Infrared Sauna Therapy For Lyme Disease

Almost no condition is so misunderstood as Lyme disease. Not only are people routinely misdiagnosed with Lyme disease, but many with Lyme disease are misdiagnosed as having neurological problems, a parasite infection, or fibromyalgia.

In Australia, treatment for Lymes disease can be difficult to acquire as according to the Australian Department of Health, "The likelihood that Australia has an indigenous form of classical Lyme disease is questionable".

Yet this has not stopped a growing number of the population suffering from such a debilitating illness, and thus alternative measures have been sought in the treatment of the symptoms of Lyme disease, more specifically infrared saunas.

This article is going to look at some of the positive health benefits far infrared saunas can offer, and how some of these benefits may be the reason people preach far infrared saunas for Lyme disease.

What is lyme disease?

The science of Lyme disease is quickly evolving, and so is the assessment of clinical practitioners on the topic.

Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis originates from an infection caused by ticks.

Both an antibody response and anamnesis, the Medical term referring to digging deep into the patient's memory about a tick bite with symptoms on their skin, make up the main criteria for a Lyme diagnosis. 

A tick bite that develops a skin rash, and health symptoms, are the main signals of Lyme disease.

Symptoms of pain, fatigue and neurological problems occur after your initial tick bite. 

An issue with the misdiagnosis of Lyme is that these symptoms often overlap with many other health conditions, and if the medical assessment is that you've unlikely been exposed to a tick that can transfer the Lyme disease, then the chances are, it may get overlooked. 

The  Lyme condition is regularly defined as "an illness that affects many bodily systems and has a wide range of symptoms that last longer than 6 months, with periods where no symptoms are present". 

Lyme also seems to affect people differently, and while some may heal automatically from symptoms, not everyone does, and some develop Lyme, chronically.

There is a potential way to lower the symptoms of Lyme and that includes far infrared saunas.

Does infrared sauna help with lyme disease?

If you've got Lyme disease, your health is certainly compromised, and hopping into an infrared sauna can contribute to your overall health in many different ways.

Heat exposure mimics the body's response to fever, in the same way, it would respond to a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection.

Once your body is infected by a pathogen of any kind, fever is the second line of defense to protect your health. 

Spending time in an infrared sauna increases your core body temperature, and this is what induces a fever response.

We also know that far-infrared has a positive effect on the mitochondria as well as the immune system, and by invigorating how your body combats pathogens, such as the bacteria that causes Lyme, patients do find relief from their symptoms.

Saunas also lower your blood pressure while increasing your heart rate, improving circulation, as well as lowering stress and inflammation.

This allows the transfer of glucose, oxygen, and other nutrients to be optimized, and further better removes toxic waste products.

The end outcome of these infrared sauna benefits is an improvement in pain relief, lowering of stress, improved sleep, and an added boost to your immune system and immune responses.

More research is needed in the field of Lyme disease to be able to answer the question, "can infrared sauna cure Lyme disease?"

While many of the health benefits of far infrared saunas can be drawn to aid in the symptoms of Lyme disease, much of this evidence is anecdotal. 

What is clear is that from a lack of medical action, people have been seeking alternative treatments for Lyme disease and have found much success in infrared saunas, though the evidence does not exist to further support these claims.

If you're interested in an infrared sauna cabin for home, click here to view our range of full-spectrum saunas, far-infrared saunas, and outdoor saunas.

Resources from the video: 

Lyme Disease Pathogenesis

Effects of Combined Far-Infrared Radiation and Acupuncture at ST36 on Peripheral Blood Perfusion and Autonomic Activities