Doctors agree! Taking a warm or hot shower in winter: “Safe or dangerous?” Many people misunderstand.
The doctor answered in full: Is taking a warm bath in winter “good or not?” What time should you take a bath? What temperature should you set?
On a cold day, most people have the habit of taking a warm to hot bath because it not only warms the body but also helps to relax and reduce fatigue after a hard day’s work.
However, taking long hot showers can damage the skin’s natural protective barrier, causing dryness and irritation. This is confirmed by Dr. Trinidad Monteiro-Vilchez, a dermatologist working at the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada, Spain, who conducted a study in 2022.
Victoria Barbosa, MD, a dermatologist at the University of Chicago, added that taking long hot showers can also make the skin look dull or pale, so hot showers should be considered a treatment or therapy, not a daily routine.
Just as hot water affects the skin, hot water can also dry out the hair and cause it to fall out. Dr. Sayed, a dermatologist, plastic surgeon and hair transplant specialist at the Royal Lush clinic in New Delhi, India, explains that hot water strips the skin’s natural oils, leaving the scalp dry and irritated. It also damages the hair’s structure, which can make it more prone to breakage and hair loss.
Although there are many opinions that hot baths are good for your heart, the health website Boldsky recommends that people with existing heart problems. Such as high blood pressure, “should avoid” hot baths because the heat from the water can increase blood flow throughout the ยูฟ่าเบท body, which can make high blood pressure worse.
Dr. Alana Biggers from the University of Chicago Medicine says that while hot baths may have many health benefits, they also have hidden dangers. Therefore, the best advice is to take a warm bath at a temperature of 37-40 degrees Celsius. Which is the right temperature to help relax muscles, prevent colds, and also feel refreshed without drying the skin during the winter.
As Dr Amrutha Hosali Karjol, Consultant and Senior Dermatologist at Vrudhii Skin Centre and Surgery Clinic, affirms, “For health benefits such as improving blood circulation. You may consider ending your shower with cold water for 10-15 seconds to stimulate blood circulation without making you feel cold.”
However, it is not only necessary to be careful about the water temperature. But also pay attention to other things. Including how to behave after bathing in winter, to avoid health effects or even death.
You should not shower after 10 p.m.
The later it gets, the colder the air becomes. The temperature difference between the environment and your body increases. Therefore, for safety, you should take a shower before 8:00 p.m. Showering at night or early in the morning, because taking a shower too late at night can make patients with chronic respiratory problems, such as chronic bronchitis or asthma, have worse symptoms and increase the risk of stroke or heart attack.
You should not shower for too long.
The ideal time to shower is about 10 minutes, as showering for a long time can cause the skin to lose water, the body to become tired, and may cause insufficient blood flow to the heart, lack of oxygen, and constriction of blood vessels, which can lead to blood clots, abnormal heart rhythms, or even sudden death.
You should dry yourself immediately after bathing.
You should not let your body get damp. After getting out of the bathroom because at this time your body will be cold and may cause skin irritation. *You should also avoid using a hair dryer to dry your body because doing so will cause your skin to lose water and become dry and cracked. Therefore, you should maintain the habit of drying your body after bathing and choose to use a thick, soft towel to dry your body.
Avoid rapid temperature changes.
The temperature between the bathroom and outside should be controlled so that the difference is not too great, but should be within 2-3 degrees Celsius. No matter how you shower (shower, bathtub, sitting or standing), avoid rapid changes in body temperature. It is recommended that you start by touching the water part by part, starting with your feet, hands, back, head and torso (back and abdomen), and then gradually touch your entire body with water.