Sauna manufacturers cannot make medical claims for saunas treating being able to treat a disease, as they are not classified as “medical devices”. They are, however, being used increasingly for their potential health benefits. Hippocrates, or course, did make claims. “Let me create a fever, and I shall cure any disease. “
Here are excerpts from the Abstracts of two studies about the effects of heat on spirochetes, and consequently, on treating Lyme disease.
1. Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum: a comparison of functional genomics, environmental adaptations, and pathogenic mechanisms
Stephen F. Porcella and Tom G. Schwan Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana
Here is an excerpt from the Abstract: “The low tolerance of spirochetes for high temperatures is well known and may explain in part the restricted distribution of B. burgdorferi to temperate latitudes and its absence in the tropics, where infected ticks may be exposed to high temperatures detrimental to spirochete survival.
Interestingly, the thermal sensitivity of T. palladium was exploited in the early 1900s prior to the discovery of penicillin by using fever therapy with malaria or relapsing fever infection to treat patients with general paresis.”
2. Here is an excerpt from the second Abstract: Antibiotics and increased temperature against Borrelia burgdorferi in vitro.
Reisinger E, Wendelin I, Gasser R, Halwachs G, Wilders-Truschnig M, Krejs G. Department of Medicine, Karl Franzens University, Graz, Austria. Scand J Infect Dis. 1996; 28 (2): 155-7. PMID: 8792482
We cultured Borrelia burgdorferi at different temperatures, alone and in combination with antibiotics. The susceptibility of all strains to penicillin and ceftriaxone was increased up to 16-fold by an elevation of temperature from 36 degrees C to
38 degrees C.
These in vitro data suggest that elevated body temperature may be beneficial during antimicrobial treatment of Lyme disease. This may be particularly important in tissues where high concentrations of antibiotics are difficult to achieve. (Note: 38C = 100.4F)
Use of a full spectrum infrared sauna heats the body directly, instead of the air, so temperatures inside the sauna, although warm, remain tolerable for longer periods of time.
Here are excerpts from the Abstracts of two studies about the effects of heat on spirochetes, and consequently, on treating Lyme disease.
1. Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum: a comparison of functional genomics, environmental adaptations, and pathogenic mechanisms
Stephen F. Porcella and Tom G. Schwan Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Hamilton, Montana
Here is an excerpt from the Abstract: “The low tolerance of spirochetes for high temperatures is well known and may explain in part the restricted distribution of B. burgdorferi to temperate latitudes and its absence in the tropics, where infected ticks may be exposed to high temperatures detrimental to spirochete survival.
Interestingly, the thermal sensitivity of T. palladium was exploited in the early 1900s prior to the discovery of penicillin by using fever therapy with malaria or relapsing fever infection to treat patients with general paresis.”
2. Here is an excerpt from the second Abstract: Antibiotics and increased temperature against Borrelia burgdorferi in vitro.
Reisinger E, Wendelin I, Gasser R, Halwachs G, Wilders-Truschnig M, Krejs G. Department of Medicine, Karl Franzens University, Graz, Austria. Scand J Infect Dis. 1996; 28 (2): 155-7. PMID: 8792482
We cultured Borrelia burgdorferi at different temperatures, alone and in combination with antibiotics. The susceptibility of all strains to penicillin and ceftriaxone was increased up to 16-fold by an elevation of temperature from 36 degrees C to
38 degrees C.
These in vitro data suggest that elevated body temperature may be beneficial during antimicrobial treatment of Lyme disease. This may be particularly important in tissues where high concentrations of antibiotics are difficult to achieve. (Note: 38C = 100.4F)
Use of a full spectrum infrared sauna heats the body directly, instead of the air, so temperatures inside the sauna, although warm, remain tolerable for longer periods of time.