Short answer: no. You can’t sweat out a cold, because the virus lives in your nose and throat, not in your sweat, and heat doesn’t shorten the illness. A 2017 Cochrane review of heated, humidified air for colds found no clear benefit or harm. Once you’re 24 hours fever-free and getting better, a short sauna is a comfort choice, not a remedy.
A private infrared sauna at NOLA Chill, 6045 Magazine Street, New Orleans, is $30 for 30 minutes or $40 for 45, and five 30-minute visits are $125. You can book a time and pay after your visit. We’re open Monday to Friday 9 to 7, Saturday 9 to 4 and Sunday 10 to 3.
Where the idea comes from
A hard sweat can feel like something is leaving your body, and a fever breaking often comes with sweating, so the two get linked. The order is the other way around: you sweat because the fever is ending, not the fever ends because you sweat. The CDC’s page on the common cold says most people recover on their own within about 7 to 10 days, and nothing in that timeline is tied to how much you sweat.
What a sweat does cost you is water. A cold already dries you out, and a 30-minute sauna adds to that, which is why the heat can leave you feeling worse on a day you’re already run down.
Sauna or rest? A quick guide
| How you feel | What to do |
|---|---|
| A fever, chills or body aches | Rest and drink fluids. Skip the heat until a fever has been gone for a full day. |
| A new cold, the first day or two | Stay home. The CDC says you’re most likely to pass a cold on in those early days. |
| A stuffy nose | The CDC suggests steam from a hot shower or a bowl of hot water. An infrared sauna is dry heat, so it won’t do that job. |
| 24 hours fever-free and getting better | A 30-minute session is a reasonable choice if it sounds good. Drink water before and after. |
| Over the cold but still tired | Start with the easy options: NuCalm ($40) or Hydromassage ($30) ask nothing of you. |
If you want the heat anyway
Once you’re past the contagious days and fever-free, the sauna is yours to enjoy for what it is: a warm, quiet room for 30 or 45 minutes. A few things make the first session after a cold go better.
- Keep it to 30 minutes. Book a 30-minute infrared sauna session ($30) rather than 45.
- Drink water before and after. You’ll sweat, and you’re starting from behind.
- Step out early if you feel dizzy, lightheaded or worse. Staff would rather you leave early.
- Make it a habit later, not a rescue now. Every package is on our pricing page, and five 30-minute visits are $125.
What the research says
A 2017 Cochrane review looked at heated, humidified air as a cold remedy and found the evidence did not show any benefits or harms. A small 1990 study found that people who took regular saunas over six months reported fewer colds than people who didn’t, and a long-term Finnish study linked frequent sauna use with fewer respiratory illnesses. Both describe a habit kept over months and years, not a fix for the cold you have today, and neither proves the sauna caused the difference. Our evidence library covers what sauna studies do and don’t show.
More for cold and flu season
- Sauna when sick or with a fever: the 24-hour rule
- Sauna for a stuffy nose or cold: what helps
- How soon you can use a sauna after being sick
- After the flu or a cold: easy ways back to normal
- Flu season in New Orleans: this week’s numbers
Frequently asked questions
Can you sweat out a cold?
No. The virus is in your nose and throat, not in your sweat, and the CDC’s timeline of about 7 to 10 days doesn’t change with heat. A sauna can feel good once you’re fever-free, but it doesn’t make the cold shorter.
Does a sauna help a cold?
It can feel good, and that’s the honest limit of it. A 2017 Cochrane review of heated, humidified air for colds found no clear benefit or harm.
Does sweating get rid of a virus?
No. Sweat is how your body cools itself, and it doesn’t carry the virus out. Rest, fluids and time are what the CDC points to.
Is it bad to use a sauna with a cold?
With a fever or in the first days, yes: you could pass it on, and the heat adds to the fluids you’re already losing. Once you’re 24 hours fever-free and getting better, a short session is fine for most people.
Does a hot shower or steam help?
For a stuffy nose, the CDC suggests steam from a hot shower or a bowl of hot water. That’s moist air, which is not what an infrared sauna gives you.
I booked a visit and now I have a cold. What should I do?
Text us at (504) 381-4207 and we’ll move your visit. Nobody at the studio wants you to push through it.
NOLA Chill is a wellness studio at 6045 Magazine Street in New Orleans, not a medical clinic. The sauna is a wellness amenity, not medical care, and nothing here is advice about an illness.