain a residual as the N2 program suggests. Anyone else have any info on sensitivity to MPS?

As one that has experienced both of these rashes, I agree that it probably isn't Pseudomonas Folliculitis. The Pseudomonas itch produced larger, about 5mm or so, and very red bumps which for me were both itchy and sore and lasted for 7 to 10 days.

This other itch (which is actually why I'm not out tubbing tonight) I think may be caused by the MPS as I'd been using it both as an oxidizer and to lower the pH. This itch is more of an aggravation with small, 1mm bumps, that seem to get really super itchy when rubbed by clothing but the bumps themselves aren't that red looking, sort of like little poison ivy bumps. They also stop itching and clear up fairly quickly, in a couple days if I'm not tubbing. I've tried moisturizer thinking it was dry skin affected by the jets, but that doesn't help much and I've had the mini-itch occur even when I'm not using the jets.

We've always used Chlorine and the Pseudomonas was in our first week of new spa ownership when we weren't using enough Chlorine, the water became slightly cloudy, and yours truly developed folliculitis! I've since starting using unbuffered MPS both as an oxidizer after tubbing and to keep our pH rise in check and even though I'm only adding less than 0.25 oz after each soak I think there's something that the MPS contributes which is building up in the water. After two refills I've noticed that the itch seems to worsen as the water gets older. I'd read a post from someone here that the N2 cartridges help reduce the MPS sensitivity, so I've tried that with our most recent refill but it hasn't eliminated the mini-itch problem. (We have an ozonator, keep the FC levels at 1ppm or greater, have the N2 cartridge, and our tub is 700 gal).

Hope this helps - guess I'll try the Gentle Spa borates and see if I can find some unbuffered Dichlor which may help to offset our pH rise, and only use the MPS as weekly shock.

Good luck!

[cofive]

We are also using bromine and shocking with MPS. I am considering a decontamination, refill and switching to chlorine so I am trying to get little bits of information from people who are having the same problem. Any update would be appreciated.

I am also going through a second round of a rash. It does not appear to be folliculitis, in that it isn't presenting as the typical "bug bite" breadout. This is definetly more of a rash. I had been using Enhanced Shock (2tsp) daily as instructed by my dealer in conjunction with the Nature 2. I'm guessing a reaction/allergy to MPS is a real possibliity especially if you try to maintain a residual as the N2 program suggests. Anyone else have any info on sensitivity to MPS?

As one that has experienced both of these rashes, I agree that it probably isn't Pseudomonas Folliculitis. The Pseudomonas itch produced larger, about 5mm or so, and very red bumps which for me were both itchy and sore and lasted for 7 to 10 days.

This other itch (which is actually why I'm not out tubbing tonight) I think may be caused by the MPS as I'd been using it both as an oxidizer and to lower the pH. This itch is more of an aggravation with small, 1mm bumps, that seem to get really super itchy when rubbed by clothing but the bumps themselves aren't that red looking, sort of like little poison ivy bumps. They also stop itching and clear up fairly quickly, in a couple days if I'm not tubbing. I've tried moisturizer thinking it was dry skin affected by the jets, but that doesn't help much and I've had the mini-itch occur even when I'm not using the jets.

We've always used Chlorine and the Pseudomonas was in our first week of new spa ownership when we weren't using enough Chlorine, the water became slightly cloudy, and yours truly developed folliculitis! I've since starting using unbuffered MPS both as an oxidizer after tubbing and to keep our pH rise in check and even though I'm only adding less than 0.25 oz after each soak I think there's something that the MPS contributes which is building up in the water. After two refills I've noticed that the itch seems to worsen as the water gets older. I'd read a post from someone here that the N2 cartridges help reduce the MPS sensitivity, so I've tried that with our most recent refill but it hasn't eliminated the mini-itch problem. (We have an ozonator, keep the FC levels at 1ppm or greater, have the N2 cartridge, and our tub is 700 gal).

Hope this helps - guess I'll try the Gentle Spa borates and see if I can find some unbuffered Dichlor which may help to offset our pH rise, and only use the MPS as weekly shock.

Good luck!

Wow, definetly talking about the same symptoms. I'm going to try and avoid the MPS altogether for a bit and just stick with dichlor. If I have to shock I'm planning on using a "pure" MPS, since it is not clear what the Enhanced Shock has the "other ingredients". I to noticed that the itch got worse as the water aged and attributed it to some sort of buildup. There was a reference to MPS creating a particular acid, I'm betting that that may be the culprit. Like I said will stick with strictly dichlor even for shock if needed.

Ken

[BlueSpa]

Wow, definetly talking about the same symptoms. I'm going to try and avoid the MPS altogether for a bit and just stick with dichlor. If I have to shock I'm planning on using a "pure" MPS, since it is not clear what the Enhanced Shock has the "other ingredients". I to noticed that the itch got worse as the water aged and attributed it to some sort of buildup. There was a reference to MPS creating a particular acid, I'm betting that that may be the culprit. Like I said will stick with strictly dichlor even for shock if needed.

Ken

One thing to watch when using Dichlor is your Cyanuric acid (CYA) levels will rise. Others on this list have more experience than I do and there are lots of great posts on the pros and cons of each method of sanitization.

Just remember that for every 10ppm of Chlorine you're also adding 9ppm of CYA. This Cyanuric acid will stay in the water until you dump and levels over 20-30 ppm will reduce the effectiveness of the Chlorine so most folks switch to another sanitization method once there's about 20ppm CYA in the water.

For us, our well water has no Calcium so after a refill I add some Calcium Chloride to get the level at the low side of OK, then switch to Calcium Hypochlorite as our sanitizer once we have enough CYA in the water. But of course it's not that simple because although the CalHypo does not add any CYA, it raises the pH and we have problems with pH rise too. Once our Calcium gets up there I was thinking about trying Lithium Hypochlorite as a sanitizer, will still raise the pH but adds no CYA or Calcium. Many on the list use regular bleach with good results.

As many recommend, the Taylor test kit is great. You'll quickly find that their Watergram water balance calculator wheel will be invaluable in calculating the Saturation Index, making it easy to see the effect as the pH, TA, CH, and water temperature of your water change. Someone just needs to figure out how to add sanitizer to the wheel!!

[potpie]

I think we have solved the problem!!! MY wifes cholestorol meds caused all the problems!! She decided to stop taking them and now she is fine no itch no red no problems I dont recomend anyone to stop using a certain med but in this case her meds made her skin go wacko in hot water! I guess keep this in mind if anyone is having problems that some meds can make u sensitive to sun, heat and other things. I belive she was sweating out somthng from the med and itchy itch itch would happen, Med she was on was simistatin (spelling may be wrong) also nicacin vitamin too (doc said these could give her hot flashes too)

[bart6453]

now that is one heck of a twist......good to know you didnt have an infected tub!

[cofive]

I think we have solved the problem!!! MY wifes cholestorol meds caused all the problems!! She decided to stop taking them and now she is fine no itch no red no problems I dont recomend anyone to stop using a certain med but in this case her meds made her skin go wacko in hot water! I guess keep this in mind if anyone is having problems that some meds can make u sensitive to sun, heat and other things. I belive she was sweating out somthng from the med and itchy itch itch would happen, Med she was on was simistatin (spelling may be wrong) also nicacin vitamin too (doc said these could give her hot flashes too)

I read your post and about fell over. I too am on simvastatin as was suffering from a very itchy rash on my lower legs and sometimes the sides of my abdomen. I first thought it was an allergy to MPS, stopped using it. Then maybe chlorine, doubted that, but lowered my FC levels anyway, no help. Then I read your post, held off on my meds for the last four days and wow, the rash and/or itchiness has subsided. The rash part was minor, but the itch at times was insane. I even thought it was severe dry skin, but constant moisturizing didn't help. Has her doctor prescribed a different med? I'm heading to mine this week to see if I can try another. I am still going to give it a few more days to make my final conclusion, but what a difference so far.

Ken

[potpie]

I think we have solved the problem!!! MY wifes cholestorol meds caused all the problems!! She decided to stop taking them and now she is fine no itch no red no problems I dont recomend anyone to stop using a certain med but in this case her meds made her skin go wacko in hot water! I guess keep this in mind if anyone is having problems that some meds can make u sensitive to sun, heat and other things. I belive she was sweating out somthng from the med and itchy itch itch would happen, Med she was on was simistatin (spelling may be wrong) also nicacin vitamin too (doc said these could give her hot flashes too)

I read your post and about fell over. I too am on simvastatin as was suffering from a very itchy rash on my lower legs and sometimes the sides of my abdomen. I first thought it was an allergy to MPS, stopped using it. Then maybe chlorine, doubted that, but lowered my FC levels anyway, no help. Then I read your post, held off on my meds for the last four days and wow, the rash and/or itchiness has subsided. The rash part was minor, but the itch at times was insane. I even thought it was severe dry skin, but constant moisturizing didn't help. Has her doctor prescribed a different med? I'm heading to mine this week to see if I can try another. I am still going to give it a few more days to make my final conclusion, but what a difference so far.

Ken

She still hasnt made a final conclusion either, Right now she has virtually no side affects from our hot tub. got a tad of a itch under arms the other nite but NOTHIN compared to what it was a few months ago. I coulda swore she had the chicken pox after she got out ! THat medication also gave her hot flashes every now and then (turned bright red and all) She is gona go back to doc to get checked to even see if she needs any colestorol meds I don know there is a lot of medication out there that will make U senstive to sun ect... I guess people should keep that in mind with hot water too!! Personally I am so very happy she can go back in the hot tub. Our whole family enjoys it so much This is a great forum with very helpfull people

thank you all!

[Pool-newb]

Wow - just read the whole thread, very amazing stuff and thanks to everyone for discussing this.

My wife also has had sun allergy problems, and she recently got a slight case of small red bumps mainly on her chest after our pool was either too highly chlorinated or it just had not completely recovered from a recent algae attack.

We have since both been in the pool again and no problems, but it is very interesting to know that the cholesterol lowering meds can be the main source of something like this. (My wife is not on any medication).

I would sure like to see more "home research" on this. I think if it were me suffering from this I would start doing some blind testing and recording various things to see what if anything can be identified that exacerbates it.

I would have my wife mix two buckets of water, labeled "A" and "B". One would always contain pure warm water, and the other would contain a somewhat higher concentration of a suspected agent that is used in the tub. With my wife out of the room (and both of us respectively tracking what went into which bucket) I would then dip my arms up to above the elbows, one arm in each bucket, and see if that created any effect.

As the suspected agent I would one by one try everything that got into the pool.

Maybe it's just the heat? Maybe it's any sanitizer? Maybe too much or too little calcium? Lots of things to try there.