Important Facts To Know When Not To Visit A Sauna
Due to the effect of the sauna on your body described above, there are groups of people who are strongly advised not to use the sauna, including people with:
- acute asthma problems because the cold shock, when cooling down, can lead to a reflex narrowing of the bronchi and trigger an acute attack.
- With rheumatism, if they are not in an inflammation-free interval.
- With inflammation of internal organs and blood vessels.
- With kidney problems because the kidneys are very stressed when taking a sauna. The blood volume decreases because of the loss of fluid, and the urine becomes more concentrated. That could promote the formation of kidney stones.
- With cardiovascular issues and coronary artery disease.
- With flu-like infections and colds.
- With high blood pressure, the sudden narrowing of the blood vessels during a cold shower or when entering the plunge pool could lead to a massive increase in blood pressure.
- With attacks of dizziness, because the circulatory regulation cannot react sufficiently quickly to the rapidly changing conditions of the circulatory system when changing from cold to warm, further attacks of dizziness (with the risk of falling) are possible.
Does infusion of scents in the sauna impact your health?
Fragrant essences are mainly realized as the addition of essential oils should intensify the positive effects of the sauna, especially on the respiratory tract. They are, therefore, a common practice in many saunas.
However, aromatic substances can irritate your bronchi and lungs and trigger coughing attacks. This is especially true for children and allergy sufferers because the essential oils can cause shortness of breath. Even those suffering from high or low blood pressure are recommended to avoid fragrant infusions.
And another big but: According to the final report “Exposure to hazardous substances during sauna infusions” by the DGUV (2016), sauna infusions “release aldehydes and ketones at high temperatures through pyrolysis. Formaldehyde and acetone represent the central part of the emissions. When performing infusion ceremonies with infusion water, the formaldehyde limit values according to TRGS 900 (occupational exposure limit values as an 8-hour shift average and short-term value over a maximum of 15 minutes) were taken into account, taking into account the dosage information provided by the manufacturer and the recommendations for the application of the Infusion water complied with.
Dosages above the manufacturer’s recommendation and quick infusions can lead to formaldehyde concentrations above the permissible limit values.
Check out here the five reasons why Sauna is good for you.
Does the sauna infusion make the sauna healthy?
The infusion briefly increases the heat stress your body experiences when you go into the hot sauna. It increases the humidity in the sauna room. Not more but also not less. However, for most of the above-mentioned positive effects of the sauna, the infusion is irrelevant.
How much sauna is healthy?
The positive effect of a multi-course sauna visit is lasting. You will benefit from it for about a week. It is therefore advisable to go to the sauna regularly once a week. More frequent sauna visits are pretty feasible. However, the number of individual courses should then be reduced, whereby the following should apply: The more often you are in the sauna per week, the fewer courses you should complete per visit.