Mayo Clinic researcher, Dr. Wakim, cites findings that the number of white blood cells increased by an average of 58% during an artificially induced fever.
Sauna bathing has been used as a thermal therapy to treat pain and other systems of rheumatic disease. In studies based on interviews of over 200 patients, 40-70% of participants reported that sauna bathing alleviated pain and improved joint mobility. (Source: The American Journal of Medicine February 1, 2001, Volume 110)
Steam therapy provides the benefits of steam treatments recommended by Ayurvedic medicine. Recent scientific research indicates that Ayurvedic detoxification treatments reduce levels of toxicants by 50%. (Source: Sept/Oct 2002 Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Vol. 8, No. 5 pp 93-103.)
Patients with asthma or chronic bronchitis reported that sauna bathing improved their breathing. (Source: Hydrotherapy-simple treatments for Common Ailments by Clarence Dail, MD & Charles Thomas, Ph.D., The American Journal of Medicine, February 1, 2002, Volume 110)