Hot tubs can put MSers in the soup

  

Jumping in the Jacuzzi may sound appealing when muscles spasm and joints ache. Whiling away time in a steamy whirlpool can sound soothing.

 

 

  Lounging in a steamy hot tub may rejuvenate some folks, but it can utterly wipe out someone with MS.

 

Not so for anyone living with multiple sclerosis.

 The hot tub can be one of our worst enemies, when it comes to managing life with MS. It’s pretty much on par with a sit in the sauna, when it comes to triggering MS troubles.

 Heat is not our friend. (Actually, extreme temperatures in either direction can set off our symptoms.  But overheating is a big baddie for us.) 

 Is a sauna soothing for someone with MS? Not so much.

 Uhthoff’s Phenomenon (aka Uhthoff’s Sign) is a classic experience among MSers. When the body temperature goes up, our neurological symptoms generally increase too. That means a cozy dip in the hot tub can invite extra balance problems, blurred vision, confusion, dizziness, fatigue, numbness, pain, tingling, weakness, and other MS woes.

Once our bodies cool down again, some of those symptoms may subside, usually within 24 hours.

 Is it worth all that, just for a short jaunt in the jetted tub?

 

Related items:

• Autumn brings MS relief
• Heat intolerance - Facing MS symptoms from A to Z
• Remember hot showers? Not with MS.
• Remember when bathing didn’t make you blind?
• Thermostat wars and MS
• With MS, a hot flash may not be a hot flash at all.

 

 

Image/s:  Public domain photos, Pixabay

 

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