Re: Sauna question
- Subject: Re: Sauna question
- Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:08:25 -0000
- Yahoo! Message Number: 168861
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--- In Autism-Mercury@yahoogroups.com, Juli Smith <rank35> wrote:
Are FIR saunas ok to use on mercury toxic people?
There are portable ones available. Thanks, Juli
Hi Juli,
We have been doing sauna (combination of dry heat and FIR) for my 8
year old son with autism for a year and a half with excellent results.
(He developed autism as a result of mercury in vaccinations). He has
gotten healthier and more robust physically. He's less allergic, he
stims less, he has much better cognitive function, and he has better
problem-solving skills. Also, GI function and stomachaches have
improved as his load of stored toxins has gone down. We've seen other
improvements too. .
We see William Rea, M.D. at the Environmental Health Center-Dallas.
He's now treated more than 30,000 patients with sauna (he uses a mix
of dry heat and FIR) since the 1970s and is widely regarded as THE
sauna guru. He says that sauna, including FIR, is safe for most people
, including people with mercury toxicity given (1) the right sauna, (2
) the right sauna protocol, and (3) appropriate monitoring by a doctor
who is knowledgeable about sauna detox and has experience with it.
I'll explain more: (1) All saunas are not the same. Some are made with
the most toxic materials you can imagine (for example vinyl and other
plastics) or slightly less toxic materials like pine or cedar. Some
are made with mostly safe materials (such as poplar and glass) but
have toxins anyway due to the (sometimes hidden) use of glues,
varnishes, plastic windows, plywood, etc. One of the cornerstones of
ensuring sauna safety is to use a sauna that has the most minimal
amount of toxins possible. The reason this is important is because
toxins stored in things like wood, plastic, varnish, etc. are
continuously outgassing. When you heat them up, they outgas even more.
Considering that heating is what a sauna does, having a sauna made
with materials that are anything less than the most toxin-free
possible is a bad mix. You'll be breathing in toxins that are in the
air as you sauna and try to dump toxins you already have.
Dr. Rea says there are two good options for 'clean' saunas. First, you
can build your own of tile with toxin-free adhesive and grout (no
silicone, latex, etc.) and you will need to get toxin-free heating
units. The other option is Heavenly Heat's portable units. Their
saunas are made from untreated SOLID poplar wood (widely accepted as
the least toxic wood you can use) and glass. They don't use any glues,
varnish, plywood, or other materials that introduce obvious or hidden
toxins. (As non-reactive as it is, a few people do have trouble with
poplar. Heavenly Heat offers different options that have more glass
and less wood for anyone concerned about that. Dr. Rea typically
recommends getting more glass and less wood to lessn the chance of any
reaction.)
There are other saunas on the market made from poplar wood but do your
research carefully. Before we purchased our sauna, we talked
extensively with Dr. Rea. He told us that in his clinical experience,
Heavenly Heat ones are the only portable saunas that are safe enough
for someone with a damaged immune system. In his experience, other
brands, even ones made of poplar, put out too many toxins when heated
and make people sicker, or they just don't improve.
Andy talks about people getting sick from sauna and this is absolutely
true. I've talked to plenty of patients at Dr. Rea's clinic who got
sicker, sometimes way sicker, from sauna they did before coming to Dr.
Rea (both dry heat and FIR). BUT, what they eventually found after
trying the 'clean' saunas at Dr. Rea's was this: it was not sauna that
made them sick; they got sicker because the brand of sauna they were
using before they went to Dr. Rea had toxins. These toxins outgassed
big time every time they used the unit. I heard so many stories about
these saunas now sitting in the garage or shed being unused, or they
were being used as an expensive storage closet. I hate to trash a
company I don't have personal experience with, but the most common
brand I heard complaints about, in fact the only brand I heard
complaints about was High Tech Health (HTH). Complaints of
formaldehyde and high electromagnetic radiation and getting seriously
sicker were common, also complaints about HTH refusing to take the
unit back or charging an exhorbitant fee to do so. Personally, I don't
think its worth the chance when there is a safe alternative readily
available (Heavenly Heat).
A sauna is a big purchase and it would be tragic for a family already
overloaded with expenses to treat autism to end up with a sauna that
didn't help their child due to putting toxins when heated, or even
worse, made them sicker. So if you are uncertain, do careful research.
Ask the manufacturer tough questions. Is the wood solid? Is ALL the
wood solid? Is any laminated or layered? (This will mean glue is
present). How is the wood processed? Is the wood treated, stained,
varnished? How is the unit held together? Screws? Glue? Is there any
plastic? Plywood? Is there any formaldehyde used to manufacture any of
the materials in this unit? How much electromagnetic radiation (EMF)
does each heater emit? This is especially important for the FIR units
since you sit with your back right next to them! (You can test this
yourself with a gaussmeter--look for 5-7 as ideal and definitely under
10). Where is the unit made? Units made offshore may or may not have
as stringent quality control so this might give you some clues as to
the potential presence of toxins. And so on. Knowing what I do now,
I would ask for test results~from an independent test lab~on air
quality inside the unit when the unit is on. It would be so easy for a
salesman to say it's clean when really it's not and that's not a
chance I would want to take with my son's health.
(2) As far as a sauna protocol, there are lots of them floating around
out there on the internet and even from sauna companies. These are
might be a good starting point for some, but not for others. It's
probably safer and more ideal to have one that's specific for your
child (or you). Everyone is different and needs to move at their own
pace. Some of Dr. Rea's patients can tolerate dry heat + FIR sauna 6
days a week at very high temperatures for 30 minutes. At the other end
of the spectrum, I met a woman who can only tolerate 5 minutes of
sauna, at a low temperature, once a month without getting sicker. The
sauna is helping her, but she has to go oh so slow. Were she to use
one of the general protocols out there, she'd get seriously sicker and
probably conclude that sauna was harmful for her. At that level, it
would be. Also, different people may need differing amounts of
mineral replacement supplements and other nutritional support as part
of their protocol, depending on their personal situation and how much
mercury (and other toxins) they have. Certainly, you CAN do sauna
without having a customized protocol, but it's safer and more optimal
(that is: it works faster/better) to have a protocol based on your own
situation.
In addition, when I was first investigating sauna for my son, I didn't
plan to use dry heat for my son at all, just FIR. (This is because I
had read Sherry Roger's books and she recommends only FIR). Dr. Rea
said that in his clinical experience with sauna, which is now at
about 30 years, that some people have better detox and fewer problems
with dry heat, some with FIR, and some with a combination of both. I
don't know that this is well recognized in autism circles, yet. Dr.
Rea also said that at different points in your healing path, as you
are getting rid of different toxins, dry heat might be better than
FIR, or vice versa. When I asked Dr. Rea about Dr. Roger's
recommendation for only FIR, I found out that she is one of his
patients, and she doesn't use sauna in her practice so I really trust
his opinion since it's based on actual experience. If you get a unit
iwth both dry heat and FIR, it gives you more flexibility for
different family members and different points in your healing path.
For Heavenly Heat, the ones with both dry and FIR heat are called A+,
I think.
(3) Dr. Rea does blood work to monitor liver and kidney function and
mineral levels, among other things and he does it often, especially at
the beginning. He feels this is necessary to make sure you are moving
at the optimum rate and not getting depleted or developing other
problems. Checking liver and kidney function is important because when
you sauna, more toxins are released from their storage sites than get
sweated out. Some get into the blood stream and have to be processed
and excreted by normal means, urine and bowel. You don't want to
overtax those organs involved, which may already have a full load of
work to do, by going to fast or not taking the correct supplements.
These are simple tests that any doctor can order.
Sauna DOES work for getting rid of mercury and is very effective for
doing so. However, like most things, it may or may not be the
best/most effective/safest route for a specific person.
Sorry this is so long, but thought you and perhaps others might find
the info useful.
Mom of C and D
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