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Showers are very bad for me

Messages
12
Location
Madrid, Spain
Hello all!

Im newbie here. I am 30 years old, spanish male. Sorry my english i will do my best :)

Everytime i have a shower i feel this symptoms:

- Diarrea in the next 24 hours
- I feel very warm in the next 24 hours, sweating A LOT, feeling my body very warm
- So i cannot sleep, i usually can sleep 8 hours, night after shower i only can sleep 4-5 hours.
- Intestinal mucosa-mucous VERY irritated
- The feeling is that my body cant find the correct body temperature.

I have tried:

- Different types of water, without chlorine, without minerals, bottled water, etc.
- Ecologic shamphoos/gels
- Shower of only 3-4 minutes, with cold water, very cold water,
moderate water, hot water, everything... I tried everyting.
- In ther morning, in the night.

Everyone experienced this kind of symptons? Any ideas? I feel really lost.

I asked many medics without a response. Only a "maybe could be adrenal fatigue" . Every day i sweat a lot, just a bit of stress, of a hot day and i sweat a lot!

Thanks for everything. I like a lot this forum, a spanish CFS guy told me about it :)

Regards
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
Hi Crus,

Welcome to the forum. Your English is better than my Spanish!

I have body temperature problems after showering and using a bath. The shower is much, worse and I can faint in one. I only take baths now.

I was originally told by my ME doctor that the shower problem was due to Postural Hypo-tension. When I stand normally I have blood pressure and heart rate problems, the shower makes this much worse (hence the fainting).
 
Messages
12
Location
Madrid, Spain
Hello!

What sypmtoms post-shower do you have? In my case i never had any fainting.

I will try baths! Do you take any suplements to keep the body temperature?


I found Paracetamol 650mg its nice to avoid temperature shocks, but its Paracetamol. Im having very bad days in Summer, cause where i lives the temperature at day its about 35-38 nights its 20-25. Its a Hell.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
From what you've said im trying to figure out exactly what it is about the shower which is affecting you.

Is it just the standing??? If so standing anywhere would give you the same symptoms. Does it?? eg if you are just standing in a shopping queue for the same length of time as your cold/cooler showers, do you find it has the same bad affect??

If shopping queue standing on a quite warm day dont cause the same amount of issues.. and you are showering in cool water .. i'd start to wonder if the issue is something to do with your bathroom itself. eg mold issue somewhere in bathroom?? Have you tried showering in other places and if so do you get the same thing happening?

You need to work out if its a standing issue... or an issue with that bathroom itself eg mold in that environment .

. Also make sure it isnt an issue from perfumed soap and multiple chemical sensitivity due to that. Make sure ALL the things you are using there are unperfumed and natural to rule that out.. (even perfumed soaps just being in the bathroom even if you arent using them, could be affecting you)
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
Postural othostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is an autonomic nervous system dysfunction which can affect the peristalsis of your bowels so can give irritable bowel syndrome and also cause sweating (excess sweating or no sweating issues).

If your issue is from the standing itself.. it could be POTS.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Postural othostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is an autonomic nervous system dysfunction which can affect the peristalsis of your bowels so can give irritable bowel syndrome and also cause sweating (excess sweating or no sweating issues).

If your issue is from the standing itself.. it could be POTS.

POTS is also worse in the heat - so the hotter the shower, the worse I would expect your symptoms to be. Does the heat of the water make any difference at all?

I use a shower seat to take a shower and spend most of the shower sitting down (it's a special board that rests across the top of the bath). I only stand up to get wet at the beginning and to rinse myself off at the end. I then sit on the board to dry myself with a towel.
 
Messages
36
Location
NY
I have no idea what it is, but Ive had instances where Ive blacked out in the shower before- and the past year or so every time Ive showered, I immediately have to go to the bathroom. I also sweat in the shower. To stop sweating I started lowering the temperature gradually throughout the shower. (I have a habit of taking long showers due to my long hair) before I get out I stand in lukewarm/cold water and I feel a lot better.
 

Min

Guest
Messages
1,387
Location
UK
Maybe the trouble is mould etc. your shower-head. Remove it regularly and soak overnight it in half hot water, half white vinegar. Make sure that there is no mould anywhere in the bathroom.


You could also try sitting on a shower chair or bath board when showering.


Hope you find an answer to this.
 
Messages
12
Location
Madrid, Spain
Thanks all for the replies, i really estimate it.

Yesterday i had a bath with lukewarm water and i was fine, sit all the time, it looked nice for me: i leave the bath and after 20-30 minutes i feel the same: Mucosa irritated, its like the blood its burning across my veins and my body overheating. Theres something important, i feel that after the shower my defenses are activated, like fighting something.

I tried taking paracetamol and anti-histamine pills (to avoid any allergical problems) before the shower/bath.

What i know for sure is that showers/batch are worse when i have a bad day. Specially if my gut is damaged or if i am very tired. It could be POTS, i really feel more "over-heat" in the evenings after 4pm until the night, also when i walk a few minutes, being stressed, doing something that need to be concentrated/focus, ...

I really dont know what to do. It makes no sense, i explain this to every medic i can and they dont have any idea, including CFS medics.

I have been told to take chrome pills, since chrome its involved in energy issues, and my chrome levels are below normal levels. Also i will try the Myhill plan.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
Crus,

If you do get an answer or have nay further ideas please post here.

I have a similar problem after luke-warn baths. A overall body over-heating problem. Only a totally cold bath doesn't do this. At least I don't faint as in the showers. No gut problem that I have noticed but I'll watch now.

Most evenings / nights my body burns up as well. The thing that is making a big difference here is the drug Valtex (anti-viral for herpes infections).
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Crus, it sounds as though both baths and showers are bad for you. Are you able to bath just using a bowl of water and a flannel? It is harder work physically, of course.

I'm wondering if the problem is with humidity (which can affect POTS) or with mould, in which case a flannel wash might be a way of getting clean without those factors.
 
Messages
12
Location
Madrid, Spain
ukxmrv be sure whatever i discover i will post it here :)

In my case i have gut problems: rinitis, diarreas, food intolerances, etc. So as you can imagine if in a normal day my gut is not OK then a shower day my gut is really in problems :)

I think there is a relation between gut and showers cause after eating my body temperature its higher, but not so high like after the showers, not even close. So maybe is a better idea to have baths/showers without food in the gut and not to try eating in the next minutes after the bath/shower. I mean mixing shower + food is not a good thing cause both things give me that "burn".

Sasha, Sorry, do you mean having a bath just with sponge (bowl with water) and a towel? like ill people get in hospitals? I do that sometimes, there is impact but of course its much lower than a shower. If i dont get a solution with the shower its the only way of be clean in the future. About the humidity/mould do you mean that i could have problems with fungi/bacterias?

I forgot to say something that i noticed. After showers, usually I feel like... reactivated, stronger, maybe cause my defenses are working or cause the temperature its higher i dont know. Of course thats nots a nice thing having CFS, cause whatever i do in that "activation moments" i will have to PAY it in the next day :)

Btw, my CFS is... i can work 6 hours per day, i work sometimes in the office sometimes at home. I can go to cinema, shopping, etc . Maybe not all in the same day, but sometimes i almost can do a normal life. Sometimes i even can do a few minutes of gym, but gym+shower... bad idea
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
Sorry, do you mean having a bath just with sponge (bowl with water) and a towel? like ill people get in hospitals? I do that sometimes, there is impact but of course its much lower than a shower. If i dont get a solution with the shower its the only way of be clean in the future.

Hi Crus - yes, that's what I meant. Not as nice as having a shower or a bath but it gets you clean! :Retro smile:

Crus said:
About the humidity/mould do you mean that i could have problems with fungi/bacterias?

Yes - I don't have such problems but I've seen a lot of messages on this board about people who do, particularly in the US. Possibly like you, they live in warmer parts of the world where mould is an issue. If you search for it on this board (possibly using "mold" which is the US spelling for "mould") you will find what people have said about it.

Also, if you have POTS, humidity alone could be a problem (I think I've read that somewhere - can anyone else confirm this?).

Crus said:
I forgot to say something that i noticed. After showers, usually I feel like... reactivated, stronger, maybe cause my defenses are working or cause the temperature its higher i dont know. Of course thats nots a nice thing having CFS, cause whatever i do in that "activation moments" i will have to PAY it in the next day :)

I also get that, and I also pay! I think maybe it is that during the shower, I'm moving more than I usually do (I have to be immobile mostly because my ME is pretty severe) and so I'm getting the short term benefits of a bit of exercise but of course the long term payback. :worried:
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I remember reading somewhere about blood flow. That if it flows to the skin and away from the internal organs then that can be a problem.

For example, when you get ready over heated after a shower or bath (like I do), is the blood flowing away from our guts and could that cause a digestion problem later on?

After a lukewarm bath I get incredible hot (and that effect can be delayed for 15 /30 mins), my heart rate goes up and my skin turns bright red. I need to sit with a very cold glass of water until this calms down. Not reactivated though.

Just thinking aloud here.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
Thanks all for the replies, i really estimate it.

Yesterday i had a bath with lukewarm water and i was fine, sit all the time, it looked nice for me: i leave the bath and after 20-30 minutes i feel the same: Mucosa irritated, its like the blood its burning across my veins and my body overheating. Theres something important, i feel that after the shower my defenses are activated, like fighting something.

I tried taking paracetamol and anti-histamine pills (to avoid any allergical problems) before the shower/bath.
.

Fine while you were in bath instead of shower.. shows the problem is due to a BP issue or POTS or just over exertion to standing. Many with POTS will do better in a bath (due to the not standing).. but its important for the bath to not be too hot. (or you could feel illish and not well after it and go into POTS, i know at least i can do then).

Be aware that taking paracetamol and anti histamine.. often dont help much if the issues are mold. i know of several who have had to move due to it. Just being not exposed to it i the best thing if one has issues in that.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
Crus;111097I think there is a relation between gut and showers cause after eating my body temperature its higher said:
POTS can trigger off gut/bowel issues as POTS is a kind of autonomic nervous system dysfunction.. so various other things may be affected. Eatting can trigger off POTS as then blood is going to your stomache and less to your brain. Dont shower around your food times.

I also suggest to do some fluid loading about half an hr to one hr before your shower... drink 2-3 glasses of water. That will help increase the water level in your body and hopefully blood volume.. and makes it a bit easier to manage a shower and may help to lessen the after affects of showering.

I also suggest you to buy a shower chair.. so you dont need to stand at all in shower.

Btw, my CFS is... i can work 6 hours per day, i work sometimes in the office sometimes at home. I can go to cinema, shopping, etc . Maybe not all in the same day, but sometimes i almost can do a normal life. Sometimes i even can do a few minutes of gym, but gym+shower... bad idea

It's hard to say but maybe your issue isnt CFS but rather just POTS. POTS can give quite a few symptoms and make people very tired too. Exercise is hard for POTS people as they get warm while doing it which triggers it. and yeah.. mixing various POTS triggers together exercise and showering, bad idea as mixing triggers of it are even more likely to set it off
 

August59

Daughters High School Graduation
Messages
1,617
Location
Upstate SC, USA
I'm going to give a "bump" to Min's suggestion on the shower head. There was a television show on, within last 3 months, stating that it is becoming a very big problem because of all the fancy shower heads and the change from metal to plastic components. They recommended replacing a plastic shower head every year and it should be removed and soaked in bleach or vinegar. You can't spray abything on it to disinfect it. They also recommended changing to an all metal shower head as this drastically reduced the contamination in it and suggested replacing them every 5 years and removing and soaking every 6 months.
What I missed on the show was what the actual contamination was. I replaced my plastic shower head that I had for 15 years and I had to take it apart, but i could actually remove very little of it as it seemed to be an almost 1 piece object. I did find a lot of small black specs that resembled sand and it had a lot of off white slimy silt in it (I have well water).
 

xrayspex

Senior Member
Messages
1,111
Location
u.s.a.
Interesting thread, I can relate. I noticed I got even more intolerant when I moved into my house 3 years ago to showers and after a lot of research and experimenting I realized having soft water made it worse and that there is a certain bacteria that can grow in the salt water tank and I think I had it because since I turned it off the water smells better in bathroom, it was musty smelling. And it was a new softwater system from culligan :( g'bye 1k. Anyway, I try to look at it like we all have to go down certain roads of experimentation in life to see where our best path is. It didnt completely get rid of my shower intolerance though and I do better if I only shower like 2x a week and then just get use washcloth at sink other days for wherever :) and I only shower at night so that when I get rebound weaker from it its bedtime, otherwise it would surely ruin my day.

that is interesting info about plastic showerheads! I have an old clawfoot tub with metal showerhead but did have a plasticfilter one put over it to filter the water, will have to check that, or just change the filter regularly.
 

Emootje

Senior Member
Messages
356
Location
The Netherlands
Hello Crus,
It sounds a lot like your symptoms are caused by high norepinephrine levels.
High norepinephrine levels are causing the following symptoms:
  • sweating
  • hyperthermia
  • heart palpitations
  • arousal
  • pallor
  • irritability
  • nausea
  • vomiting
High norepinephrine levels are caused by:
  • Hypoxia
  • Sleep deprivation
  • Heart failure
  • Low cardiac output (POTS, CFS)
  • Low ambient temperature
  • Mercury poisoning
  • Lead poisoning
  • Pain
  • Low blood volume, dehydration (POTS, CFS)
  • Stress
  • Upright position
  • Exercise
  • Caffeine, Amphetamines, Cocaine use
  • Alcohol or opioid withdrawal syndrome
  • Acute porphyria
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Neuroblastoma
  • Pheochromocytoma
Did you ever test for high plasma norepinephrine levels or low blood volume?
More on blood volume testing: http://www.daxor.com/pdfs/faq.pdf

I remember reading somewhere about blood flow. That if it flows to the skin and away from the internal organs then that can be a problem.

For example, when you get ready over heated after a shower or bath (like I do), is the blood flowing away from our guts and could that cause a digestion problem later on?

I think ukxmrv got a point there.

Norepinephrine constricts the splanchnic vessels and decreases the blood flow to the gut.
When levels of norepinephrine are high and your blood volume is low it can cause splanchnic ischemia.
Symptoms of splanchnic ischemia:
  • Abdominal pain
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea

The same happens in endurance exercise. More blood flow to muscle's and less blood flow to the gut results in splanchnic ischemia> Abdominal pain, Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Leaky Gut.
In heat stroke> more blood flow to skin, less blood flow to the gut and that results in splanchnic ischemia> Abdominal pain, Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Leaky Gut.
In your case> hot shower>vasodilation of the skin vessels>more blood flow to skin> less blood flow to the gut and that results in splanchnic ischemia> Diarrhea, Intestinal irritation.

For more splanchnic ischemia information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2778114/pdf/WJG-14-7309.pdf
 

Forbin

Senior Member
Messages
966
I think that you can faint, or nearly faint, in a warm/hot shower simply due to a drop in blood pressure caused by the dilation of the blood vessels in your skin. This is also why your skin can look red when you get out of a hot shower. The blood going into the opened vessels of the skin lowers your overall blood pressure. Taking a cooler shower will probably prevent this if this is the cause of feeling faint in the shower.