01The basics
What is an infrared sauna, and what does it do?
An infrared sauna uses infrared light to warm your skin. You sit or lie in the warmth until you sweat, which is how the body cools itself.
- What heat can do
- Warmth can loosen stiff joints and ease aching muscles for a while: think of a stiff neck or a sore back after a long week. It is not for a new injury or a flare-up.
- Sweat
- What you lose inside is sweat, which is mostly water and salt, so keep drinking water.
The short version
A warm, quiet place to sit.
A sauna does not replace treatment for anything.
Coping with heat puts stress on the heart and kidneys, so a heart condition is a reason to be checked first, and a reason you may be told not to come.
02Your check
Who checks that a sauna is safe for you?
Dr. Charles Rockhead, at a consultation, in person, at 9 Devon Road in Kingston. He goes through your medical history, including your heart, your medicines and whether you could be pregnant, and he may advise you not to use the sauna. Message us for what that first visit costs, and whether you can use the sauna the same day.
Dr. Charles Rockhead, Medical Director — Oshun Cosmetic Services, Kingston.
Dr. Charles Rockhead
Medical Director · Board-Certified OB/GYN · 30+ years of practice
Dr. Charles Rockhead is a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with more than thirty years of practice in Kingston. He is the Medical Director of Oshun Cosmetic Services and the founding physician of Amadeo Medical Group, the parent clinical practice.
Read the clinic story · View Dr. Rockhead's LinkedIn
03A session
A session, step by step.
Allow 45 to 75 minutes for the visit. The time in the sauna is 20 to 45 minutes. Start at the short end, because longer is not better. Our team times and supervises the session.
i.
Before you come
Drink water through the day. Do not drink alcohol that day, because it dries you out and makes heat illness more likely. We ask you to eat lightly in the hour before.
ii.
In the sauna
After a short check-in you sit or lie down in the warmth. Cool water is there the whole time, so sip it. Come out at once if you feel dizzy, very tired, get a headache or feel like vomiting, and tell us.
iii.
Cooling down
You rest in a cooler room and drink water. Stand up slowly. Being too hot, and standing up too fast, can each make you faint.
iv.
The rest of the day
Keep drinking water. After heavy sweating a sports drink also helps. Do not take salt tablets.
- Does it hurt?
- It should not. You feel steady warmth, and then you sweat.
- How often
- Ask Dr. Rockhead at your check. If a session leaves you feeling unwell, tell us before you book another.
04Is it for you
Who should not use it, and what to tell us first.
- Your medicines
- If you take a tablet for blood pressure or the heart, send us its name before you book. Some medicines make heat harder to cope with, such as water pills, beta-blockers and some medicines for depression and other mental health conditions. So does taking several medicines. Tell Dr. Rockhead everything you take, and do not stop any medicine in order to use the sauna.
- We advise against it
- In pregnancy, above all in the first three months. Pregnant women are more vulnerable in hot weather. Also with a heart condition that is not under control, if you often get dizzy or faint when you stand up, or with severe breathing disease.
- Tell Dr. Rockhead first
- Any heart problem, diabetes, kidney disease, a breathing condition, obesity, multiple sclerosis, rosacea, or being 65 or older: heat is harder on each of these. Tell him too about recent surgery or a skin condition that reacts to light, and if you have sickle cell disease: the NHS says a crisis can be triggered by dehydration and by a sudden change in temperature. He may advise against the sauna, or ask you to see your own doctor first. Children are at higher risk in heat as well.
- The risks
- The main risks are dehydration and fainting. Heat can also make a heart condition worse.
- After another treatment
- If you have just had another treatment here, ask when a sauna is allowed. Several need a day's wait, and one needs a week.
05Warning signs
The warning signs, in the sauna or afterwards.
- Signs of too much heat
- Tiredness, dizziness, a headache, feeling like vomiting or vomiting, heavy sweating with cool, clammy skin, cramps, or great thirst.
- What to do
- Move somewhere cool, take off extra clothing, drink water or a sports drink, and cool your skin with a wet cloth or a fan. If you feel faint, lie down with your legs raised. You should feel better within 30 minutes.
- When to get help
- Call an ambulance, or have someone take you to a hospital at once, if you are still unwell after 30 minutes, or for a very high temperature, hot skin that is not sweating, a fast heartbeat, fast breathing, shortness of breath, confusion, a fit, passing out or chest pain. Do not drive yourself. If you fainted, came to within a minute and feel fully well, still see a doctor, and tell us before your next session. Anything less is an emergency. We are closed at night and from Friday to Sunday, so do not wait for us.
06Cost & booking
How much does an infrared sauna session cost in Kingston?
- What it costs
- We estimate US$45 to US$100 a session. You get your price in writing before you book.
- When and where
- At Oshun, 9 Devon Road, Kingston. Monday and Wednesday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 AM to 4 PM. Closed Friday to Sunday.
- Paying
- Cash, debit card, credit card or approved financing. Health insurance does not cover it.
If this sounds right
The next step is a conversation, not a commitment.
Start with a consultation. Dr. Rockhead checks whether heat is safe for you before any session is booked.
No obligation · Every consultation is in-person with Dr. Rockhead.
