Is it possible to go to the bathhouse with a runny nose: valuable tips

Since ancient times, the bathhouse has been considered the best healer. Bath procedures really have a beneficial effect on the body: they remove toxins and waste, activate blood flow, increase immunity, and overall tone.

Before the cold season, going to the bathhouse is an excellent means of prevention against viral attacks, especially in combination with taking healing herbal infusions, using balms and ointments. Before visiting a bathhouse or sauna, you need to prepare: stay warm for a long time, drink tea with honey, or a decoction of herbs.

It is a popular belief that at the first sign of a cold, staying in a steam room will help get rid of a runny nose or cough. However, this method of treatment cannot be used by everyone and not always. Before deciding whether you can go to the bathhouse with a runny nose, or whether you should refrain from such treatment, you need to weigh the pros and cons.

What is the effect of visiting a bathhouse on a runny nose?

The bathhouse has been used for a long time for the treatment and prevention of colds, runny noses and coughs. This tool has many advantages:

helps speed up metabolism; allows you to remove toxins and waste from the body with sweat; improves blood flow; strengthens the immune system; cleanses the nasopharynx by thinning mucus and improving its removal; eases cough by thinning mucus in the respiratory tract, which improves expectoration; stimulates the production of interferon, effectively fighting viral infection.

To produce interferon, the body needs to independently increase body temperature, which usually occurs with ARVI. If, when the first symptoms of a runny nose appear, you visit the bathhouse in a timely manner, the production of the substance is activated under the influence of an artificial increase in body temperature from an external source. The body is exposed to less stress and begins to fight viruses more effectively.

In a bath, a person’s production of leukocytes increases by 20%, which helps block the spread of infection into the blood.

The bath has a complex effect on the body as a whole, therefore, together with the treatment of a runny nose, it has a healing effect on the skin, cardiovascular system, and internal organs. High temperatures cause blood vessels to dilate, blood to flow faster and saturate tissues and organs with useful substances, which increases the productivity of their work.

Thanks to increased sweating in the bath, the body undergoes detoxification and deslagging. Due to the breakdown of fat, weight is reduced and the kidneys are unloaded.

However, it is important to remember that intensive removal of mucus from the nose can cause infection of others, and in humid air, bacteria multiply faster. Therefore, it is not recommended to be in a steam room with healthy people.

Conjunctivitis – what is worth knowing?

The conjunctiva is a membrane that covers the eyeball and the inner surface of the eyelids. It performs a moisturizing function and promotes the secretion of mucus and tears. Very sensitive to any irritants - bright light or the touch of dirty hands. Accordingly, many factors lead to the occurrence of conjunctivitis. The first symptoms are itching, burning and increased sensitivity to light. The eyes become red and watery. Depending on the cause, the following types of conjunctivitis are distinguished:

Bacterial - caused by several types of bacteria, the characteristic symptom is cloudy discharge.
Viral – caused by viruses, manifested by visible swelling and profuse lacrimation.
Fungal - appears after antibiotic therapy or steroid use.
Allergic – accompanied by itching, burning and discharge.
Chlamydial - caused by chlamydia and is almost always sexually transmitted. The mucous membranes are swollen, and purulent mucous discharge appears in the conjunctival sac.
Non-infectious - occurs from strong wind, bright light, dust, mechanical injuries in the eye area or from chronic lack of sleep.

Conjunctivitis is not a life-threatening disease and is relatively easy to treat. However, despite this, it should not be underestimated, since without treatment it can lead to chronic inflammatory processes. If the above symptoms do not disappear after a few days, you should consult a doctor immediately.

In what cases should you not go to the bathhouse?

Like any medicine, the bath has contraindications.

High body temperature, at which the danger lies in possible swelling of the nasal mucosa and acceleration of the process of bacterial growth. And with fever, the load on the blood vessels and heart increases. ARVI is at the initial stage, since at this time the body is intensively fighting the virus, and a bath can aggravate the disease and cause unwanted complications. Thick mucus during a runny nose with a yellowish and greenish tint, which is the cause of bacterial infection, which is aggravated by exposure to elevated temperatures and humid air (more than 70%). Age up to three years, at which time the body is susceptible to various types of infections, and high ambient temperatures can cause a number of serious complications. Acute infections of a viral nature, for example, chickenpox, herpes. Headache, in which high temperatures provoke vasodilation, which can cause a stroke. Heart disease. Doctor's prescriptions. Some chronic diseases.

After an exacerbation of the chronic form of the disease, a consultation with a doctor is recommended. Otherwise, you can cause a relapse with more serious consequences.

How to steam properly?

Rules for using a bath to treat a runny nose:

bath preparation. The steam room should be well heated, the stones should be heated. You can create healing hot steam by wetting the stones with water and oils or herbs. The procedure time should not exceed 15 minutes with breaks every 3 minutes. The release of sweat signals the beginning of the positive effects of heat. You can enhance the process with a herbal broom. With the help of massage, blood flow increases, which promotes rapid recovery. With adequate preparation, after the steam room you should take a cold shower or jump into the pool. The contrast effect activates the body's systems to work positively. You can’t get too cold, so after cold water you need to rub yourself thoroughly and wrap yourself in a towel. In the steam room you need to wear a felt or linen hat, which will protect the blood vessels of the head from high temperatures. Bath procedures should be combined with drinking herbal teas. Add essential oils to the stones, which has a beneficial effect on the mucous membrane when inhaling, calms and tones the body.

How should you behave if you are infected with conjunctivitis?

Despite all the discomfort the disease brings, many patients prefer to wait until it goes away on its own and do not try to quickly cure it, continuing to go about their daily activities. It is clear that it is impossible for a modern person, especially a full-time employed person, to completely distance himself from people and his hygiene habits, but some rules of caution are still worth following.

Visit to the swimming pool

A swimming pool is a public place, which means that when visiting it, a person must comply with sanitary rules for general safety. In order to receive a subscription to the pool or a ticket for a single visit, the visitor must provide a certificate stating that he is not a carrier of infectious diseases transmitted by airborne droplets (and other contact routes).

Bath treatments for runny nose

Bath decoctions

A common recipe is dry mustard diluted in water. 1 teaspoon per ladle of boiling water is enough. The composition should be poured in small doses onto the stones. If this method is problematic to implement, you can moisten a cotton pad in the solution and apply it to the nostrils one by one.

An effective remedy is the herbal infusion of wild rosemary: 100 g of herb is ground and infused for three weeks in a tablespoon of olive oil. The strained infusion is diluted with 3 liters of water. The liquid is poured in small portions onto the stones. You can drip the product into your nose.

Essential oils of eucalyptus, pine, mint, fir, geranium, rosemary, individually and in mixtures, have an effective effect on the body during a runny nose.

You can use tinctures of chamomile and thyme, prepared by boiling 100 g of herbs in 250 ml of water. Elecampane is endowed with healing properties for a runny nose. Preparation recipe: add 10 g of crushed root to a glass of boiling water, then the liquid is infused in a water bath for 30 minutes. Before use, dilution in 2 liters of water is required. It should be poured onto the stones in doses.

A mixture of 3 g of licorice, elecampane and marshmallow roots, filled with two glasses of cold water, will help cure a runny nose and cough. The infusion is prepared for 8 hours, filtered and diluted in 2 liters of water. The liquid is gradually poured onto the hot stones.

Contrast shower or pool

Contrast procedures harden the body and train the immune system. But for a runny nose, it should be used only with prior preparation. In its absence, it is better to refuse the procedure.

Medicinal teas

Healing teas, juices and drinks work well in the baths.

Drinking infusion of buckwheat flowers: 40 g per 1 liter of boiling water. Violet tea: 10 g per 250 ml of boiling water. Infusion of a mixture of herbs and berries: 5 g each of fennel fruits, linden flowers, leaves of coltsfoot, meadowsweet and 10 g of leaves raspberries are poured with a liter of boiling water. Before use, leave for 15 minutes. Tea from black poplar buds: 10 g of crushed fruits per 250 ml of boiling water. Drink in small portions after 15 minutes. Radish juice helps well in the initial stages of a runny nose. They drink it in a spoon three times a day. The honeycomb lids are chewed directly in the steam room.

Can a child go to the steam room with a runny nose?

Before going to the bathhouse with a child with a runny nose, you need to consult a pediatrician and weigh the pros and cons. For children under three years of age, the bathhouse is completely contraindicated. In the first years of life, babies have a completely different thermoregulation system, sweat glands are not yet developed, and mucous membranes function differently. Therefore, the consequences of using a bath as a remedy for a runny nose are fraught with unpredictable consequences. Doctors recommend taking only healthy children to the bathhouse.

But everything is individual. For some, heating in this way can cause mucus to drain into the bronchi, which can cause pneumonia. For others, the process will go right, and the runny nose will go away without consequences. Therefore, in older age, the procedure is possible only after consultation with a pediatrician and subject to the following rules:

adhere to contraindications; do not steam for too long; do not use excessively high temperatures; ensure warmth and rest after the procedure.

It is important to remember that the child’s body is susceptible to the emergence and spread of various types of infections. Therefore, even simple rhinitis after a bath can cause complications.

The bathhouse is a universal means of healing that has a beneficial effect on the body as a whole. Since ancient times, bath procedures were considered a real panacea against colds.

The therapeutic effect of the bath is due to the destructive effect of high temperature on pathogenic microorganisms. Hot steam helps open skin pores, remove dirt and toxins from them, and cleanse the skin of microparticles of dying cells. In addition, such thermal procedures perfectly stimulate blood circulation and increase tone. The hot air in the steam room causes many physiological processes to occur at a higher speed.

If you have a cold accompanied by a runny nose, you can and even need to go to the bathhouse. However, like any treatment, bath therapy requires a competent approach and adherence to certain rules for visiting the bath during illness.

How to treat a runny nose in a bath?

To find out whether it is possible to take a steam bath with a runny nose, the attending specialist will advise you in each specific case, based on the general condition of the patient and the severity of the development of the cold.

If the solution is satisfactory, treatment in the bathhouse can be as follows:

Performing bath inhalations. Up to 10 drops of essential oil of pine, eucalyptus, cedar, and other preparations that have a calming, bactericidal effect are dripped onto hot stones. Penetrating into the respiratory system along with hot vapors, the products help inhibit the development of pathogenic microflora. Essential oils are also added to hot water. Massage with a broom. Bath massages with a broom help improve the general condition of the body and stabilize proper blood circulation. Brooms are cut from branches of medicinal plants. So, they use birch, pine needles, chamomile, St. John's wort. For these purposes, it is not necessary to “really” steam; it is enough to just lightly pat the surface of the skin. Decoctions of medicinal herbs. Medicinal herbs are steamed directly in a basin or tank of hot water, in the decoction of which they perform bath procedures. You can use chamomile, eucalyptus, St. John's wort, thyme. Such decoctions can also be taken orally as tea.

If you have a runny nose, when there are no contraindications, you can enter the steam room in several steps. The temperature in the steam room should be the same as what the person usually “withstood” before he got sick.

As for children, is it possible for a child with snot to go to the bathhouse? It’s difficult to draw conclusions on your own. The child's body is unpredictable and you should first consult a doctor. After all, if the snot appeared not as a result of a cold, but against the background of ENT diseases, then the child’s condition may become critical after the steam room.

The bathhouse is a universal means of healing that has a beneficial effect on the body as a whole. Since ancient times, bath procedures were considered a real panacea against colds.

The benefits of a bath

Everyone knows that a bath is not only a pleasant pastime, but also an excellent means of preventing and treating various colds.

The benefits of bath therapy for a runny nose include:

Inhalations

Cleaning

In addition, the bath activates sweating, which removes waste and toxins that clog the body. Hot air also increases the production of interferon, which is an antiviral protein.

Massage with a bath broom improves blood circulation, which increases the level of protection of the immune system and also has a beneficial effect on the joints. If you have a cold accompanied by body aches, a bathhouse will be the best way to relieve this unpleasant symptom.

Strengthening immunity

During the process of steaming in a bathhouse, a person’s production of leukocytes, which block the development of various viruses, infections and bacteria, is accelerated by 20%. It follows from this that taking a steam bath when you have a runny nose is not only possible, but also very useful. However, like any therapeutic method, bath procedures have their own contraindications, which should be known before starting bath treatment.

Benefits of a bath

The usual treatment regimen for a runny nose is drops in the nose, inhalation over steam, heating, etc. However, the bathhouse has advantages over all the above procedures:

High temperatures quickly destroy germs and bacteria.
Inhalations with essential oils clear the nasopharynx, clear the airways, thin out accumulated mucus, and at the same time have a beneficial effect on the body as a whole.
Contrasting transitions from the steam room to the cool pool harden the nasopharynx, developing stable immunity against colds.
If bath therapy is planned for medicinal purposes, it is better to make a solo trip - a humid environment quickly spreads germs, and there is a great danger of “giving” infection to others when coughing and nasal discharge.

Possible harm

Bath procedures undoubtedly bring great benefits to the entire body. But in some cases, going to the bathhouse with a runny nose is not recommended. You cannot go to the steam room if:

Exacerbation

The disease is in the acute stage. In the case when pathogenic microorganisms have seriously established themselves in the body, an increase in air temperature will only create favorable conditions for their active reproduction. This can trigger the progression of the disease, even to the occurrence of complications in the form of pneumonia, asthma or bronchitis.

Temperature

It is strictly forbidden to perform bath procedures at a body temperature exceeding 37 ̊ C. Any, even slight increase in temperature increases the load on the heart, and in combination with the thermal effects of the steam room, you can easily provoke a heart attack. It is not recommended to go to the bathhouse during acute rhinitis. Hot air can cause swelling of the nasal passages.

Headache

If you experience headaches as a result of a cold, visiting a steam room often causes dizziness and even sudden loss of consciousness.

Up to 3 years

As for bath therapy for a child with a runny nose, children should not go to the bath until the disease completely subsides. Children under 3 years of age are strictly prohibited from visiting the bathhouse.

Herpes

In case of exacerbation of herpes infection. High air humidity creates favorable conditions for the proliferation of the herpes virus, so if you have signs of the disease, it is not advisable to go to the bathhouse.

So, bath procedures will bring maximum benefit only at the initial stage of development of the disease or at the final stages. Otherwise, you can provoke a deterioration in the condition and aggravate the course of the disease. In any case, in order to avoid undesirable consequences, you should first consult with your doctor.

Bath conjunctivitis

When visiting a bathhouse, you should be careful not to contract bathhouse conjunctivitis. According to its characteristics, the type of disease is classified as infectious pathology. Modern medicine cannot give an exact answer as to what causes the disease. Experts say that the infection is transmitted from sick visitors through bath items. Therefore, during the inflammatory process, visiting baths and saunas is prohibited.

Even if you have a strong desire to take a steam bath, spend time with friends or family in high humidity and extreme temperatures during eye inflammation, give up this idea. Healthy organs of vision are subjected to increased stress in a sauna or bathhouse, and during an inflammatory pathological process, due to a weak protective system, such loads increase, which leads to undesirable consequences.

How to steam properly

To achieve the maximum therapeutic effect from the bath, you should follow some rules:

Before carrying out the procedure, the steam room should be thoroughly warmed up; To produce steam, the hot stones of the stove must be watered; You need to stay in the steam room for no more than 15 minutes. It is recommended to enter 2-3 times during one bath session. The effect will begin when sweating appears, which can be enhanced by massage with a bath broom; For colds accompanied by a runny nose, steam stones can be generously irrigated with chamomile, mint or eucalyptus esters. Thus, the therapeutic effect on the body is enhanced significantly; To avoid overheating of the head, you can wear a special felt hat; To restore health after an illness, it is advisable to combine a bath procedure with decoctions based on medicinal herbs. For this purpose, you can use herbs that have tonic and restorative properties.

A properly carried out bathing process will allow you to get rid of not only the unpleasant symptoms of a cold in a short time, but also the accumulated toxins, and will also help balance your state of mind, since everything in the human body is interconnected.

In the old days they said: “I went to the bathhouse and all my ailments went away...” Today, doctors are skeptical about bathhouses and water procedures in general. Most often, bath procedures are strictly prohibited, while there are also those who confidently declare: “I always feel better after a bath.” The most pressing question arises when a runny nose begins. Is it really possible to go to a bathhouse or sauna with a runny nose? Will such procedures be useful?

Bath “therapies” have always been considered a good preventive measure for colds. Even in ancient times, the effect of such treatment was noticeable and bath procedures, together with herbal decoctions, were widely popular.

Therapeutic procedure in the sauna

As soon as we notice the first signs of the disease, we immediately rush to say goodbye to it by vigorously warming it up. It is much easier to do this in a bathhouse. To increase sweating, therapeutic rubbing is used. For this purpose, special “sweat accelerators” are used. They usually contain salt and honey.

In order to obtain a rub, salt and honey are mixed in equal quantities and applied to well-warmed skin. If you are just starting to have a cough and runny nose, this procedure will be effective and will immediately eliminate the unpleasant symptoms of a cold. A bath for a runny nose is the best treatment.

Inhalations

To make it easier to breathe, you need to know how to properly supply aromatic steam. There are a huge number of recipes for its preparation. The main ingredients are:

mint;
needles;
eucalyptus;
thyme;
chamomile.

A steam room in which the air is filled with the aromas of medicinal herbs is the best inhalation. Some dare to say that it gives positive and immediate results, unlike procedures that take place in the hospital. This inhalation option helps to breathe not only through the nose, but throughout the body. As a result of all this, we can safely say that a bath and a runny nose are compatible concepts. Having a comprehensive effect on the whole body, it helps eliminate a runny nose several times faster.

How to cure a runny nose in a bath using contrast procedures? It should be noted that they must be carried out observing all the rules of caution. If everything is done as expected, in the near future you will be able to forget about your stuffy nose and breathe deeply again. Those who have an untrained body should not run straight into a hot shower from a hot room. This will definitely not strengthen your immune system; moreover, you can get sick.

We have already found out whether it is possible to go to the bathhouse with a runny nose. What other treatments are used in bath conditions? You should not steam for too long, you need to take breaks. During warming up, the body needs a lot of fluid. It is needed to thoroughly cleanse the body and also support it.

Teas and herbal infusions will help get rid of a runny nose: thyme, linden, mint, chamomile, elderberry, lemon balm. Various anti-cold additives are optionally added to the finished tea: lemon, raspberries and honey.

If you come to the steam room to treat a runny nose, then you should try another procedure - steam with a broom. What's a bathhouse without a broom? This is more of a tradition than a rule. How is this procedure useful? It is able to activate sweating and enhance blood circulation in the capillaries. After a massage with a broom, impurities and toxins are completely washed out of the pores, and metabolism improves. To the question whether it is possible to use a broom in a bathhouse with a runny nose, the answer is only positive.

A eucalyptus broom is best suited for this procedure. Why him? It kills all pathogens that are in the air. Treats runny nose, cough and eliminates sore throat. To do this, they need to breathe well. A dry broom is steamed and then pressed to the face, breathing in the vapors that come from it. This procedure does not take much time; 5-10 minutes will be enough to make you feel much lighter.

The benefits of a bath for a runny nose

Modern medicine recognizes that in the initial stages of the development of ARVI and other colds, visiting a sauna will only be beneficial. Primary symptoms - runny nose, sore throat, cough, weakness - will go away without a trace if you steam well and then drink a decoction of medicinal herbs. For greater effect, such compositions are supplemented with honey, lemon juice, milk, and raspberry jam. After such therapy, it is recommended to wrap yourself warmly and go to bed.

If you have a runny nose, visiting a bathhouse or sauna will have a beneficial effect on the body:

Staying under the influence of hot steam helps open pores , which allows you to quickly remove toxins and harmful substances accumulated in the body. Blood circulation improves. Due to a sharp increase in body temperature, a large production of leukocytes occurs; they provide strong resistance to penetrating viruses and pathogens. The inhaled steam of a bath, especially when using some essential oil, for example, cedar, lavender or eucalyptus oil, is like inhalation for sick respiratory organs. Inhalations help remove phlegm, cleanse the bronchi and lungs. Using a birch or pine broom allows you to dilate blood vessels and improve cardiac function.

Previously, due to the lack of medicine, runny nose and colds were treated in a bathhouse, which in most cases helped get rid of a runny nose after several bathing sessions

Usually after such therapy the cough goes away. When coughing, the patient spits out the masses accumulated on the respiratory organs, as a result the nose is cleared. Breathing becomes better, there is no more pressure, pain in the chest, the cough goes away. Of course, this is all a temporary phenomenon and without appropriate comprehensive treatment, the malaise will return again.

Thanks to a “trip” to the bathhouse in the early stages of the development of the disease, or at the end of treatment, when residual effects of the pathology still remain, the patient’s condition will be significantly alleviated.

When should you not go to the bathhouse?

Despite the many positive effects, bath steam, high temperature and high humidity can often aggravate the patient’s condition, complicating the course of the disease. Thus, a bath or sauna is extremely contraindicated for a runny nose, if the patient, in addition to snot, has a high body temperature . This symptom is very dangerous, indicating the development of severe inflammation and possible complications. You need to pay more attention to the patient, understanding that bath procedures will definitely not benefit him.

Neglecting contraindications can lead not only to a complication of the patient’s general condition, but also to an exacerbation of colds, heart failure, and heart attack.

A cold accompanied by severe headaches can result in severe loss of strength, dizziness, and fainting.

You cannot go to the bathhouse “with herpes”; the disease will spread even more, covering ever larger areas.

However, the most dangerous bathhouse will be for those who rarely take steam baths and visit such places.

If you are not used to it, such procedures can end very badly.

You cannot go to the bathhouse, shower, or sauna when the disease has moved from the initial stage to the most dangerous stage and is progressing more and more.

Is it possible to take herbal infusions to the bathhouse for treatment?

The most effective sauna for a runny nose will be if you combine it with taking herbal decoctions.

Tea can be prepared from the following herbs:

Thyme.
Linden.
Sage.
Mint.

2 tbsp. l. Pour boiling water over the dried herbs and leave for 20 minutes. Then add a spoonful of honey and drink like regular tea.

To alleviate the condition, you can carry out the following procedure:

Pour 20 g of mustard powder with water.
Pour the liquid onto the hot stones in the sauna.
Breathe the steam.

After some time, the congestion will disappear and breathing will become easier.

You can also use a special solution based on wild rosemary. 2 tbsp. l. Mix chopped wild rosemary herb with 50 ml of olive oil. Infuse the herb for a month in a dark, well-ventilated area.

How to steam properly?

Having brewed the chosen broom with hot water, as soon as it has steamed, you can begin to steam the patient. To make the procedure easier to endure, you need to put a special cap on your head. If the patient is steaming himself, then also cover his hands with protective caps.

Soaring a person with a broom is a whole science:

The process begins with light slapping, one might say stroking, starting from the feet to the head area. They come back, lightly slapping the sides. Returning upward, attention is paid to the lumbar region, hips, and buttocks. When treating these areas with a broom, you can not only pat, but also rub in a circular motion, applying maximum effort. Take the broom with your hands from both ends, press it to the lumbar region and, applying light pressure, smoothly pull it up to the back, right up to the neck. Repeat up to six times. Afterwards, the back area is well steamed, making sharper movements, while adding a parka at the same time.

You can take a steam bath no less than an hour or two after eating

If it is difficult for a patient to be in the steam room, and he complains that he “doesn’t like” such therapy, then the process must be stopped immediately so as not to harm his health.

If the patient becomes ill , he needs to be taken out of the steam room to a cooler place, allowed to catch his breath, and wash his face with cool water. You will have to monitor your general condition for some time, and if things get worse, call an ambulance.

Washing your hair with conjunctivitis - pros and cons

Since even the most harmless eye inflammation goes away in three days, this is not a reason to neglect the rules of simple hygiene and experience discomfort. Therefore, to the question: is it possible to wash your hair with conjunctivitis, the general rule applies - bathe only with boiled water and do not get it or shampoo into your eyes. If your hair is long, ask your loved ones to help you so that the procedure is quick and painless,

As in any life situation, exceptions are possible, for example, the patient’s well-being is accompanied by fever or a concomitant illness. It is necessary to decide depending on the condition - it may be better to postpone swimming with conjunctivitis until the next day, so as not to inadvertently worsen the situation.

Without qualified diagnosis and treatment, we can do more harm than help. Do not leave this disease to chance, take care of your eyesight!

Author of the article: Martynyuk David Aleksandrovich, specialist for the website glazalik.ru Share your experience and opinion in the comments.