A mum says she was left housebound for two weeks after a 'dirty' hot tub gave her a 'gruesome' rash that meant she didn't want to leave the house.
On 9 March, Francesca Newton went to Wales with friends to celebrate her 40th birthday and stayed at a holiday lodge that came with a 'strong chemical-smelling' hot tub.
Francesca and her friends took a 30-minute dip in the tub and sipped some champagne, but 24 hours later she noticed that she'd developed some pimples on her body which then turned into an 'absolutely wild' rash that spread across her chest, neck and back.
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Heading for the doctors, a GP told the woman she had bacterial infection folliculitis, also known as 'hot tub rash', and gave her a course of antibiotics and antihistamines to remove the rash.
Francesca said she hid at home for two weeks because she was scared that people would think she had a 'horrific disease'.
"From what I gather it [folliculitis] is caused by bacteria," Francesca said of the rash and the causes of it.
"From what I've read it's not about putting in all the chemicals, it's about cleaning it properly. I can only think it's nothing to do with the chemicals, therefore it's something else - it's a bacteria.
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"[I was told] 'we've raised your complaint with the general manager who will get back to you within 10 days' [but] I didn't get any sort of response.
"Another friend got the rash too, it was confined to the underarm area. I've never had an experience like this before. I was on antibiotics for five days and continued with the creams for two weeks and after that it started to go down, then it was another week to go fully.
"It wasn't a long-lasting thing thank God because it really did look gruesome."
She said she contacted the lodge the day afterwards to say she had skin issues and then reached out to contact them twice more but never got a reply.
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Responding to the Stockport woman, the lodge said that its hot tubs were cleaned before guests used them but 'failure to follow basic hygiene instructions can introduce bacteria directly into the water via the user's own skin'.
Francesca insisted she did shower before getting into the hot tub, as the instructions told her to do, and the mum said that 'looking in the mirror and seeing all of these lumps was really depressing and upsetting'.
A spokesperson for the lodge said: "We welcome [thousands of] guests each year and pride ourselves on delivering a safe, relaxing, and high-quality experience.
"Across this volume of visitors, we receive approximately 10-15 hot tub-related issues annually, the vast majority of which based on our detailed investigations are associated with guests not showering before entering the hot tub.
"Despite every hot tub being freshly cleaned, flushed, and chemically balanced prior to guest use, failure to follow basic hygiene instructions such as showering before and after use can introduce bacteria directly into the water via the user's own skin.
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"This, we've found, is the primary cause (in 99 percent of reported cases) of irritation or suspected folliculitis.
"We provide clear guest guidelines, both on our website and at check-in, which advise showering before and after use, not spending longer than 20 minutes in the hot tub at a time, avoiding food, alcohol, and smoking while in the tub, keeping the lid on and off the ground when not in use.
"Unfortunately, these instructions are not always followed, and in nearly all the rare cases we've reviewed, prolonged usage (often 1-3 hours) and lack of pre-use hygiene have been contributing factors.
"While no leisure facility is entirely immune to isolated incidents, our systems, training, and attention to detail reflect our commitment to maintaining the highest operational standards.
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"We remain transparent, proactive, and open to discussion, and we continue to provide the peaceful, high-standard retreat experience that so many of our guests return for, year after year."
Joe Harker