Is It Possible to Sweat Out a Fever or Cold?
There
are several useful methods that will help you recover from a cold
faster and suffer from its distressing symptoms much less. Things like
proper hydration, rest, gargling with saltwater,immune-boosting diet choices and even homemade juices
can all help. Alas, sweating is not one of them. In fact, deliberately
trying to sweat out a cold can do the opposite of what you intend to do
because it dehydrates your body and delays the recovery.
Why Sweating Out a Cold Doesn’t Work
There
are many ways a person may attempt to sweat out a cold, such as
inhaling warm steam, going to a sauna or exercising heavily. Though some
of these methods may relieve nasal congestion temporarily, neither one
of them will actually help you get rid of the common cold faster.
In fact, the very idea that sweating can help people get rid of the rhinovirus stems from one 2015 study on
mice, determining that the virus thrives in temperatures below 98.6°F
(37°C), which is hardly enough evidence to say anything about the
benefits of sweating in humans.
Admittedly,
there are also some medicinal traditions that suggest sweating is
beneficial for cold symptoms, but there are no findings apart from the
above-mentioned study to support that claim.
In fact, some of these methods may actually do more harm than good. At-home steam inhalation, for example, has been shown to
cause burns, despite providing temporary relief from congestion. In
fact, the study points out that in Denmark alone, there are at least
three annual cases of severe burns admitted to hospitals as a result of
steam inhalations. This is just tragic, especially knowing that a long
warm shower can relieve congestion just as well, but without the risk of
complications.
Visiting a sauna, on the other hand, is not dangerous per se, but is ineffective at improving cold symptoms, though it has been shown to prevent colds.
Finally, exercising when you’re sick is a double-edged sword. On one hand, mild exercise has been reported to prevent colds
and give temporary relief of nasal congestion, but on the other hand,
it can be very tiring, especially if your cold is not mild.
The
bottom line is that you can exercise when you have mild cold symptoms,
such as a runny nose, but if you have a cough, fever, chills and muscle
pain, it’s best to skip exercise.
The Concerns With Excessive Sweating During a Cold
The main concern with increased sweating is that it promotes dehydration, something that you want to avoid at all costs. As a matter of fact, the main piece of advice you’ll hear from every doctor is that you should stay hydrated while fighting the common cold, and sweating goes blatantly against that advice.If you’re wondering why you have to drink plenty of fluids during a cold, it’s to help your body flush out germs and loosen the mucus, both of which are essential for a quick recovery. For the same reason, doctors regularly advise avoiding dehydrating foods, such as coffee or alcohol, as well as dry foods, such as chips, during recovery from a cold.
Apart from that, all these exhausting activities you’re willing to undertake just to start sweating may actually make you even more fatigued than you already are, which isn’t a good idea, as it will further weaken your immune system. So, if you happen to catch a cold, all you have to remember is ‘No sweat, lots of rest and even more hydration’. Take care!