Does anyone know anything about Types 1 not taking hot showers. I’ve had diabetes for 18 years and just heard of this. I have heard someone went temporarily blind in a hot shower, and someone died after having a reaction in the shower, falling and hitting his head on the tub ( apparently he died after being in a diabetic coma, not from hitting his head)…he lived alone and noone knew he was there for 3 days…sad, I worry when I’m home alone too. The sister of the boy that died said they were told Diabetics weren’t to take hot showers.
I am Type 1 and I take hot showers all the time. I’ve never heard this, however, I have an endo appointment tomorrow so I will ask 
It has been suggested not to take hot showers soon after taking insulin injections- if I remember you’re supposed to wait something like 1/2 hour or an hour after. As hot water increases the blood flow in the body, the insulin “works” faster creating the potential for a blood sugar crash if the food that was eaten takes longer to absorb.
A really hot shower can make your blood move faster (ok, I know this is not a really scientific explanation). And this makes your insulin more effective. Similar to the effects of exercising.
So if you take a shower right after bolusing, you could have sudden drops.
I admit that sometimes when I’m high, I give the bolus and then take a nice hot shower to help it drop more quickly (and it makes me feel better). I guess I should be careful not to have it fall too quickly. But so far no problems with hot showers here.
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i dont know if anyone else has found this, but i seem to go a bit high everytime i take a hot bath :S i wonder if the hot water effects this
I give up enough in life as it is due to Type 1. I don’t care what anyone says, I am not giving up hot showers.
How would you go temporarily blind in a hot shower anyways? And I think a much more common cause of falling in the shower is simply old age. I don’t hear anyone telling old people not to take showers.
When I hear things like, “Someone died/crashed/fell/severely injured themselves due to a ‘reaction’”, then the first thing that pops into my head is, “Well that person probably wasn’t taking very good care of their diabetes.” I know some people have issues with hypoglycemia unawareness but there are effective ways of dealing with that. Personally, I always test my blood glucose before I disconnect my pump, take a shower, drive, swim, etc., and I spend a moment thinking about what I ate last and what my last insulin dose was, and when both occurred.
We can’t live in a bubble eating zero-carb snacks all our lives. Get out there and live!
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Are you serious? Who suggests this crap?
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Doctors. I don’t know about the time requirement, but I do know that if you are on multiple daily injections, it’s something to consider. I used to have issues with this because of cross country and meals. Diabetics can take hot showers, they just have to consider when to take them. For example- not right after eating a meal and taking a correction.
Which doctors? I’d like to see some sort of peer-reviewed study that supports this position.
Well, I can’t provide you proof, but I can tell you that I have had the experience of going low because of a hot shower soon after taking an insulin shot.
And Jill down there has the exact opposite experience. It may just be an individual thing that can’t be applied to diabetics in a general sense. I’d believe it though, if it was studied objectively.
Yes Cathy , those stories are sad …the reaction could have happened elsewhere …behind the steering wheel ?? I would be more concerned sitting in a HOT TUB , which I don’t do …living with type 1 for over 26 years and showering regularly …oh , my I am a clean gal 
, going strong at almost 69 …and that’s why I finger poke a lot …
I learn something new every day! Honestly after I take a hot shower I can tell the difference in my body…little lite headed but refreshed. I am going to test my bg’s after I shower, hahha just a little curious.
When I was on Lantus, I used to have frequent lows during my (long) hot showers. This definitely became a variable that I needed to factor in. Could vary from person to person… or more likely by the type of insulin and the time since injection.
then i guess we should also watch going out in the hot sun also after giving a bolus. My bet is if someone went low, the shower had little to do with it. I can slip and fall in the shower without any help from insulin. I can see where hot water might incrrease blood flow to the skin, but not raise your metabolism enough to account for increased insulin absorbtion. Where are the Myth Busters when you need them…
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I’ve never noticed any particular change based on a hot shower or soak in a hot tub. But, I have seen all of those warning signs that suggest that people with diabetes, or other things, should not go in hot tubs – you know, if you are diabetic, have heart issues or breathing issues, have been drinking, are pregnant, have high blood pressure, or low blood pressure, etc. Is there anything left to do in life that does not come with some kind of warning?
I have read to avoid immersing yourself hot water due to neuropathy.
I writing to them now!
i’m not stopping my showers.
This sounds like an old wive’s tale or an urban myth to me. Maybe they went blind because of the soap they used, what they had for breakfast and the moon was in the seventh house. This is the kind of thing that happens to ‘some guy in New Jersey" or "a kid my aunt’s co-worker new’ but never anyone we actually know.
Even if a hot shower increases blood circulation, what does that have to do with insulin sensitivity? Just because the insulin is moving around faster (not much) doesn’t mean it’s getting absorbed any faster.
Terry
I take hot showers all the time. I just have to make sure that it isnt so hot that it will irritate my skin. Since I’ve been diagnosed, seems as if my skin is realy sensitive