Sweating in the sauna | Sauna visit during a cold – is that possible?

Sweating in the sauna

In case of fever, “sweating out” in the sauna is certainly not a good idea. Due to the fever, the patient sweats out a lot of body fluid even without a sauna, which is then lacking for his circulation and salt balance. This loss must be compensated by drinking a lot of tea or other drinks.If this compensation is missing, the heart can quickly reach its performance limit due to the reduced blood volume, because if there is less fluid in the body, the heart has to distribute this little fluid throughout the entire body by means of more heartbeats. Especially a sick heart often cannot do this work anymore.

Sauna visit during a heart muscle inflammation

Visiting the sauna during an inflammation of the heart muscle is not recommended. The problem here is, on the one hand, the inflammation itself, since inflammations are only made worse and never get better by heat and, on the other hand, the fact that an inflamed heart is enormously weakened and must be protected. Since a sauna visit is associated with a high burden on the entire cardiovascular system, it is anything but recommended in the case of a heart muscle inflammation, as with most other cardiovascular diseases.

Even when the heart muscle inflammation has healed, you should only gently start regular sauna visits again and your body should only slowly get used to the strain again. A good alternative, especially in the re-entry period, is a cardiovascular-friendly sauna that is only heated to 60°C. Caution should also be exercised in dealing with the cooling down after a sauna session and the jump into cold water should be replaced by a light walk in the cool air, especially at the beginning.

Is there a difference between going to a Finnish sauna and an infrared sauna when I have a cold?

In case of an acute cold and severe symptoms, one should not go to a Finnish or infrared sauna, because the strain on the weakened body would be too high. However, a sauna visit can strengthen the immune system to prevent colds or at the first signs of a cold. The increased body temperature stimulates the metabolism in the body and pathogens can be fought better. When visiting the infrared sauna, the whole room is not heated as in the Finnish sauna, but only the body surface. In addition, temperatures are not as high, which is why the infrared sauna is preferable to the very hot Finnish sauna for mild colds.