You're showering wrong! Doctor reveals common washing error that could be life-threatening
According to German-based vascular health expert Dr Max Maddahali, 'excessively hot' showers can trigger a dangerous drop in blood pressure that could cause you to faint, risking serious injury and even death.
The hot environment causes blood vessels to expand in the skin, an instinctive biological reaction to try and cool the body down.
This process can—in some circumstances—trigger feelings of dizziness and even cause you to fall unconscious.
Fainting can be dangerous at any time but doing in the bathroom could be extremely serious given the number of hard surfaces to hit your head on.
As such, experts advise turning the shower down a few degrees if you find yourself feeling dizzy or installing a temperature lock to avoid the temptation entirely.
Those particularly prone to feelings of dizziness in the shower—such as patients with an existing health condition—may want to have a grab bar, anti-slip or even a stool installed to provide quick support.
Patients can also be recommended to get a wearable medical alert device, which can come as a bracelet, and can raise the alarm if a person falls or finds themselves injured.
But Dr Maddahali said fainting wasn't the only health hazard you risked by having a hot shower.
In a TikTok clip which has been viewed over 14million times, he also said it could also pose a risk to your skin, hair and even your immune system.
Dr Maddahali said: 'There's some natural on your skin that are keeping your skin moist.'
'Hot water can wash them off completely so dryness can happen.
'Also, too hot water can cause hair damage.'
Scalding water damages hair much in the same way it damages skin, by stripping it of natural oils that protect making it more vulnerable to damage.
While Dr Maddahali didn't explain how hot showers weaken the immune system—our body's natural defence against dangerous virus and bacteria—some research suggests this is true.
Hot water is more effective at removing a natural layer of 'good' bacteria that live naturally on the skin.
Some experts suggest removing this layer leads to a less active immune system, which could reduce its ability to respond to actual threats.
Social media users reacting to the clip said they would keep their steaming hot showers, despite the medic's advice.
'I respectfully will not take your advice,' one wrote.
Another added: 'It is therapeutic, hot showers keep me sane.'
Medics have provided a range of advice about showers over the years, from when to take them to what to never do in them.
While the nation may be divided about if morning or evening showers reign supreme, experts have ruled a shower before bed to be superior.
Dr Jason Singh, a primary care physician in Virginia, previously highlighted how an evening showers improved sleep quality, washing away pollutants, and hydrating dry skin.
But experts have said you should 'never' urinate in the shower as it could train your brain into associating the act with the sound of running water and leading to incontinence.
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UK scientists find genes linked with chronic fatigue syndrome
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The Guardian
an hour ago
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'These provide the first robust evidence for genetic contributions to ME,' Ponting said. 'There are many genetic variants that apply across the genome that predispose people to be diagnosed with ME.' More research is needed to develop diagnostic tests or screenings to identify people at high risk of ME/CFS. But scientists called the work a milestone that put the illness on an equal footing with other debilitating diseases and opened potential avenues for treatments. 'This really adds validity and credibility for people with ME,' said Sonya Chowdhury, chief executive of Action for ME and a DecodeME co-investigator. 'We know that many people have experienced comments like 'ME is not real'. They've been to doctors and they've been disbelieved or told that it's not a real illness.' Despite its long history, scientists understand very little about the causes of ME/CFS, though most patients report an infection before symptoms first appear. 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The Guardian
an hour ago
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A moment that changed me: on the day of my first book deal, a mysterious hum overcame me
I developed tinnitus the same night I was offered my first book deal at the end of 2014. I'd received the news late-afternoon, then went out for cocktails with two friends to celebrate. I remember the evening well: we'd gone somewhere loud but not too loud; I ordered a fluorescent orange drink that I didn't enjoy. Before I went to bed, I spoke to my boyfriend on the phone. 'This could really change your life,' he said. Sometime in the early hours of the following morning, I woke up with a ringing in my ears that has not gone away since. Tinnitus often appears out of nowhere. Some describe it as like standing next to the engine of a plane, or caught within a colony of flying bats. The sound I woke with wasn't so bad: a sort of midpoint between the hiss of television static and the roar of the ocean. At first I thought it must have been coming from my phone, which was usually inches away from my face as I slept. I then searched my room for malfunctioning electronics, before realising with bracing horror that the noise was coming from inside my brain. The condition can be divided into three categories: subjective tinnitus (the perception of sound where there is none); objective tinnitus (where there is a sound within or close to the ear that another person can sometimes hear); and somatic tinnitus, which worsens with body movement. Mine was the former: a phantom sound. Little is known about what causes it, but one theory is that loud sounds damage the hairs in the cochlea, flattening them like stems of corn after a storm. The hairs normally pick up sounds and, without them, the brain seeks out sounds from other parts of the ear, sending back signals that translate to a perpetual illusory hum. I'd spent many years going to loud concerts and playing drums in a band, only occasionally protecting my hearing with earplugs. I started to blame myself. The first few days felt long and hard. It seemed absurd to be so troubled by what is basically an annoying sound, but its inescapability and totality was maddening. The world was suddenly bifurcated into quiet spaces, in which I had nothing to mask the tinnitus, and loud spaces, which threatened to damage my hearing further. I couldn't stop catastrophising: 'I will never hear silence again. I will always be too distracted to write. I will be driven mad by loud sounds.' I became anxious and, like 21% of tinnitus patients, I developed suicidal thoughts. My GP was unsympathetic, telling me it would not go away but I would get used to it – and no, I couldn't have any Valium. A few days before Christmas, I went to stay with my boyfriend's parents for the first time. Ironically, there were copies of the Max Ehrmann poem Desiderata all over the house – printed off in the guest room, hanging beside the bathroom sink. It was one of his mum's favourites; she identified strongly with the message: 'Go placidly amid the noise … remember what peace there may be in silence.' I read online studies about tinnitus compulsively. I discovered advice to seek out quiet spaces in which I could place my hands over my ears to get a measure of whether it was getting any better or worse. But this only exacerbated my nerves. On New Year's Day, I couldn't stop crying; I felt stuck in an abject state of misery and panic. I began hypnotherapy, hoping I could trick my brain into not hearing the never-ending noise. My hypnotherapist told me this was not how it worked. Instead, she tried to teach me how to separate my feelings of anxiety from the sounds in my ears, and how to relax; sending me away with audio files of women whispering about the sea. I began sleeping to the sound of brown noise – named after 'Brownian motion', the random movement of particles in a liquid – replacing one hum with another. I practised progressive muscle relaxation, my antidepressants kicked in and I began the long process of habituation – learning to tune out the unwanted, unstoppable sound. Just over a month after I first developed tinnitus, I was on holiday in Brasov, Transylvania – a 30th-birthday present from my sister and mum. Towards the end of the trip, the three of us were walking through the mountains, and when I looked back I realised I couldn't see either of them. I was surrounded only by recently settled snow. There was something about the white of the snow and the ringing in my ears that felt equivalent; blank and unintimidating, somehow. Tinnitus is often described as white noise, but white is achromatic – a colour that isn't really a colour. I knew then that I'd make peace with this sound that isn't really a sound, my new version of silence. That was a decade ago, and these days I've learned to accept and adjust. I'd railed so violently against my tinnitus, and achieved nothing. Now I acknowledge what I cannot change, and it doesn't bother me at all. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. This article was amended on 6 August 2025 to correct the quotation from Max Ehrmann's poem Desiderata.
