Is Sauna Good For Sore Throat?

We have access to an old style traditional sauna at our neighbor's house.  We're good friends and they fire it up a couple of times per week.  It's great for relaxing in and for sweating out toxins.  I always feel great afterwards.

I've heard that sauna is good for sweating out a cold.  But I tried it for a sore throat.  And I haven't noticed any improvement.  I had this head cold that dragged on for several weeks.  Most symptoms have eventually cleared up.  But the sore throat just hasn't gotten better.  It's at its worst in the morning.  

I tried a couple of 15 minute sessions in the sauna to see if the high temperature would have any effect.  But I haven't noticed any improvement at all.  Is it just a myth?  Is sauna good for a sore throat??  I'm trying to avoid a trip to the doctor.  Very expensive.

 

I can understand using a sauna for sweating out a cold.  I have used a hot shower for that in the past.

For a sore throat, I would gargle with salt water.

Anne Miller wrote:I can understand using a sauna for sweating out a cold.  I have used a hot shower for that in the past.

For a sore throat, I would gargle with salt water.

Hi Anne, thanks for the tip.  Gargling salt water was a great tip.  It's beginning to get better.  Definitely moving in the right direction.  It stings like hell at first but it seems to be doing something.  The salt must be killing off any microbes in the infection.

I did a bit of digging.  Sore throats are caused by infections.  Either bacterial or viral.  So, they recommend not using a sauna to treat one.  It can't kill off the infection and it might even make it worse - see here: https://homesaunaheaven.com/sore-throat-sauna.  The dry air in a sauna could irritate your throat and add to the pain.

I'm going to stick to the salt water for now.  Salt water and some pain killers first thing in the morning.  All in all, that's the sensible approach.  Thanks for the tip Anne.

In Scandinavia, everybody goes to sauna all the time. If you are ill, sit in a mellow sauna for a long time. Like 1,5 hours in 160 F throwing a lot of water in the stones for humidity. It works by speeding up your metabolism ->body heals faster.
Personally, I think inhaling steam might be better. Not as pleasant though!