Doctor warns against trying to sweat out a respiratory infection in a sauna

Physician Shota Kalandiya warned in an interview with RT that visiting a bathhouse to overcome a cold can make a person feel worse. Heat increases fluid loss and the risk of dizziness when illness brings fever or weakness.

In the interview published on October 10, Kalandiya said heat in a steam room dilates blood vessels in the skin, raises the pulse and increases sweating. Fluid loss is particularly concerning alongside fever, inadequate drinking and general illness. Potential consequences include dehydration and fainting.

Sweat helps cool the body rather than carrying respiratory viruses out of it, he explained. Temperatures that a person can tolerate in a steam room do not destroy an infection inside the airways. Heavy sweating therefore does not demonstrate faster recovery.

The doctor also said heat can affect blood pressure and urged particular caution for people with cardiovascular conditions. He advised postponing visits to public bathhouses when experiencing a runny nose, cough or sore throat because a person can remain infectious without a fever.

He suggested a brief warm shower instead. His cautions included inhaling steam over boiling water, taking fever-reducing medicines specifically to enable a bathhouse visit, plunging into icy water, cold-water dousing and rubbing the body with snow. Alcohol combined with heat adds strain.

The warning about inhalations aligns with advice from NHS Royal Devon and the British Burn Association. Their guidance describes serious scalds caused by spilled hot water and says there is no strong evidence that the practice speeds recovery from a cold.

Kalandiya recommended returning after acute symptoms have passed and the person can tolerate usual activities again. A single day without fever is insufficient if weakness or dizziness persists, he said. The first visit after illness should be short, without extreme heat or abrupt cooling.