Who Should Not Use an Infrared Sauna?

3 June 2025 · 5 min read

Skip an infrared sauna if you are feverish, dehydrated, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or have been told to avoid heat. Our sauna manuals also say not to use the sauna with open wounds, an eye disease or severe sunburn, and they advise pregnant women, older people and infants to avoid it. If you are recovering from surgery, taking medicines that affect heat tolerance or living with a significant medical condition, ask the relevant healthcare professional before using one.

These situations need different decisions. Being temporarily unwell may mean missing a session. A long-term condition may need a personal assessment rather than a permanent ban.

When should you skip the session?

Skip the sauna when you are already struggling with heat, feel unwell or cannot respond safely to symptoms.

Fever, vomiting, diarrhoea or suspected dehydration.
Alcohol or recreational-drug use that affects judgement, alertness or heat response.
Current dizziness, faintness or symptoms that have not been assessed.
An open wound, an eye disease or severe sunburn.
A healing wound, recent procedure or other condition for which your clinical team has restricted sauna use.
A situation where you cannot leave the cabin promptly or get help if needed.

Do not treat sweating as a way to clear an illness or make dehydration better. Our guide to sauna-related dehydration and diarrhoea explains why feeling unwell is a reason to pause.

Who should avoid the sauna or get medical advice first?

Get advice when your health, medicines or recovery could change how you handle heat, fluid loss or getting into and out of the cabin.

Pregnancy

Our sauna manuals advise pregnant women to avoid using the sauna. If you are thinking about using one during pregnancy, speak to your maternity team first. Avoid making your own “safe” routine from a lower temperature or shorter session.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists notes that some studies link sauna and hot tub use early in pregnancy, especially for long periods, with birth defects. It should not be read as a precise exposure limit for every pregnancy.

Heart conditions, blood-pressure problems or previous fainting

Ask the clinician who manages your condition whether sauna heat is suitable. Give them your actual diagnosis, recent symptoms and medicine list.

A diagnosis alone cannot tell a blog reader that sauna use is either safe or permanently forbidden. Advice may differ between someone with a stable condition and someone whose symptoms or treatment have recently changed. Do not use general research about possible cardiovascular benefits as personal clearance.

If you have an implanted device, ask your clinical team and consult the device's guidance about the intended environment. Do not assume that every device and sauna configuration is equivalent.

Recent surgery, wounds or active skin problems

Do not use the sauna with an open wound. Follow your treating team's instructions before returning to sauna heat. Dressings, wound healing and the operation itself may affect the advice.

Read our sauna-after-surgery guide for questions to ask. It does not replace your discharge instructions or provide a universal waiting time.

Heat sensitivity and neurological conditions

Discuss sauna use with your care team if heat already worsens your symptoms or you have difficulty sensing or regulating temperature.

For example, the MS International Federation describes temporary worsening of MS symptoms when body temperature rises, including during sauna exposure. That is a reason for condition-specific advice, not a claim that the same rule applies to every neurological condition.

Kidney disease, diabetes or a fluid restriction

Ask the clinician managing your condition how heat exposure fits your care plan. Mention fluid limits, reduced sensation, dizziness and any problems with glucose management or other symptoms.

Do not follow a universal instruction to drink large amounts of water if your own care plan restricts fluids. Your clinical instructions take priority.

Medicines that can change the heat response

Ask your doctor or pharmacist about your exact medicines, including non-prescription products. Some can affect sweating, fluid balance, blood pressure or alertness. Our sauna manuals warn that alcohol, drugs and some medicines increase the risk of hyperthermia.

The CDC's heat-and-medications guidance discusses these interactions in heat broadly, rather than providing a sauna-specific safe list. Do not stop or change a medicine for sauna use. Our medication guide helps you prepare for that discussion.

What about children and older adults?

Our sauna manuals say children under 6 must not use the sauna, and older children must be supervised at all times. They also advise infants and older people to avoid sauna use.

For an older child, ask the child's healthcare professional and follow the equipment rules. A general adult session plan should not automatically be applied to a child.

If an older adult wants to use a sauna, ask their doctor first about medicines, mobility and health conditions. Someone who needs help getting out of the cabin should have an appropriate support plan before a session.

Which symptoms mean you should stop?

Leave the sauna if you develop dizziness, nausea, unusual weakness, a headache or other concerning symptoms. Move somewhere cooler and get help if symptoms persist or concern you.

Confusion, collapse or seizures need urgent medical assistance. The NHS guidance on heat exhaustion and heatstroke explains why serious heat illness is an emergency. In Australia, call 000.

Do not return to the cabin simply because you have had a drink of water. First establish why you became unwell and whether further advice is needed.

Are infrared saunas safe because the air feels milder?

A milder-feeling cabin still adds heat exposure and does not remove individual health risks. Comfort alone cannot assess the effect of a medical condition or medicine.

Check the manual for your exact model, keep within its operating instructions and follow any clinical advice you have received. A product feature should not be treated as medical clearance.

What should you bring to the medical conversation?

Bring the sauna model, any added light-device details, the planned conditions, your medicine list and your main concern. Tell the clinician about previous dizziness, heat intolerance or other symptoms.

Ask what would make a session unsuitable, which symptoms require help and when the advice should be reviewed. Clear answers are more useful than assuming a sauna is safe because someone with a similar condition uses one.

This article provides general information and does not replace individual medical advice.