What are the side effects generated in a person who is under permanent
medication consisting of tranquilisers and anti depressants and who is
using regularly infra red sauna?
Please precise to what extent these side effects can be dangerous ?

noknell,

The infra red sauna really can not interact with the medication per
se. The infra red heats up the room, your skin, which causes your body
to sweat. Here's how one web site explain infra red saunas.
"Infrared heat is simply a form of energy that is directly transmitted
onto objects because of its specific wavelength. It has nothing to do
with ultraviolet light which gives you sunburn and damages your skin.
Where conventional saunas use hot air to transfer heat, the infrared
heat rays warms your body directly. This allows an in-depth heat in a
more pleasant temperature of 43 - 66 °C, thus providing more health
advantages and providing a highly enjoyable and comfortable
environment, where you can still breath normally without the
discomfort of high humidity or steam."
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~tongs1/faq.htm

Now, that will not interact with anymedication. Since it has nothing
to do with ultraviolet light, even if your medications would make you
sensitive to the sun, this would not harm your skin.

However, because it heats up a room, you still have to take the normal
steam room/sauna precautions no matter what, but especially if you've
been ill, have high blood pressure, feel dizzy, etc.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SELF-TREAT ANY DISEASE WITH SAUNA THERAPY WITHOUT
FIRST CONSULTING A PHYSICIAN.

DO NOT USE IF THERE IS A HISTORY OF:

   1.

        Adrenal suppression (body does not respond to heat).
       
   2.

        SLE (systemic lupus erythematous)  
   3.

        Multiple sclerosis 

 

IF YOU HAVE ANY DISEASE, CONSULT WITH YOUR PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN BEFORE USING.

 

Do not use:

    	

    If Pregnant or are nursing.  
    	

    You have acute joint injuries.
    	

    You have enclosed infections (dental, joints, tissue).  
    	

    With artificial joints, metal pins, or any other implants.
    	

    With Silicone implants (may melt at higher temperatures).
    	

    During menstrual cycle, may increase menstrual flow.
    	

    If you are a Hemophiliac or anyone with a predisposition to hemorrhage.
    	

    If you are taking a prescription drug, check with a physician or
pharmacist for any possible change in drug?s effect due to any
interaction with infrared
    energy.
     
    	

    If you are heat intolerant and do not sweat even with vigorous exercise.

If your skin becomes clammy, you feel weak, tired, or nauseous. STOP
use immediately! This could be signs of heat exhaustion.

If you stop sweating, get out immediately!  This may be the initial
stages of heat stroke.

 This list comes from 
http://altmed.creighton.edu/sauna/precautions.htm

Here are a few others...
http://www.cyberbohemia.com/Pages/saunaprecautions.htm
http://www.healthyinfraredsaunas.com/Precautions.html (Infrared specific)
http://www.saunex.com/precautions/

Now, you see the line about prescription drugs. Even when you can find
no documented cases of saunas interacting with medications such as
antidepressants. ALWAYS CHECK! A simple phone call to your family
doctor will answer the question about your specific medications and
doseages, probably with no cost to you at all.

So, those are the possible side effects of saunas and infrared saunas,
and I can find no documented cases of antidepressents interacting. The
tranqulizers may make someone sleepy, so they don't recognizr the heat
or heat exhaustion, so take care if on those meds. It's the heat that
is the problem though. And, like I and so many sites said..always
check with your health professional before starting any sauna regime,
no matter what.

If this answer requires further explanation, please request
clarification before rating it, and I'll be happy to look into this
further.

Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

Google searches used were, Infrared sauna FAQ
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=infrared+sauna+FAQ&btnG=Search

and, sauna precautions
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=sauna%20precautions&btnG=Google+Search

I also checked: 
antidepressants and saunas
tranqulizers and saunas
medication and saunas
and found no interactions.

You will have judge how seriously to take those disclaimers. Suppose
you sat at a desk in a steel making factory where the temperature is
about 50 degree c = 122 degrees f Some of the other workers are doing
hard phyical work and few of them have heat stroke or heat exhaustion.
Perhaps one fatality per week. You are sitting quiet, so you should be
less valnerable, but maybe not, if you are sick. Many medications make
you more valnerable to ultra violet, but this is infrared. We would
not expect any effect. Likely there were no infra red tests in the
drug studies. But many medicines make you sick, so you are more
valerable than if you are well. Even if you are in perfect health on
no medications, excessive sauna temperatures can kill, but are safe if
you avoid extremes. If the equipment has only one setting, unplug it
at least one minute out of each five so you don't get dangerously hot,
or don't use it at all. I suspect the health benefits of sauna are
mostly in the minds of people who want to sell us equipment.  Neil

In response to Neilzero's comment, I would like to add a few URL's to
the benefits of a infrared sauna. Especially the 2nd one talks about
it from a more detailed medical standpoint. Also, I do want to
clarify....infrared and ultra violet light are 2 different things. So,
medications that make you sensitive to sunlight or UV will NOT make
you sensitive to infrared. Also, heat tolerance is the big factor
here. Not only do you have to find your body's natural heat tolerance,
you have to adjust it if your medication makes you sensitive to heat.
Now, being well acquainted with anti-depressants, most do not,
however, like I mentioned before, please check with a medical
professional also. I am not a doctor by any means, and you should
ALWAYS, no matter what you here, get at least 1 or 2 medical
reccomendations before starting any type of sauna program, medications
or not.
So, once again... I can find no recorded indications of
anti-depressants interacting with a infrared sauna, or, in fact,
saunas in general, but I do advise checking with a health professional
over the phone for your specific meds, and their recomendation.

Nenna-GA
Google Answers Researcher

Oops, might help if i gave you the URL's

These are for the 2 google searches I did...
infrared sauna benefits
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&c2coff=1&safe=off&q=infrared+sauna+benefits&spell=1
infrared sauna health benefits
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=infrared+sauna+health+benefits&btnG=Search
infrared sauna reviews
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=infrared+sauna+reviews&btnG=Search

And, some helpful links...
http://www.houseofcedar.com/benefits/health_benefits_of_far_inf_sauna.html
http://www.hightechhealth.com/sauna_pdfs/sauna_benefits.pdf

Nenna-GA
GAR