Short answer: skip the sauna while a sinus infection is new or comes with a fever. An infrared sauna is dry heat, so it won’t loosen congestion the way the steam from a hot shower can, which is what the CDC suggests for a stuffy nose. Once you’re 24 hours fever-free and getting better, a short session is a comfort choice. Sinus pressure that lasts more than 10 days or gets worse after improving needs a doctor.
When you’re ready, you can book a time and pay after your visit. 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, which can be shared or split with friends or family. We’re open 7 days: Monday to Friday 9 to 7, Saturday 9 to 4 and Sunday 10 to 3. Every price is on the pricing page, and the infrared sauna page shows every sauna option.
Dry heat and sinus pressure
Sinus pressure comes from swollen, blocked passages, and what eases it is moisture and time. The CDC’s sinus infection page says most sinus infections get better on their own without antibiotics, and its comfort steps include a warm compress over the nose and forehead, a saline nasal spray or rinse, and breathing in steam from a bowl of hot water or a hot shower.
An infrared sauna warms you with dry air, so it gives you the warmth without the moisture. Some people find the warm room comfortable with a stuffy head, and some find the dry air makes the stuffiness feel worse. Either way, it isn’t on the CDC’s list, and we don’t claim it clears sinuses.
Sauna or wait? A quick guide
| How you feel | What to do |
|---|---|
| Sinus pressure with a fever | Rest and drink fluids. Come back once a fever has been gone for a full day. |
| A new sinus infection, the first days | Stay home. It usually follows a cold, and you could pass that on. |
| Pressure that has lasted more than 10 days, got worse after improving, or comes with a severe headache or facial pain | See a doctor. The CDC lists these as reasons to be seen. |
| Stuffy from allergies, no fever | A 30-minute session is fine if it sounds good. Our fall allergies page covers what to expect. |
| 24 hours fever-free and getting better | A 30-minute session is a reasonable choice. Step out early if the dry air bothers you. |
Sauna or steam room for sinuses?
If what you’re after is the moist heat that steam gives you, the honest answer is that a steam room or a hot shower does that and an infrared sauna doesn’t. NOLA Chill has no steam room, and our steam room and float tank page says plainly what we offer instead. The sauna earns its place later, once you’re well and want a warm, quiet 30 minutes.
Your first session after a sinus infection
- Keep it to 30 minutes. Book a 30-minute infrared sauna session ($30) rather than 45.
- Drink water before and after. Dry air and sweat both take fluids from you.
- Step out early if your head feels worse in the heat. Staff would rather you leave early.
- Still worn out? NuCalm ($40) or Hydromassage ($30) ask nothing of you, and every package is on our pricing page.
What the research says
We haven’t seen studies on infrared sauna use with a sinus infection. A small 2013 study of six weeks of sauna sessions in people with allergic rhinitis measured a change in how freely air moved through the nose, but it was small, it was about allergies rather than infections, and it doesn’t support a claim that a sauna clears sinuses. The timing above comes from the CDC’s guidance, and our evidence library covers what sauna studies do and don’t show.
More for cold and flu season
- Sauna for a stuffy nose or cold: what helps
- Sauna for fall allergies in New Orleans
- Sauna when sick or with a fever: the 24-hour rule
- How soon you can use a sauna after being sick
- Flu season in New Orleans: this week’s numbers
Frequently asked questions
Does a sauna help a sinus infection?
We haven’t seen evidence that it does. The CDC’s comfort steps are a warm compress, saline rinses and steam, and an infrared sauna is dry heat, so it isn’t the same thing.
Is a sauna good for sinus pressure?
Some people find the warm room comfortable and some find the dry air makes the stuffiness feel worse. If you try it, keep it to 30 minutes and step out early if your head feels worse.
Can I use a sauna with a sinus infection?
Not while it’s new or comes with a fever. Once you’re 24 hours fever-free and getting better, a short session is fine for most people.
Sauna or steam room for sinuses?
Steam is moist heat and a sauna is dry heat, so for a blocked nose the steam from a hot shower is closer to what the CDC suggests. NOLA Chill has no steam room.
When should I see a doctor about a sinus infection?
The CDC lists symptoms that last more than 10 days without improving, symptoms that get worse after improving, a fever, and a severe headache or facial pain among the reasons to be seen.
I booked a visit and my sinuses hurt. What should I do?
Text us at (504) 381-4207 and we’ll move your visit.
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.