Health Hazards of Far Infrared Saunas

While Far Infrared (FIR) saunas have some very important healing properties, scientists caution that there can be severe health hazards that can affect everyone, especially when used to detoxify the body. In some cases, using FIR saunas can interfere with the natural healing process.
These Can Affect Everyone:
• Overheating (heat exhaustion and heat stroke)
• Dehydration
• Using the sauna while drinking or after drinking alcohol
• Depleting your electrolytes or minerals through sweating
• The effects of mobilized toxins

It is, as well, not recommended to use the sauna during an acute illness or injury where it may interfere with the natural healing process. For example, it is recommended to avoid sauna use during the first 48 hours of an acute sprain-type injury.
Affecting Only Some People:
• Adverse effects on certain medical conditions
• Interference with the absorption and/or effects of certain medications
• Adverse effects on some implants

In summary, the few dangers of the infrared sauna to the healthy, un-medicated person come from: overheating effects, dehydration, depleting your body' supply of minerals or electrolytes through profuse sweating (without the right kind of fluid replacement), and the effects of mobilizing stored toxins out of the body.
Medical Conditions and the FIR Sauna
Avoid sauna use completely in the case of:
• Stroke (type caused by bleeding into the brain)
• Severe aortic stenosis
• Recent myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Unstable angina pectoris
• Lupus erythematosus, if you are on steroids (interferes with blood circulation)
• Brain tumors
Check with your Medical doctor in the case of:
• Your specific medical condition
• Pacemakers (check with doctor and manufacturer)
• Pins, rods and other implants, such as cochlear implants (but for sure don’t use the sauna if it causes you pain or other discomfort at the site of your implant)
• Diabetes (for sure start slowly and monitor your blood sugar)
Medications That Can Pose a Danger in the FIR Sauna
Since certain medications can be affected by the increased blood circulation and increased sweating of body heating…it’s best to check with your Medical doctor (or preferably a Medical doctor knowledgeable in sauna detoxification) if your medication levels might be affected. Here are some examples of the types of medications that can be affected:
Medicines applied by skin patches (trans-dermal medication)
The absorption rate of a trans-dermal medication can change. With sweating, the adhesive may also unglue from your skin.
Insulin! If you’re a diabetic and your Medical doctor gives you the go-ahead to use the sauna, he’ll also be telling you to check your blood sugar levels to see how body heating affects you them.
Sauna Can Release Residues of Past Medications
Minute remains or residues of past anesthetics, antidepressants, sedatives, chemotherapy or other medications you’ve used can exit from storage in your fat cells during sauna use. When one of these makes its way back into the bloodstream on its way to begin eliminated, it can exert the same effects it did when you originally took it!
Past Psychedelic Drug Use and the FIR Sauna
If you used LSD or other psychedelic drugs in the past, you may experience a full-blown “trip” as residues of the drug are released from storage in the tissue into your bloodstream again. Or you may have a flashback to an earlier experience. You’ll need to have a responsible attendant with you if you’re planning to use the sauna with this type of history. It would be extremely dangerous to have a trip while unsupervised in a sauna.
Longer Term Dangers of the FIR Sauna
There are a couple of things to watch out for over the long run with home infrared sauna use:
* You can deplete body reserves of one or more minerals and electrolytes.
* You can run toxins out of your system that cause you severe symptoms on the way out of your system.
These are things that would only pose a problem to someone using the sauna heavily and regularly – mostly those people using the sauna for detoxification.
But the minute you enter into a systematic sauna detox program, you need to commit to learning about and implementing an electrolyte and mineral replacement plan.
Drugs Stored in your Body Fat can be Pulled into your Bloodstream in the Sauna
Some chemicals we take into our bodies during daily living are overwhelming or difficult (or impossible) for our bodies to deal with and — because they are fat soluble — end up getting stored in our fat.
Any drug stored in your fat from past exposures, including, for example, anesthetics you might have been exposed to, can have affects on you as you mobilize them and sweat them out.
Chemically Sensitive People are More at Risk
If you are (or suspect you are) chemically sensitive, the dangers of the infrared sauna related to toxins released from the tissues by heat will be far greater for you.

William Rea, MD, one of the most knowledgeable doctors in the world in environmental toxicity and sauna detoxification warns:

“Uncontrolled, too-rapid mobilization can have devastating effects on chemically sensitive patients.”