How Dangerous Is The Hot Tub?

It’s relaxing. Calming. It is enjoyable no matter what the weather, and it’s a water-based activity, perfect for Florida. We’re talking about hot tubs. When we think of water safety, we usually think of pools or the beach—we rarely give thought to safety in a hot tub. But hot tubs can present their fair share of dangers, and it isn’t unusual to be sickened or injured while in a hot tub.

Who Controls the Hot Tub?

One thing that makes hot tubs more dangerous than, say, our pools, is control: although many Florida homes have pools, and thus, owners can control safety measures or cleanliness, when it comes to hot tubs, we often are using community tubs, such as in an association or in a hotel or resort area. That means we have no control over or knowledge about how that hit tub is controlled or maintained.

Overheating

One thing that makes hot tubs dangerous, is the very thing that gives them their allure: their heat. In the wetness of a hot tub, you may be completely unaware how much your body is heating up.

Many hot tubs have warnings about staying in the heat for too long, but those signs often go ignored. You can easily overheat, without even being aware of it, the way you would be if you were sweating out of the water.

Disease and Bacteria

The heat is also a draw for another kind of danger: bacteria, and microbial dangers. Bacteria does quite well in the humid, moist climate in and around a hot tub. And no, the smell of chlorine isn’t protection, the way it is in a pool, because the heat of the tub tends to break down, or minimize the effectiveness of, chlorine.

Many diseases, such as Legionnaires disease, can even live in the small droplets that pop from hot tub bubbles, and can spread through the air immediately above a hot tub. Additionally, infections such as those of the urinary tract are common.

Drains and Drowning

Although many modern hot tubs have protections that seal the drains inside of them, many don’t, as many owners don’t realize this kind of danger even exists in a hot tub, the way it does in a pool. Drains are of particular danger in hot tubs. Because hot tubs are shallow, more of our body comes into contact with the sides and bottoms of the hot tub than they would in a traditional pool. Just like in a pool, suction of those drains can be enough to keep someone—especially a young child—underwater, without the ability to break free.

Some drains are so powerful, they can, and have, disemboweled people, especially young kids who may find it fun to try and “sit” on the bottom of a hot tub (which, even without a drain, is a dangerous thing to do).

Have you been injured in a pool or a hot tub? Contact the Miami personal injury attorneys at Velasquez & Associates P.A. today.

Sources:

mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/legionnaires-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20351747#:~:text=Legionnaires’%20disease%20is%20a%20severe,bacteria%20from%20water%20or%20soil.

phta.org/safety/public-safety/entrapment-protection/