Hot Tubs and UTIs: What You Need to Know

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common condition caused by bacteria (see below) entering the urinary system - typically the bladder and urethra.

Symptoms include:

• Burning sensation during urination
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Cloudy or strong-smelling urine
• Pelvic or lower abdominal pain

Women are more susceptible due to their shorter urethras, which allow bacteria quicker access to the bladder.

Hot Tubs Do Not Cause UTIs: They Do Not Create Bacteria – It is Always Introduced by an Outside Source.

🌡️ How Hot Tubs May Contribute to UTIs

• Harsh Oxidizing Chemicals (Chlorine, Bromine, and Shock) Attack and destroy the natural protective barriers of the urinary tract (enzymes, mucous, body oils).
• Toxic Chemicals (Chlorine, Bromine, and Biguanide) Weaken Your Immune System, which lowers your natural defenses and increases susceptibility to bacterial infection.
• High Temperatures can dry the skin and soft tissue and exacerbate existing UTIs.
• Bathing with Others: Your companions may be the source of the bacteria, and the rapidly circulating water can spread the infectious problem to all the occupants.
• Sensitive skin or existing conditions: Individuals with sensitive skin or a history of UTIs may be more susceptible.

✅ Prevention Tips

To enjoy your hydrotherapy spa safely:

• Stay hydrated: Drinking water helps flush out bacteria from the urinary tract. We recommend structured water or, at a minimum, carbon-filtered, purified drinking water. Do not drink water from soft plastic bottles as all water tested from plastic bottles contained forever chemicals.
• Urinate frequently to flush out bacteria
• Avoid hot tubs if you have a current UTI
• Bath alone or with family members – avoid public waters
• Ensure the water in the tub is clean and clear
• Do not use the tub while harsh oxidizers or toxic chemicals are in high concentrations.

People have been soaking in natural hot mineral springs for generations to get therapy and relief from any number of ailments, and to detoxify and relax. You can use Natural Spa and Mineral Spa products in your hot tub to keep your water clean and healthy.

🩺 When to Seek Help

If you experience symptoms like burning urination, fever, or pelvic pain after hot tub use, consult a healthcare provider. Early treatment can prevent complications.

False/Unfounded, yet Common Advice on How to Safely Use Your Hot Tub

• Advice: Always check that the hot tub is regularly cleaned and properly chlorinated.
• Fact: Chlorine contributes to UTIs by drying the skin, destroying the bodies’ natural defenses and weakening the immune system. Constant testing is a pain! Clarification and oxidation are the keys to cleanliness and sanitation.
• Advice: Limit time in the water to 15 minutes: Avoid staying in the hot tub for long periods.
• Fact: You should be able to spend as much time as you wish in clean, comfortable water. People spend hours in natural mineral pools and volcanic hot springs. If you use Chlorine, Bromine or Biguanides you should limit your soak time to 15 minutes.
• Advice: Shower before and after: Rinsing off can help reduce the risk of bacterial transfer.
• Fact: Showering before and after bathing in clean, healthy water is simply a waste of time and water. If you use Bromine, Chlorine or Biguanides you should shower after use.
• Advice: Proper Sanitizer Levels: Sanitizers kill harmful bacteria and insure clean, healthy water.
• Fact: Sanitizers are poisons that “burn” your skin, weaken your immune system, irritate and damage the lungs, eyes and mucous membranes. Bromine is a neurotoxin. Chlorine creates cancer suspect compounds. Biguanides irritate the lungs and soft tissues. A high quality clarifier and adequate oxidation gives you clean, clear, healthy water.

Final Thoughts

Hot tubs can be a great way to relax, but it's important to be mindful of hygiene and personal health. With a few precautions, you should enjoy your soak without worrying about a UTI.

About 150 million people develop a urinary tract infection in a given year. They are more common in women than men, but similar between anatomies while carrying indwelling catheters. In women, they are the most common form of bacterial infection. Up to 10% of women have a urinary tract infection in a given year, and half of women have at least one infection at some point in their lifetime. They occur most frequently between the ages of 16 and 35 years.  Recurrences are common, with nearly half of people getting a second infection within a year. Urinary tract infections occur four times more frequently in females than in males. Rates of asymptomatic bacteria in the urine increase with age from two to seven percent in women of childbearing age to as high as 50% in elderly women in care homes.

While hot tubs themselves don't directly cause UTIs, they can create an environment that allows for exposure. Warm, moist environments are ideal for bacteria to thrive, and if a hot tub isn't properly maintained, harmful bacteria can enter the urinary tract, especially in women.

Bacterial Reference (Wikipedia)

Uropathogenic E. coli from the gut is the cause of 80–85% of community-acquired urinary tract infections, with Staphylococcus saprophyticus being the cause in 5–10%. Rarely, they may be due to viral or fungal infections. Healthcare-associated urinary tract infections (mostly related to urinary catheterization) involve a much broader range of pathogens including: E. coli (27%), Klebsiella (11%), Pseudomonas (11%), the fungal pathogen Candida albicans (9%), and Enterococcus (7%), among others. During recent years of intensive care, Enterococcus spp. have several times been found as the primary cause of urinary tract infection, suggesting a relationship to broad treatment with cephalosporin antibiotics against which they are tolerant. Urinary tract infections due to Staphylococcus aureus typically occur secondary to blood-borne infections.

With treatment, symptoms generally improve within 36 hours. Up to 42% of uncomplicated infections may resolve on their own within a few days or weeks.

An Unfortunate Case History posted online:

• When I was a child, I had recurrent UTIs, and they never did any tests, and just gave me antibiotics. They ended up having to remove the left kidney. I kept having recurrent UTIs after removing the kidney (and the doctors who operated on me kept denying anything was wrong). It was 3 years later that one doctor saw on the exams that they took me 3 years ago that I had urinary reflux (basically, urine coming back to the kidney recurrently). He operated on me, and I never had any more problems. But I was left with one kidney with decreased function and a serious mistrust of doctors. © J7373adams / Reddit