Hot tub safety

[smoothsteve]

hi, my girl and i are thinking about getting involved in swinging. from what we've learned so far, it seems that a lot of good times can come in a jacuzzi. we care about safety and have some questions about being in a jacuzzi:

1. if you're in one and just sitting there while others are fucking and cumming, can their semen infect u in any way?

2. how about lice? can they be transferred to others in water?

3. if i'm sitting in the jacuzzi, and a girl sits on top of me. my dick is not inserted in her in any way, but there is contact between her ass/pussy and my cock. can anything be transferred here? would the answer be different if i had shorts on?


this is all assuming that people in the jacuzzi are carrying some sort of disease/infection, of course.

my girlfriend and i are attracted to hot tubs, but also want to be safe. i know these questions may seem dumb, but please answer them. basically, what we what to know is if theres any chance we can get anything while in the jacuzzi [but not having sex]?

Thank You.

[Alura]

I don't think it's very likely, smoothsteve. Part of the maintenance of hot tubs is the chemical balance. Some folks use chlorine to kill germs, just like in a swimming pool or your drinking water. We like bromine because it feels better and, as the clerk at the spa store said, "Well, y'know, things sort of slide better." We were sold because "things" don't slide well at all with chlorine. (Bromine is more expensive, but worth it.)

It's necessary to test the water and make sure there is enough of your choice of chemical to keep the tub sanitary. As long as the spa is properly maintained, there is no problem.

Mr. Alura

[Brit_Pair]

Safe in a jacuzzi?

So long as everyone is wearing an appropriate floatation aid, you should all be fine.

[HornyCouple]

My understanding is that most viruses die when becoming airborne and/or into a lower temperature environment. However, in a jacuzzi the temperature is obviously at or above body temperature and do not become airborne. I do not use chlorine either but do the other chemicals kill viruses/whatever? I thought I had heard at one time that jacuzzi could be a easier medium to transfer viruses because of the temperature. I hope I am wrong

[Alura]

Originally posted by HornyCouple
However, in a jacuzzi the temperature is obviously at or above body temperature and do not become airborne. I do not use chlorine either but do the other chemicals kill viruses/whatever?

I asked at our pool and spa store and was told that Bromine (for the spa) and Baquacil (for the pool) are just as effective as chlorine at killing bacteria and viruses. I surely hope they aren't lying to me; that's why I'm using chemicals.

Mr. Alura

[boitoy]

Do people using jacuzzis ever come in with shorts/bottoms on? Or it always/usually totally nude?

Wonder if having shorts on would help prevent anything???

[Alura]

Only once did we get into the spa with swim suits on, boitoy, when the kids weren't here. They didn't stay on long.

I suppose wearing shorts would stop you from inserting your penis in a woman, so from that standpoint, I suppose shorts would help. If, however, she has an STD, my advice is to not get in the spa with her.

Normally speaking, if the spa is properly maintained, the water chemicals properly adjusted, and you don't have intercourse, there should be no problem catching anything. But if that's the case, why get into the spa with her?

Mr. Alura

[smoothsteve]

Originally posted by Alura
If, however, she has an STD, my advice is to not get in the spa with her.
Mr. Alura

well i guess when the tubs' packed with people thats hard to do and is never done. i guess all of swinging in general is taking a risk.

[Alura]

Originally posted by smoothsteve
well i guess when the tubs' packed with people thats hard to do and is never done. i guess all of swinging in general is taking a risk.

We have to live with that if we want to swing, Steve. Still, I think swinging is less risky if you reduce the risks through the choice of partners. But you're right, that risk can never be eliminated no matter how careful you are.

Mr. Alura

[Elusive BiFem]

Just an informational comment here - nothing specific to the jaccuzi...

While standing in line at the grocery tonight, I was reading a magazine article about a study on herpes done in an "affluent neighborhood." 25% of the people tested positive for herpes, yet only 4% were aware they had it. This physician went on to say that irritations that many of us attribute to wearing too tight jeans, ingrown hairs, jock itch (?)...is actually the herpes virus. Just think...that is one out of every four people!

As for the jaccuzi...I'm like others and would think the chemicals would kill most things...assuming the levels are properly maintained. And no, I honestly don't believe having shorts on in a pool/jaccuzi is going to be of any benefit other than as stated by Mr. Alura. But what is the difference in this, safety wise, and going to your apartment pool, club pool, hotel pool?

- EBF

Edit: spelling errors....

[wrnakedru]

EBF, I am not doubting your word but I am having a problem with this portion:

I was reading a magazine article about a study on herpes done in an "affluent neighborhood." 25% of the people tested positive for herpes, yet only 4% were aware they had it."

Wouldn't you think one of us - either you or I - would remember if a test like this had been done in one or both of our respective neighborhoods? And I don't understand how did that many ignorant folks become affluent?

Seriously though, I have a relative who has had Herpes for about 30 years - and he certainly has always been aware that he had it, exception being perhaps the first outbreak. But he did seek medical care to confirm his suspicion.

I don't know any others that have Herpes, but my relative has told me that his outward sign has always been in exactly the same place, that he has a nerve-tingly feeling in that location several days in advance of the manifestation, so he knows when he is most liable to be "contagious". And he tells me that as he has gotten older, the frequency has decreased to the point that he not had an active showing for several years.

He has had a hot tub for years, and is in a monogamous marriage. He has always used protection for his mate when he has been active and she has never shown active sign of it being shared with her.

By the way, they use a bromine/chlorine combination in their hot tub. They do have friends who share it with them from time to time and none have ever become infected.

Mr. Alura, I believe your choice of chemical use for your pool and hot tub are the correct choices. Bromine is more stable in high temperature water and is therefore recommended for spas, while chlorine seems to hold better for pools. Very few pool/spa chemicals are only one chemical, most are a combination of these two chemicals in various percentages. The reason for the combination is the more effective results in killing algae, bacteria and viruses.

[Elusive BiFem]

Originally posted by wrnakedru
EBF, I am not doubting your word but I am having a problem with this portion:

Wouldn't you think one of us - either you or I - would remember if a test like this had been done in one or both of our respective neighborhoods? And I don't understand how did that many ignorant folks become affluent?

Beats me! We must not of been home that day! But I tell you what...if ignorant has anything to do with being affluent...I must be really, really affluent and just don't know it. Be right back...calling the bank! They need to know I really have some money in there.

But seriously...those numbers correspond with other numbers I've read...the 25% stuff. This was in the Oprah Magazine. And we all know Oprah tells the truth. (And by the way...that's my payback to the stores for making me wait in line. I read all the magazines. I've even been known to let others go on ahead of me while I finish something. Makes me feel better... )

- EBF

[wrnakedru]

I do suppose if "ig-nerts" were ingots, we'd be living in the neighborhood called Easy Street - you are right!

But as to the 25% number [with only 4% knowing it]; I need to call upon your medical knowledge on this one. 'Cause it just has me baffled - as to the HOW.

Am I supposed to make the leap in my wizened brain that the infected 21% clueless ones are female? I am not being facetious here - this is a real question, I promise. Seriously.

[I am attempting to have some discrete type decorum here and refrain from getting too graphic, ya know? But I think you can get the gist of the question... ]

[mrbandsatl]

Not sure how you make the leap to females on that.

We have several friends with herpes and can tell you that not everyone experiences the virus the same way. The only male we know with it carried it for 15 years and only found it during a blod screening for another health matter.

One of the females experiences regular episodes that are quite uncomfortable and the other would'nt know she had it if she hadn't been told by her old boyfriend and confirmed it with the doc.

B+S

[Elusive BiFem]

Originally posted by wrnakedru
[I am attempting to have some discrete type decorum here and refrain from getting too graphic, ya know? But I think you can get the gist of the question... ]

No I can't. Explain it to me in detail. Explicit detail. Right here. You know how I am.

OK, OK...I'm only reporting what I read. Some doctor headed up a study in this "affluent neighborhood" with results as stated. It wasn't a big article or anything...just one of those things of interests inserted along with 2-3 others on a page about health and such. Now I suppose, if necessary, I can find this doc and get the actual research study results...of course, I'd have to call Oprah and harass her...but I can do that if you really, really want me to.

They listed several things as noted...people thinking any discomfort was from wearing too-tight jeans, jock itch, ingrown hairs...and a couple of others I don't recall but routine types of things that we all have from time to time. The write-up didn't address the differences in males/females, but since jock itch was mentioned, I assume the results incorporated both sexes. Females don't get jock itch, do they? Or am I learning something new here?

But seriously...I can understand how someone might have an outbreak and not recognize it for what it is...and especially if they have reason to suspect something else might be going on. Say for example a woman has had a history of those Bartholin gland cysts or abscesses...and at some point she feels pain and irritation in her perineal area? She might well assume this pain is the same type of pain. And, yes, while most get a tingling sensation prior to the actual outbreak, you must remember that not EVERYONE does. The herpes virus affects the nerves and when the nerves are injured or sick...hence the "tingling" sensation. Good Article to Read
So say maybe a woman has had nerve damage during childbirth...maybe she doesn't have that sensation. Think of carpal tunnel...the tingling people get from that is actually the nerve injury. And some, if the "injury" is prolonged, remain with a certain amount of numbness for varying lengths of time...maybe permanently. The nerve is still THERE...just not transmitting impulses normally.

I'm not an authority on herpes, but it seems the same physiology and theory would apply since it affects the nerves. And I thought I had taught you better...there is always more there than initially meets the eye. Research, research, research.....- EBF