There’s a nice post on youtube which show the Extreme Makeover team putting together an infrared sauna. One of the familie’s children has cerebral palsy and the show talks about some of the benefits of an infrared sauna for cerebral palsy sufferers. I think this comes at about 1:10sec into the clip.
I knew those Finns were suckers for punishment but this is taking it a bit far. Apparently, in the past - not so much today, it was common for Finnish women to give birth in the sauna! Perhaps those hardy Finns felt that child birth just didn’t present enough of a challenge.
To gets things into perspective you must remember that theses guys consider sweating to near death over long periods as a sport and run competitions each year for who can last longest. So it only makes sense to start the child’s training early I guess!
A new book called “Beat The Flu Bird Flu” claims saunas are one of the way to tackle the flu infection.
Mr Avlicino, the author of the book said: “The book talks about self-help measures that can prevent infection. For instance, it says use alcohol hand sanitizers. Thaw frozen meat and poultry in the fridge not on kitchen work top. Install a shoe-dip on your doorsteps. Have a hot sauna to rid the body of viruses. Bathe in a light bleach solution to kill germs on your skin. Use UV light, with caution, to disinfect rooms. Don’t share dishes, cutlery towels or bedding with anybody”.
I guess this applies to all type of flu and is another great excuse to get steamy - however a comunial sauna might not make you popular - you might have trouble explaining how that sneeze won’t pass germs in this heat.
You may have heard in the press of a claim that children born to fathers who were exposed to excessive heat during conception are more likely to suffer from brain cancer. The report claims that sperm may become damaged if exposed to excessive heat (such as being in a sauna or by using a electric blanket) and pass on genetic defects to the child.
It’s worth pointing out that the test sample was very small, 318, and that the researcher conceded that the evidence was speculative at this stage. However, that said, the testicles are kept outside the body for a reason - to keep at least 3 degrees below normal body temperature. So if you are planning on trying to conceive, it’s probably better to err on the side of caution and give the saunas a miss for the duration.
More information can be found on the BBC website.