Children and sauna: at what age can you visit, restrictions and contraindications

Adults who have been taking bath procedures for a long time were able to verify from their own experience their positive effects on the human body. Therefore, many parents teach their children to visit the steam room from childhood.

Children in a bathhouse are a common occurrence, since such a pastime is not only an excellent vacation for the whole family, but also a good way to strengthen the body.

At what age can you take a child to the bathhouse?

In children, the sweat glands are not yet sufficiently developed; the body in unfavorable conditions is not able to maintain a stable body temperature. A child easily overheats even at temperatures when an adult is quite comfortable. In this regard, pediatricians do not recommend bringing a child to the bathhouse until the age of three. It will not have the expected benefit for young children, but even short-term severe overheating can cause serious consequences, including neurological complications and brain damage.

However, baths, like children, are different. If we are talking about a modern bathhouse with a steam room or sauna, then it is really worth waiting until the baby grows up so that it is completely safe to take him there. And if the bathhouse is a village one and serves as the only opportunity to wash properly, then the child can be bathed when the temperature in it drops to 28-30 degrees. Then the conditions will be comparable to the microclimate of a city bathroom and the baby will not be in danger of overheating.

It is important!

Of course, you need to objectively assess the baby’s condition. If the child is completely healthy, the mother visited the bathhouse during pregnancy and tolerated it well, then perhaps the bath will not harm a younger baby - from the age of one to one and a half years. And if a child is often ill, has chronic diseases, or generally does not tolerate temperature changes, a bathhouse will be contraindicated for him even at three years old. In any case, consult your pediatrician before your first visit to the bathhouse.

Why do you want to take your child (preschooler or primary school student) to a sauna or Russian bath?

Before taking your baby to the bathhouse
, try to answer yourself honestly and without excuses: why is this necessary?
Possible answers:

• You want to visit the steam room, but there is no one to leave your child with;
• The father insists: he believes that this will be very useful;
• You yourself think that this is useful.

Which option did you choose?
First option

If you take your baby to the bathhouse simply because you want to go there yourself, you will probably regret it: steaming with your baby will only exhaust you. You will return home on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It’s simple: you wanted to go to the bathhouse, but he didn’t. You will not be able to warm up the steam room to your favorite temperature, nor relax, nor lie quietly on the massage table.

Second option

The situation is stalemate. The father wants to see the baby in the steam room, but if something goes wrong (and it will go wrong) he will blame you. Try to dissuade dad from his idea. Take relatives as allies. Finally, refuse to go with him and the child: let him get out of it himself.

You think that the bath strengthens the immune system and is generally a cure for all diseases - well, you are right. Steaming in a bathhouse is a powerful hardening procedure. If you truly believe in this, you will overcome any difficulty.

Is it possible to steam children in a bathhouse?

Not all adults tolerate steam rooms well and like to steam. Children also should not tolerate hot steam and a broom if it is unpleasant for them. A bathhouse is not physical therapy prescribed by a doctor, which must be completed regardless of the child’s wishes. It will only be beneficial if you enjoy the bathhouse.

You need to introduce your baby to bath procedures gradually. The child must get used to a strange room with dim lights, where it is hot and damp. For the first time, you need to carry your baby into the steam room in your arms, just for a minute. If the child starts screaming or struggling, go back out immediately. But even if the baby likes everything, don’t stay for long.

If you like to use essential oils in the steam room, refrain from using them at least during your first visits to the bathhouse with your child and do not use them at all if your child is allergic. You can soar with a baby’s broom, but only when it’s warm – not hot! It is better to take a linden or at least birch broom, they are softer. Don't scare the baby, turn the procedure into a game. At first, patting with a broom should be very light, stroking. Invite your baby to spank you with a broom to show that it is pleasant and fun. You can gradually increase the time the child stays in the steam room to 3 minutes. During one visit to the bathhouse with a child, you can make two visits to the steam room.

It is important!

Sudden pallor, blueness of the nasolabial triangle, lethargy are signs of heat stroke. Immediately take the child out of the bath, lay him on a flat surface, provide an influx of fresh air, and give him warm water to drink. If the baby does not get better, call an ambulance.

Rules for visiting patients by relatives

Visits to children by relatives are allowed at strictly allotted times with a pass.

:

• On weekdays from 16:00 to 19:30;
• On weekends and holidays from 11:00 to 14:00, and from 16:00 to 19:30.

A pass to visit patients is issued at the Pass Office upon presentation of an identification document. The time of the visitor's stay is noted on the information sheet by the security officer at the Pass Office. The pass is presented upon request to security personnel, medical personnel, and representatives of the hospital administration.

Visitors must leave their outerwear in the cloakroom and bring a change of shoes.

Visiting children is only possible outside the department's territory. Visits to patients in serious condition in the ward are carried out with the permission of the head of the department. Only two people (the child's caregiver and a visitor) can be in the child's room at a time.

Children under 14 years of age are not allowed to visit patients in the intensive care unit.

In case of violation of the treatment regimen, the requirements of medical personnel and the Rules for visiting patients by relatives, the pass is canceled.

Warn and inform your loved ones and relatives about the visiting procedures and rules of behavior in the hospital.

What temperature is allowed in the steam room for children?

You also need to gradually accustom your child to the hot temperature in the steam room. On your first visits, enter the steam room when it has cooled down - no hotter than 40 degrees. As the child gets used to it, you can increase the temperature to 50-60 degrees. It is not recommended to enter the hotter steam room with children under seven years of age. Bring a towel or diaper with you for your baby to sit or lie on. His place is on the bottom shelf, where it is cooler and safer.

After the steam room, the child can take a warm shower, perhaps alternating it with a cool one, but under no circumstances should the child be doused with ice water or wiped with snow.

A bathhouse can become a therapeutic remedy for a baby

Like an adult, a child can benefit from visiting a bath not only in the long term, but also immediately. The steam room will help cure:

• Cold;
• Bronchitis;
• ARVI;
• Runny nose;
• Pharyngitis and laryngitis.

And vice versa: children who suffer from fever or breathing problems (with adenoids, pneumonia) may experience serious discomfort. In this case, visiting the steam room, like any other hardening water procedures, is better to postpone until a more favorable time.

Child's temperature after bath

If a child has a fever after a bath, he most likely overheated. If the temperature is low - no higher than 37.5 degrees, put the baby to bed, ventilate the room, and give plenty of fluids. The baby's condition should soon return to normal.

If the temperature rises sharply to high levels - 39-40 degrees, while the child does not sweat, breathes quickly, speaks slurred or even loses consciousness - this indicates heat stroke - a condition dangerous to health and life. Call an ambulance immediately, and before it arrives, try to reduce the temperature: undress the baby, wipe him with cold water, place a damp cloth on his forehead. If the child is conscious, give plenty of fluids. Antipyretics will not be effective for heatstroke.

The temperature may also rise due to the onset of ARVI, the signs of which you did not notice before going to the bathhouse. In this case, in addition to fever, a runny nose, cough, redness and sore throat may begin.

List

1. The standard recommendation is to take your child to the bathhouse from the age of three. Depending on the health of the baby and family traditions, this age may be less or more.
2. You can steam children in a bathhouse while following safety rules. The intensity of the procedures and the increase in temperature in the bath should be gradual.
3. In the steam room, upon your first visit with your child, the temperature should be about forty degrees, and as you get used to it, it should be 50-60.
4. After a bath, the child may develop a fever from overheating or due to infection. If you have a high temperature, call a doctor immediately.

(0 ratings; article rating 0)

Share Share Share

Violation of the regime

The following are considered violations of the treatment regimen and internal regulations:

• Smoking in the premises and on the territory of the hospital, drinking alcoholic beverages;
• Use of heating and other electrical appliances in department wards;
• Failure to comply with doctor’s recommendations, taking medications at your own discretion, storing them in the ward;
• Failure to appear or late attendance at a doctor's appointment or procedure;
• Failure to comply with the requirements of medical personnel when performing various procedures;
• Unauthorized departure from the department without notifying medical personnel and permission from the head of the department;
• Rude and disrespectful attitude towards staff and other patients;
• Failure to comply with the sanitary-epidemiological and security regime.

If the regime and internal regulations are violated, the person caring for the child may be discharged from the hospital. In this case, a note about violation of the regime will be included in the certificate of incapacity for child care. The territorial health authority that referred you for treatment will also be informed.

Contraindications

There are cases when going to a bathhouse or sauna with a child is prohibited. “Absolute contraindications are: pathologies of the heart muscle, diseases of the urinary system in severe chronic form, disorders of blood pressure and blood flow (blood clotting), allergies and asthma, tumors, diseases of the endocrine system, gastrointestinal tract, eyes in acute and chronic form,” says our expert . “You should also refrain from health procedures during the recovery period after operations, with frequent nosebleeds, skin infections and problems with the nervous system that cause convulsions.” According to Ekaterina Karedina, children with any diseases in the acute stage, children suffering from psychopathy and epilepsy, rheumatoid pathology, and tuberculosis should not visit the bathhouse. Such procedures are not recommended during periods of exacerbation of any infectious diseases, including during acute respiratory infections.

HOW TO PROPERLY PREPARE FOR A SAUNA VISIT?

The main objectives of recommendations for the correct visit to a steam room in a bathhouse or sauna:

• Provide conditions for normal sweating to cool the body in the steam room,
• Ensure the required cooling of the body after leaving the steam room, prevent overheating of the human body in the steam room,
• Prevent dehydration, electrolyte imbalance in the human body,
• Prevent acute circulatory disorders while in the bathhouse or after leaving it.
• Eat no later than 2 hours before visiting the steam room in the bathhouse or sauna. A moderate amount of easily digestible diet food with a high moisture content.
• Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs, coffee, strong tea, energy drinks, and a number of medications (if permitted by a doctor).
• Finish training, physical work, sexual intercourse, any psycho-emotional stress at least 20-30 minutes before visiting the steam room in the bathhouse and sauna and relax in a calm environment at room temperature.
• Before visiting the steam room in the bathhouse or sauna, take a warm shower and wash the surface of the body with soap. It is prohibited to apply any fat-based creams to the skin. After a shower, dry your body thoroughly with a towel: you need to enter the steam room with dry skin.
• Within 5-10 minutes before visiting the steam room, drink 2 glasses (400 ml) of low-mineralized water with released gas, or an isotonic sports drink without sugar. If mineral water is not available, drinking clean water is acceptable. It is not recommended to consume sugar-containing carbonated lemonades, dairy products, fruit and vegetable juices, and kvass before visiting the steam room. All these drinks can be consumed approximately 30 minutes after the complete completion of the bath procedure.
• Remove metal jewelry, glasses and contact lenses before visiting the steam room.
• Remove all clothing, sheets and towels. If absolutely necessary, use lightweight fabrics only made from natural cotton.

Finnish sauna for your health

In the medical department, when purchasing infant swimming or aquatherapy classes, a free visit to the Finnish sauna is provided for mother and child. A mother can visit the sauna with her child after swimming lessons, or relax in the warmth while the instructor works with her child. Most people view visiting a sauna as a pleasant and beneficial procedure. Many people perceive the bathhouse as an absolutely safe place, a symbolic “mother’s womb” that takes them into its arms, bestowing safety, peace, relaxation and wrapping them in warmth. It is no coincidence that the Finns say that “the first couple in the bathhouse circles like a passionate lover, the second couple caresses like a tender wife, and in the third couple you sit, as if in childhood on the lap of a kind mother.” However, the specialists of our medical center regard visiting the sauna as a full-fledged physiotherapeutic procedure, which has a significant effect on the body of adults and, in particular, on the child’s body. Therefore, we strictly control the dosage of thermal effects on the child in the sauna. We will tell you in this article what medical effects a visit to a sauna has, and how to make the steam room beneficial and not harmful.

HOW DOES A SAUNA AFFECT THE BODY OF PREGNANT WOMEN?

The main task of the expectant mother during pregnancy is to do everything to carry and give birth to a healthy baby. Contrary to popular belief, visiting a sauna during pregnancy does not contribute to the health of the unborn child, but represents a significant risk factor. Exposure to high temperatures is a dangerous factor that can lead to the development of defects in the fetus or termination of pregnancy. The danger threshold is to reach a core body temperature (measured in the anus) of 38.9°C. The time it takes for the body to heat up to this temperature ranges from 10 to 20 minutes on average. Overheating is especially dangerous in the first trimester (first three months) of pregnancy, when defects in the development of the fetal neural tube are possible due to heat stress in the mother's body. The most dangerous period for an unborn child is the first 4 weeks of pregnancy. Even at moderate temperatures in the sauna, oxygen starvation of the fetus can occur. For pregnant women with toxicosis and diseases of the circulatory system, visiting the sauna is contraindicated due to increased vascular resistance in the uterine arteries. Visiting the sauna is safer for healthy women who regularly visited the bathhouse or sauna before pregnancy. In any case, when visiting a bathhouse or sauna during pregnancy, it is recommended not to visit steam rooms with an air temperature of more than 60°C and limit exposure time in the steam room to 10 minutes. A pregnant woman should leave the steam room at the first sign of discomfort, including emotional discomfort. Important! A preliminary warm foot bath for 5 minutes can prepare the body to perceive the thermal load in a steam sauna or bath. Remember that visiting a bathhouse or sauna by healthy pregnant women who did not regularly visit a bathhouse or sauna before pregnancy does not have such benefits for her health that could outweigh the possible risks to the fetus. It should be noted that taking hot baths (spa, Jacuzzi) with a water temperature above 38°C poses an even greater threat to the fetus due to the higher thermal conductivity of water and the rapid heating of the core of a pregnant woman’s body to critical temperatures within 5 minutes.

MAIN MISTAKES THAT CREATE HEALTH RISKS WHEN VISITING A SAUNA

Visiting a sauna immediately after intense physical exercise can lead to acute dysfunction of the cardiovascular system. A preliminary rest of 20-35 minutes is required.

• Staying in the sauna wearing clothes, a sheet or a towel. In this case, heat transfer is disrupted due to worsening evaporation of sweat from the surface of the body.
• Watering the heater too often. When the heater is watered excessively in a humid atmosphere, the body heats up more from the hot steam, more sweat is released, but the sweat does not evaporate in a humid atmosphere and heat transfer does not occur, which leads to overheating of the body.
• Continuous stay in the sauna for more than 30 minutes: every 10 minutes leads to a rise in core body temperature by 1°C.
• More than three visits to the steam room during one sauna visit. In this case, the body does not have time to cool down and overheats.
• Smoking while visiting the sauna. Use of alcohol and/or drugs in the sauna
• Lack of cooling of the body and head after leaving the steam room.
• Sharp cooling of the body and head in ice water without intermediate cooling after leaving the sauna.
• Drinking clean water, which increases urine formation and promotes the loss of microelements required for normal thermoregulation. Large amounts of pure water consumption can cause sodium deficiency. Drinking juices that do not have time to be absorbed and digested. Drinking tea, coffee and alcohol can be extremely dangerous.

MAIN HEALTH EFFECTS OF SAUNA

According to medical studies conducted in Scandinavian countries and Finland since the early 2000s, the positive effects of sauna use can be achieved with regular use. For example, increased resistance to colds is actually observed in children who visit the sauna at least twice a week for at least 4 months. Regular sauna use under medical supervision can help lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension and increase left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with chronic heart failure. Temporary improvements in pulmonary function in a dry air sauna may provide some relief for patients with asthma and chronic bronchitis. Also, visiting a sauna can also relieve pain and improve joint mobility in patients with rheumatic diseases. Unfortunately, most of the positive effects of visiting a sauna are reversible and disappear when regular visits are stopped.

How to combine the incompatible: a bath with a child and your own pleasure

If a mother devotes herself completely to her baby, this is commendable.
But don't completely forget about yourself. Women's health resources are not unlimited, even if they are spent for good purposes. They need to be replenished. This means that in the bathhouse you should not only hover around your baby like an eagle hovering over an eaglet, but also personally receive the benefits and pleasure from soaring.

Come to Shuvalovskoye Compound

The cottage and bath complex “Shuvalovskoe Podvorye”
in St. Petersburg offers cottages with steam rooms for rent to families and large companies. Here you can spend from 3 hours to several days. You can enter the steam room one by one:

• While it is not yet warmed up, mothers and children go;
• Then – dads taste the real heat;
• Then mothers recover their nerves while fathers look after their sleeping babies.

Our cottages are spacious and can accommodate up to 20 or more people.
The upper floor has cozy bedrooms. Older children can spend time on the playground under the supervision of an animator, while adults are busy with themselves - relaxing in a mode that is comfortable for them. Visitors are served by professional bath attendants and massage therapists.

How to properly lower the temperature at home?

Effective folk ways to reduce fever without medications in children:

• A drink made from cranberries is a unique diaphoretic that reduces fever. The berry is useful for containing vitamins and accelerates the elimination of decay products.
• Chamomile tea is an excellent anti-inflammatory remedy. To prepare the infusion, pour a tablespoon of chamomile into a glass of boiling water, let it brew for 2 hours, drink up to 5 times a day.
• Elderberry decoction effectively helps reduce fever. It is enough to take 50 g of elderberry and pour boiling water (200 ml) over it.
• Linden tea – gives excellent results when consumed with honey. The child will sweat profusely, which will reduce body temperature due to the evaporation of excess moisture from the skin.

You can wipe the child's body with a terry towel moistened with water at room temperature. Applying a heating pad with ice to large vessels helps. Wrapping in a damp towel or sheet is also recommended.

What to do if your baby gets chickenpox?

Has your child caught chickenpox? Of course, this acute viral disease can also cause high fever. How to proceed in this case?

The most important thing is to choose an antipyretic drug for your baby. Under no circumstances should you use Nurofen. To combat high fever during chickenpox, medications containing Paracetamol are suitable.

Infrared sauna for children

An infrared sauna is a small room or cabin equipped with heaters that emit heat waves up to 15 microns in length. They penetrate the skin to a depth of no more than 4 cm, gently affecting it, muscles and joints. Unlike convection devices, IR heaters emit heat in waves, making it more efficient. Heat is absorbed by specific organs and tissues, and radiation is not wasted.

With regular visits, infrared cabins will help your child:

• increase immunity;
• normalize pressure in arteries and veins;
• prevent the development of diseases accompanied by cough, runny nose, complications of the bronchi and lungs;
• alleviate allergy symptoms;
• fight excess weight;
• recover after active sports;
• cope with scoliosis in the early stages.

Lamps that emit infrared radiation are safe to use because they are equipped with protective grilles or a special surface. They work almost silently, so the child can relax and not worry during the session. The devices consume a small amount of electricity and are designed for long-term use.

One-, two-, three-seat infrared saunas are made of natural wood - cedar, Siberian pine, alder, aspen and linden. These materials not only have a beautiful texture and strength, but also have a lot of useful properties.