Sweating in the sauna can damage your health

Sauna visits can be very dangerous due to extreme heat

12/12/2013

A visit to the sauna for many people, especially in winter, is a pleasant recreational pleasure and, if properly used, helps to strengthen the immune system. After the weekend, however, three men in Ennepetal (North Rhine-Westphalia) died during a sauna for some inexplicable reasons, many people feel insecure. If you want to have a sauna, you should really pay attention to a few things, because in connection with alcohol or illness the extreme heat can be very dangerous.

Three men died in Ennepetal during the sauna
„Is the sauna really healthy?“ Many people probably ask themselves this question after it became known on Monday that three men had died in Ennepetal (NRW) following a Christmas party in a private electric sauna. The case is still puzzling, because evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning, a defect in the sauna electronics or external influences could not be found so far. Now, apparently, it should be clarified to what extent alcohol may be the cause, because „Mirror online“ It was reported that one conceivable scenario was that the victims may have consumed a large amount of alcohol and then fallen asleep in the comforting warmth of the sauna.

Strong heat trains the immune system
The role of alcohol in this calamity is not yet clear - but it is clear that the extreme temperature changes and alcohol do not match and the combination can quickly even life threatening. Due to the strong heat between 70 and 100 degrees Celsius, the body perspires intensified to compensate and the blood vessels widen, whereby the blood flow is stimulated and the respiratory and heart rate is increased. For those who are healthy, this physical reaction is no problem at all, instead, the immune system is trained and the circulation stabilized by the extraordinary, high load on the body.

Alcohol in the sauna quickly leads to circulatory collapse
It is different, however, if alcohol is consumed before or during the sauna visit. Since this also dilates the blood vessels, it comes to a „Heat storage“, which the body can no longer easily compensate. As a result, it can quickly lead to circulatory problems, but also a circulatory collapse (syncope), so a sudden onset, usually not long-lasting unconsciousness, in which the person concerned simply „fall over“. „In addition, alcohol affects the central nervous system and can cause a loss of control“, so the warning of Wolfgang Wesiack, the president of the professional association of German internists. „The critical assessment no longer works with alcohol“, For example, alcoholic sauna visitors could quickly estimate the time and stay in the hot sauna for too long.

In case of illnesses with fever or inflammation, do not use the sauna
The German sauna federation e.V. warns likewise explicitly against drinking alcohol during the sauna, because as managing director Rolf Pieper reports, would have of the „a few deaths“ in sauna rooms that he heard during his 30 years of service, most were related to heavy drinking. In addition, on the advice of the sauna federation, it would be better to forego a visit to the sauna for certain illnesses. Especially in acute illnesses with fever or inflammation should be careful here, because the high temperatures in this case are too great a burden on the body, so that the body's temperature regulation can get out of whack.

Rheumatism patients should therefore only in the inflammation-free phases sauna, after a heart attack should be inserted according to the Sauna Association, a minimum of 3-month sauna break. But even then the re-entry should not happen abruptly, but first a doctor to be visited to check the resilience - which also applies to persons with heart defects.

For strong varicose veins, raise legs as far as possible
Even persons with strong varicose veins and other venous vascular diseases should be careful on the recommendation of the Sauna Association in the sauna and adhere to some rules of conduct urgently: „If possible, raise your legs or keep your upper body at a height; do not stand around after leaving the sauna room, but go up and down in the outdoor area and soon start with the cold water. Sadly, epileptics do not have to do without the sauna because it could trigger seizures.“

In case of chronic illnesses, patients should also talk to a doctor before the first visit to a sauna - this is especially true in cardiovascular or vascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia (heart palpitations, palpitations), hypertension or asthma. Here, depending on the severity and stage of the individual illnesses, a sauna session can be very beneficial, but it can also quickly become a very dangerous affair. Therefore, in any case should be coordinated with the attending physician in a chronic condition. In addition, always on the „own inner voice“ For example, in case of dizziness or a weak circulation no risk is taken, but the sauna is better postponed until another time. (No)