Infrared saunas

For me I believe drinking plenty of water and going into an infrared sauna helped a lot, especially together with the antibiotics. However I only tried it for two weeks. I have had thoughts of purchasing one myself, however i don't know where to put it... If you get one, make sure you get one that you step inside, a proper one. Not one of those plastic things you sit in where your head sticks out.

Best wishes

I got a portable one from e-bay for $139.00.

I was looking at Craigslist, saw a couple for $750...still not quite what i can do now, but aybe in the future.....
Z.

I have a lot of chemical sensitivities and must be very careful about the products I use. I believe in the health benefits of an IR sauna. For me, I would have concerns about sitting in a plastic chamber. Because of my health problems, I've done a lot of research on IR saunas. Most of the wooden ones are made in China and include caustic ingredients in the wood, in the heating elements, in the metal behind the heating elements, and to a lesser extent from the plastics inside (stereo, control, fixture). If you have normal tolerances, then these may work fine for you. I'm just posting this for any other people who may be very sensitive. I finally found two sauna companies - one in Canada, and one in the US, that make a product for people like me. The wood is unfinished, untreated, and sourced in clean forests. The ceramic heaters do not contain artificial ingredients and are backed by surgical-grade steel panels. One has no interior controls, the othre has a small plastic control inside. It's recommended to put the stereo on top of the sauna. They use glass windows in the doors, not plexiglass. Both have low EMF emissions. Neither is inexpensive. But in my case, it's either do this or don't do it at all.

Rose

Mamyou, I feel bad that my post has you hesitating about using your sauna. Have you looked up Waterstar on the internet and read about the materials they use? Do you know what kind of heaters your sauna has? You may be able to find out from the manufacturer or distributer what is in them.

What I've been told is that many saunas shipped here from China are sprayed with an anti-fungal agent before shipping. But not all of them are, as I confirmed just last week with a manufacturer based in the US but whose manufacturing plant is in China. I would think after three years of use, if your sauna was sprayed, that would have dissipated to a great extent by now. A complaint I've heard is that sprayed saunas smell like chemicals when they're heated up. If you've turned yours on and it doesn't smell bad, that could be a good sign. Do you know what kind of wood it is? Most people tolerate the different types of wood that saunas are made of without issue. I have a problem with cedar, always have, so a sauna made of that would not work for me, but many people love the aromatic properties of cedar for a sauna. My LLMD recommends to his patients a sauna made in China of "hemfir" wood. It has plastic controls inside and a plastic stereo is available as an upgrade. He's told me many of his patients have bought them and to his knowledge none has had an adverse reaction.

I've read on here many times of people successfully using portable saunas, some of which are made of plastic. I do not think that would work for me. I've severely limited my exposure to plastics in an attempt to curb physical reactions to so many things. That is not easy to do; our world is filled with products encased in plastics. Most people do not need to do this. I think Lyme and coinfections, toxins, and having been chronically ill for decades has made me hypersensitive both physically and cognitively. Just my opinion, but maybe the best thing is to try your sauna and see how you feel. I tried the one I am buying and actually felt energized after 25 minutes in there. It was awesome, and totally unexpected. I hope you have the same positive experience in yours!

Rose

.Mamyou - There are many claims about ceramic versus carbon heaters in IR saunas. The ceramic heaters were the earlier technology. They are smaller and hotter than carbon heaters, and they need metal behind them to reflect the IR waves that travel out of the sides and back of the heaters into the sauna chamber. Because they get hotter, a cited drawback is that they are difficult to sit right in front of. There is also a claim that they are less able to provide evenly-distributed IR rays within the sauna because they are smaller, thus are less effective. Because carbon heaters are much larger, and do not get as hot, the proponents claim that they heat the sauna more evenly and more comfortably. They also claim that carbon heaters last for 15 years versus 10 years for a ceramic heater. One claim I saw is that because carbon heaters are made of carbon – also found in us – we more readily absorb the IR rays from a carbon heater than from a ceramic heater. But I did not see a reference to any study supporting that claim.

The proponents of ceramic heaters claim that theirs is the proven technology and that the medical studies supporting the benefits of IR saunas was based on tests using ceramic heaters. Also, the two sauna brands I found in my research that specifically touted their product as non-toxic and hypoallergenic (beyond just saying their wood was non-toxic) both used ceramic heaters which, they say, are pure because they are simple, made of glass and sand with embedded wires. They say that many carbon heaters are backed by fiberglass panels, or other materials that are not healthy. I was unable to get any manufacturer of saunas with carbon heaters to give me the complete list of materials used and therefore could not substantiate that they do not contain toxic substances.
So, maybe this newer technology of the carbon heaters is better able to disburse IR at a lower and more even heat, but the ceramic heaters were also effective and maybe are less likely to contain toxic substances. I’m still investigating, but so far I haven’t found anything backed by a credible study that proved one over the other.

Hope that helps. I look forward to hearing how you like it.

Rose.

Also---don't buy one that has anything made of "plastic" on the inside of it---even knobs on the stereo, etc. They will emit odors and toxins when heated.

Hi hopeful. I visited several sites where this sauna is listed and could not find published pricing. Do you know where that may be listed? This does look like a good product, similar to one I found in Canada.

Rose

Hi all!
I was wondering about infrafred for my lyme. I just read an article that said the spirochetes hate the heat and it helps kill the off as well as remove toxins and heavy metals.

My concern is - when I'm in the sun too much I will be in horrible pain afterward and for days later. I had assumed that my Bartonella was flaring up and that the bacteria was actually growing from the heat and sun.

Do you suppose its some kind of herxing?

I'm so afraid of that kind of pain. And that was before I was taking antibiotics. So now that I'm on month 2 (of 12) and herxing from abx, what kind of pain will I be in adding the heat to it.

(Also, some abx make you sensitive to sun light.)

Any thoughts?