title: Visiting a sauna: does inhaling hot dry air reduce common cold symptoms? A randomised controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the efficacy of applying hot dry air versus dry air at room temperature to the throat of patients with a newly acquired common cold using a symptom severity score.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomised single-blind controlled trial with a treatment duration of 3 days and a follow-up period of 4 days was conducted at a sauna in Berlin, Germany. Between November 2007 and March 2008 and between September 2008 and April 2009, 157 patients with symptoms of the common cold were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=80) and a control group (n=77).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants in the intervention group inhaled hot dry air within a hot sauna, dressed in a winter coat, whereas participants in the control group inhaled dry air at room temperature within a hot sauna, also dressed in a winter coat.
  
  
  METHODS
  Area under the curve (AUC) summarising symptom severity over time (Days 2, 3, 5 and 7), symptom severity scores for individual days, intake of medication for the common cold and general ill feeling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant difference between groups was observed for AUC representing symptom severity over time (intervention group mean, 31.2 [SEM, 1.8]; control group mean, 35.1 [SEM, 2.3]; group difference, -3.9 [95% CI, -9.7 to 1.9]; P=0.19). However, significant differences between groups were found for medication use on Day 1 (P=0.01), symptom severity score on Day 2 (P=0.04), and participants' ratings of the effectiveness of the therapy on Day 7 (P=0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Inhaling hot air while in a sauna has no significant impact on overall symptom severity of the common cold.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00552981.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medical Center, Berlin, Germany. daniel.pach@charite.de
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pach
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Knöchel
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lüdtke
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wruck
authors.forename: Stefan N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Willich
authors.forename: Claudia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Witt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000388:Air; D003139:Common Cold / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D001239:Inhalation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012107:Research Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D029002:Steam Bath; D013696:Temperature; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult