Everyone's body is different. This method has worked for me for many years, but it may not work for you. Please do not attempt this if you are pregnant, have a weak heart or are prone to losing consciousness. I cannot be held responsible for any ill effects that, however unlikely, may occur. I suggest always doing the following with a buddy, never alone.
We all know that feeling, you know the one I'm talking about, it's evening time and your joints start to hurt and you can feel your temperature rising. Yup, you are getting sick. Tomorrow it's going to be high fever, headache, and god knows what else. Getting sick isn't fun and it usually leads to missing work, school, or any plans that you have have for the next few days . Well I'm here to tell you that it's avoidable. I have discovered a method that works for me to avoid the horrid next few days of suffering, not getting out of bed and general pain associated with getting ill.
Personally I start to feel the early effects of a cold or flu in the evening. Whenever these early effects, joint pains, low fever, headaches, and general misery kick in I immediately switch to prevention mode. First step is to pop 1-2 pills of Tylenol, Nurofen express, or any other fast acting pain, headache and fever relief. I then generally wait the suggested relief time, usually 15 to 30 minutes. Once I can feel my fever is dropping I go and do a few 5 to 10 minute sessions in a dry sauna. It has to be a dry sauna, after some extermination I came to the conclusion that wet saunas are not as effective. You literally sweat the illness out of you. Lay down, don't move, talk or do anything else, just let the sauna do its work. Personally 2 sessions of about 8 minutes work fine for me. If you are new to sauna it might be difficult to sit through 8 minutes of 80c plus degree heat, but try. At the very least do 3 sessions of 5 minutes each.
Go to bed shortly after your last session. If all goes well you will wake up the next morning feeling fantastic. Now I realise that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a sauna in their home but many of you should have a spa, gym or sports centre nearby and those almost always have a sauna, even if its poorly advertised. Most importantly: enjoy the experience! Saunas have tons of health benefits and should be used often!
A few things to remember:
If your fever does not go down DO NOT attempt this. Your body heats up because its working to rid you of the infection. Adding extra heat on top of an existing fever is not a good idea!
If you have never been to a sauna before always go with a friend. Your body may feel weird in all that heat, stay as long as you can, but don't force it. If you start to feel uncomfortable leave immediately and take at least a 10 minute break before going back in. It may take time for your body to get used to it.
Go to bed shortly after your last session. If all goes well you will wake up the next morning feeling fantastic. Now I realise that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a sauna in their home but many of you should have a spa, gym or sports centre nearby and those almost always have a sauna, even if its poorly advertised. Most importantly: enjoy the experience! Saunas have tons of health benefits and should be used often!
A few things to remember:
If your fever does not go down DO NOT attempt this. Your body heats up because its working to rid you of the infection. Adding extra heat on top of an existing fever is not a good idea!
If you have never been to a sauna before always go with a friend. Your body may feel weird in all that heat, stay as long as you can, but don't force it. If you start to feel uncomfortable leave immediately and take at least a 10 minute break before going back in. It may take time for your body to get used to it.
