 Before attending sauna we should definitely know what medical advice we should follow not to harm ourselves and what to do to become healthier with a help of sauna. The effects of the sauna on health are very personal. If you feel ok about sauna you can freely and safely enjoy it. But additional care should be taken if the bather has a low blood pressure or is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, since these can strengthen the effects of the sauna.
Blood Pressure and Saunas
The urgent question is whether people with high blood pressure or heart condition take a risk when using sauna. A common view is that high blood pressure is a contra-indication for sauna. But the effect of sauna is completely opposite: the heat in a sauna makes the capillaries in skin dilate, so it lowers not raises the blood pressure. So people with history of law blood pressure should think twice before using sauna.
High blood pressure is believed to be a result of a big number of salt and alcohol coming into blood. In Finland a high blood pressure is a national disease. If you suffer from a low blood pressure, you need to start taking saunas slowly so that you can personally judge its effects on your organism.
In any case you can try a sauna to make your own decision based on how it makes you feel. But be careful and start slowly. If you doubt you may ask your physician for advice.
Alcohol and Blood Pressure
Many people enjoy a beer or a glass of vine during a sauna. Healthy person may well indulge in such pleasures. But if you suffer from low blood pressure remember that excessive alcohol intake don't mix well with the sauna. To be sure in sauna effect don’t mix alcohol and sauna, in any case it is a double load on your organism. Juice, water or cool tea slake a thirst well, avoid alcohol and you will enjoy the sauna.
Weight loss
In fact simple going to the sauna does not make you lose weight. We burn calories in the sauna, but our organism will soon gain the missing weight.
When being in the sauna we loose a lot of water so we loose weight but then we will thirst, drink and gain weight again. Walking or jogging has better effect. It takes the same calories but the effect is better. Being in the sauna the only muscle to work is our heart and jogging make your muscles grow and muscle tissue burns energy. Any physical activity is very useful for your body. You will feel better after a workout and be fit.
So in sauna you loose your weight only for several hours and then will gain it again.
There is another one method of weight-loosing – wearing a rubber suit in sauna to promote sweating. But this method is not just unnecessary, it could actually be dangerous since the rubber blocks the most important method your body has to regulate its temperature.
Cleansing the body from toxins
Sweat baths in sauna remove toxins and heavy metals from our body. But remember to wash your skin after sweating in sauna not to allow harmful substances to be absorbed inside again.
Pregnancy and children
If you have already been in sauna you should not stop it while pregnancy. But it’s not recommended for pregnant mothers to start taking saunas. It is said that high temperatures cause birth malformations. Most Finnish mothers attend the sauna during their pregnancy and have a very low occurrence of these malformations compared to other similar countries.
If you want to acquaint your child with sauna remember people are not born with a fully functional temperature control system so you should not take your child into the sauna without some precautions. If child feels some discomfort and want to leave sauna he/she should be allowed to do this.
In any case do not start with a hot sauna. Allow the child to sit on the lower benches, where it is not so hot.
Sports
If you go in for sport or work hard you can safely follow physical activity with a relaxing sauna. But drink anything before sauna. If you got some muscle or tissue injuries you may use sauna only several days later. Different injuries should be treated with cold, compression and elevation first. Heat therapy can be applied after two days' healing.
Disclaimer
If you feel uncomfortable in sauna think may be you should avoid it. Consult your physician regarding the applicability of any opinions or recommendations with respect to your symptoms or medical condition.
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