Showering With Very Hot Water Can Be Dangerous To Health
In winter times it is common for us to want to get home to take a hot shower. We may also be one of those who take a bath as soon as we get up in the morning to start the day. Well, today we know that showering with very hot water can be dangerous to health, even if it is comforting.
Water at high temperatures has the ability to generate certain internal processes in the body that could have negative effects. In addition, being a common practice in cold seasons, there may be sudden changes in temperature, for example, when leaving the house.
Thermal shock is one of the explanations why showering with very hot water becomes dangerous to health. When the body temperature rises with the bath, and then the same body finds itself with low degrees outside, physiological parameters change.
For this reason, hot showers are associated with low blood pressure, vasodilation, and reduced blood supply to the brain and heart. Vasodilation reduces blood flow to the brain, and that could lead to fainting.
Although thinking of a very hot water heart attack is rare, it cannot be ruled out either. The same vasodilation puts the heart in a state of overstrain which, in people with a history of cardiovascular disease, can result in stress on the heart muscle.
Negative effects of very hot water
Showering with very hot water can be dangerous to your health in several respects, but some are more frequent than others. These are the most common negative effects:
- Dandruff generation: hot water on the head favors colonization by the human dandruff fungus.
- Hair loss: very hot showers increase the rate of hair loss in men and women, due to damage to the hair follicle.
- Color change : both skin and hair may have a slight color change due to constant contact with very hot water.
- Dermatitis: In children with dermatitis, exposure to high temperatures during bathing worsens symptoms. Frequent bathing in itself tends to exacerbate childhood dermatitis, and much more if the temperature is not warm.
- Increased sebum production: the body’s sebaceous glands react to hot water, producing more fat than normal. In people with acne that means a risk factor.
- Digestive disorders: vasodilation brings blood to peripheral areas of the body, removing it from central areas. If we have eaten, and immediately shower, digestion will be slower.
With hot water or cold water?
The eternal debate between showering with cold water or with hot water is historical. For the scientific community as well, and studies have been carried out seeking to define which is the most beneficial modality.
Some of the studies found that showering in very cold water was associated with a one-third lower chance of catching a cold. This was attributed to the metabolic change in temperature over the body.
It is understood that, by using cold water, we are sending signals to the body to accelerate the heat generation processes. These processes need energy to establish themselves, and that energy comes from the kilocalories that are used.
This does not mean that a bath with cold water will make you lose weight, but it will contribute to the metabolic process. So, starting from this is that it is believed that showers with very hot water can be dangerous to health.
However, there is a climatic factor that we cannot control. In winter it is almost impossible to go through a freezing shower.
What is the ideal temperature for showering?
Understanding that the midpoint is the point of balance, the recommendation is to bathe with lukewarm or lukewarm water. By this we mean about thirty degrees Celsius.
It is also not beneficial to shower too often and for long periods of time. As long as the water is more than twenty-five degrees Celsius and less than thirty-five it will be enough to protect us.
A 2016 investigation postulated that the ideal shower ended with a cold water blast. This icy finish would ensure greater resistance to respiratory infections.
Anyway, what should be clear is that showering with very hot water is detrimental to your health. We will not be measuring the exact temperature of our baths every day, but it will be enough to feel that the water is warm. Regarding the hit of ice water, it will be to everyone’s taste.
