Ultraviolet heat lamp

[Jan Lucinda1]

I have found an ultraviolet heat lamp helpful for pain. Has anyone used one?

[Krys]

Hi Jan,
I’ve just started a few days ago, so too early to say. I’m still hopeful, but for me it just doesn’t seem to be warm enough. The instructions say not to run it longer than 30 minutes and that is when it becomes really nicely warm. The main sites I use it on are toes, hips and knees. It’s kind of hard to do all of them within 30 minutes and 10 minutes does not seem enough. I’m still experimenting.
How long do you use it on one spot? Do you rub in some cream prior to applying the FIR lamp? Are we talking about 2 different devices?
Krys

[Maz]

Hi Krys,

I think Jan is referring to a UV lamp? From reading I have done, it’s purpose is to increase Vit D levels, much like benefits received from the sun. I have one of these lamps and did use it in the early days, but as I had so many joints affected and its benefits not really measurable, I soon lost interest in its use. It’s now tucked away in a cupboard.

I also have a FIR sauna, which I use more for detoxification purposes…Infrared a different type of light from UV that is also produced from the light spectrum. I LOVE my FIR sauna, which is said to have a wide array of great health benefits, not least of which is pain relief, as the heat penetrates deep into the tissues. I tend to use it regularly during the fall, winter and spring months, but less so in the summer. It really is a lifestyle change and I have found the investment to be well worth it.

Here is a link to the FIR sauna model I purchased, though these can be purchased for a lot less in the more portable models:

http://www.evolutionhealth.com/Infrared_Saunas/fibercarbon/infrared-sauna-1personCarbon.html

Differences between UV and FIR light within the light spectrum:

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7265865_difference-between-infrared-uv-light_.html

[Jan Lucinda1]

Krys-

Mine looks like a large flashlight. I use it mostly on my elbow for 30 minutes. I don’t use cream but that might be helpful to you. Yours may be larger.

[Krys]

Thank you, Maz.
I almost bought FIR sauna 2 years ago but stumbled on your post in which you said it’s contraindicated in MS. My neuro Lyme produced all systemic symptoms, but in the beginning the neurological ones were the most scary for me and I got scared off FIR sauna. Then when I was about to purchase it again, my TCM doc said I should avoid inducing sweating due to depleted life force (in TCM sweat carries the same significance as blood as far as life force energy is concerned). So, again, I did not buy it.
I am dancing around purchasing it again. I may use it just short of sweating but warming the body inside out sounds like something I really need!!! Especially that I stopped using acupuncture and warming up moxibustion that was a big part of my sessions. My TCM doc turned out to be passionately hostile and contemptuous of abx treatment and as it is my core treatment, I cannot use the services of somebody whose mind energy is directed against my main treatment!!! So I need something to heat up my cold body and deficient organs!

Jan, I got interested in this device (FIR hand held lamp) because about 1 year ago you posted about it and it took me that long to purchase it. 😳 I thought it could work like acupuncture when applied to acupressure/acupuncture points and could also work on painful joints. It is like a large flashlight, but it warms up very slowly and the warmth is very dispersed, so I don’t think it would work for acupressure. I do have another device, which I have never used, that sends an electrical impulse, very pointed, and is meant to be used for acupressure. But when I tried it a few years ago (I got it as a gift), the electrical charge of the impulse was actually very painful. It’s hard to find perfect help for imperfect body!

I think my earlier post was not really accurate. I said it was too early to see the results. But actually, when I focus on the joints I had applied it to, it did help! I applied it to hips and knees and the pain is diminished. I think it may have helped me with my toes, too. I keep getting the pain under my toenails when I lay down to sleep. I have not noticed this pain last 2 days, so that would have been very fast relief indeed!

And I think I am finally really ready for FIR sauna. My neurological symptoms are practically gone whereas all my insides feel like they are really cold and they do need help as they are malfunctioning. There’s even constant inner trembling which could be due to inflammation or my body’s inability to maintain proper heat level. I think it’s both, cold factor being the main culprit. If FIR hand held lamp has already helped, FIR sauna should be a miracle! I only wonder if FIR sauna would still be beneficial, detox-wise, if actual sweating is being avoided?

Jan, I think I want your device, too. I want more warmth, always accessible, easily transportable, light weight. Artificial one is OK. 😆
Did you get your UV lamp on Amazon? What is the exact name?

Sorry for throwing all of them in: UV lamp, FIR hand held lamp, FIR sauna! The onset of cold weather makes me feel I want to use all of them at the same time! 😆

Thanks a lot Maz and Jan! Warm wishes, Krys

[Maz]

@Krys wrote:

And I think I am finally really ready for FIR sauna. My neurological symptoms are practically gone whereas all my insides feel like they are really cold and they do need help as they are malfunctioning. There’s even constant inner trembling which could be due to inflammation or my body’s inability to maintain proper heat level. I think it’s both, cold factor being the main culprit. If FIR hand held lamp has already helped, FIR sauna should be a miracle! I only wonder if FIR sauna would still be beneficial, detox-wise, if actual sweating is being avoided?

Krys, thanks for refreshing my memory on that…yes, do recall now that you had to avoid FIR saunas due to neuro symptoms. In the case of MS, any type of heat is usually intolerable and may be due to CCSVI (chronic cerebral spinal venous insufficiency), preventing flow of blood out of brain back to heart due to stenosis of neck and azygos veins. Some MSers can’t even tolerate being out in sun for short time frames due to this. 🙁

Is there any way you can try a FIR sauna prior to investing in one? Maybe a local spa or clinic nearby that has one?

Also, not sure what you mean about FIR sauna still being beneficial if sweating is avoided. Do you mean just using it on a low temp for short periods to warm up a little? If so, maybe it would be less expensive and more efficient for this purpose to buy something like the FIR blanket that Jill has? Dunno…just wondering. ❓

Is this cold to the core feeling fairly new or something that has been going on a while? Just wondering if it’s worse at certain times, if it might be part of herxing/new meds or supps, a newly-evolved symptom, or something like hypothyroidism?

[Jan Lucinda1]

Krys-

It is called an Infrared Deep Heat Wand by Bilt-Rite and yes, I got it at Amazon. I hope it is helpful.

Jan

[Krys]

@Jan Lucinda1 wrote:

It is called an Infrared Deep Heat Wand by Bilt-Rite and yes, I got it at Amazon. I hope it is helpful

Thank you, Jan! It is helpful. I’m getting it with my next Amazon order.

@Maz wrote:

In the case of MS, any type of heat is usually intolerable and may be due to CCSVI (chronic cerebral spinal venous insufficiency), preventing flow of blood out of brain back to heart due to stenosis of neck and azygos veins. Some MSers can’t even tolerate being out in sun for short time frames due to this. 🙁

I did not have an official diagnosis of CCSVI, but it certainly felt like that. I asked my TCM doc to check it out and he said I had according to TCM “phlegm in the veins” and there was a build up plague in the neck veins. Biofilms???? TCM herbs and acupuncture did help with the narrowed veins but the immediate result (after about 4 weeks of working on the problem) was very thick blood and numbness all over my body, covering all the skin. As that became the priority, working on cleaning the veins was stopped without completing the process. Different TCM herbs to which I myself added Nattokinase in bigger than suggested dosage, took care of the thick blood pretty fast. Like MS-ers, I started re-stenosing quite soon, but the condition is MUCH improved compared to the initial state. My LLMD wants me to take Nattokinase daily now. He says it will improve the state of my mucous membranes which I credit for continuous organ problems. They have been fragile all my life (Lyme, as per 2 bullseye rashes with imbedded ticks, in childhood???) and tetras did seem to affect my collagen detrimentally big time: my mucous membranes in the throat and nose look thin and transparent. You can see through them into the muscles underneath. Ugly and scary. So I think that they are not much better within the organs. I keep searching for herbs that will help and have found some and mean to incorporate them as soon as they arrive in mail. But I have not worked out a good program yet. I think collagen rich soups (GAPS diet) will be helpful.

I could not tolerate the sun at all the previous year but this year I adored the heat (unless over 94F).
3 thyroid tests within last 2 years are all within range, but I need daily Iodoral, Siberian ginseng and Maca NOT to be exhausted. My past low body temperature (94.6, sometimes even below 94F) has returned to normal or just slightly below normal. I think I have a slight organ inflammation, possibly due to abnormally thin mucosa. My last attempt at LDN shut off endorphins and the overall inflammation and pain sky-rocketed. A pity. I have not recovered the lost ground yet (over a month now) but it should improve any time soon. There’s heart, lungs, kidney pain and swollen spleen and pancreas. It looks like Bb may be already gone and the continuous macrolide did lower the Bart! Babesia is the main problem now, but due to enlarged spleen, my LLMD thinks starting with Bartonella (symptoms are still present, but milder than Babesia) will make it easier on my spleen. My LLMD agreed to abx wash-out and I was to start treating Bartonella right after the wash-out. I’m back on abx, but keep postponing Bart treatment, waiting for the organs to get stronger, which does not seem to be happening. 😥 As waiting is not helping, I’m summoning the courage to do it this weekend. Wish me luck!!!!

Also, not sure what you mean about FIR sauna still being beneficial if sweating is avoided. Do you mean just using it on a low temp for short periods to warm up a little? If so, maybe it would be less expensive and more efficient for this purpose to buy something like the FIR blanket that Jill has? Dunno…just wondering. ❓

Yes, that’s the idea. I do get heat waves and sweats, but mostly I’m cold and shivering. And when I’m cold, it’s like freezing inside.
I was most attracted to sleeping bag style of FIR 2 years ago. Jill found a better deal and really investigated all the details, so I do want to get her model!

Is this cold to the core feeling fairly new or something that has been going on a while? Just wondering if it’s worse at certain times, if it might be part of herxing/new meds or supps, a newly-evolved symptom, or something like hypothyroidism?

This intense, it’s new. It may be the combination of all the factors: low endorphins and inflammation, drastically lowering supps when I felt great for a couple of months, then catching lots of colds, stopping abx for a month which gave the bugs a stronger foothold, lowered response to stress, and possibly, really high time to target co-infections!

Maz, thank you so very much for your very precious heart!!!
And my big apology for venting and stealing the thread. 😳
When I remember to count my blessings, there’s so much I have gained last 2 years on AP!!!, I start seeing lots more gains just around the corner. Now I so appreciate the role of endorphins, too! I think they are ready to kick in, they just need some help on the way. I even started having occasional sexual dreams. 😆 😆 😆 It is such a treat, it’s bound to mean things are getting ready to move into a healthier gear!

Big hugs to Jan, Maz and all my RBF family. I’ve come to love you all very much!!!
Krys

[A Friend]

@Krys wrote:

……So I need something to heat up my cold body and deficient organs! ….
….. And I think I am finally really ready for FIR sauna. My neurological symptoms are practically gone whereas all my insides feel like they are really cold and they do need help as they are malfunctioning. There’s even constant inner trembling which could be due to inflammation or my body’s inability to maintain proper heat level. I think it’s both, cold factor being the main culprit. If FIR hand held lamp has already helped, FIR sauna should be a miracle! I only wonder if FIR sauna would still be beneficial, detox-wise, if actual sweating is being avoided? Jan, I think I want your device, too. I want more warmth, always accessible, easily transportable…The onset of cold weather makes me feel I want to use all of them at the same time!
Krys

Hi Krys,
We haven’t chatted in a while. I noticed some things above in your post that ‘rang a bell or two’ in my own memory. I remember a period of feeling cold to the core, and not being able to get warm. Do you know if your thyroid is behaving ok these days? If it is out of whack, we can feel cold. In early days of my illness, I constantly felt like I had ice water in my veins, and turning up the heat didn’t seem to help, as nothing seemed to reach my body’s core. You might look into what else might cause low body temperature. You also mentioned wishing you had a FIR, and that certainly does warm you and increase circulation, IF it is not contraindicated for you for the reasons you mentioned. What do you think about regularly taking hot tub baths with either (or both) a box of Bicarbonate of Soda in the water, OR Epsom Salts (magnesium), OR both? Just before bedtime, long hot soaks with these these feel wonderful, have good therapeutic effects, including detoxing and/or alkalizing effects — and they are “always accessible, easily transportable”!!! [Sorry, I couldn’t resist 😆 ] I used to sleep like a baby after those tub soaks.
Hugs to you, and please take care of yourself!
AF
PS I forgot to suggest that you get a pair of long silk thermal underwear. During that period of time when I was so cold, the silk thermals I had for skiing were so light and comfortable, but so warm, I wore them most of the time.

[Krys]

@A Friend wrote:

Do you know if your thyroid is behaving ok these days? If it is out of whack, we can feel cold.

It hasn’t been OK since my present infection. Maybe even earlier, when I was living in an apartment with mold under the paint. I started sleeping in pure wool sweaters and woolen socks! The tests are all within range but the thyroid has been needing daily kelp, then daily Iodoral. Maybe it needs some additional help now.

What do you think about regularly taking hot tub baths with either (or both) a box of Bicarbonate of Soda in the water, OR Epsom Salts (magnesium), OR both? Just before bedtime, long hot soaks with these these feel wonderful, have good therapeutic effects, including detoxing and/or alkalizing effects — and they are “always accessible, easily transportable”!!! [Sorry, I couldn’t resist 😆 ] I used to sleep like a baby after those tub soaks.

Wonderful suggestion! I needed to be reminded that there are those really easily accessible solutions!!! Easily transportable, too! 😆

PS I forgot to suggest that you get a pair of long silk thermal underwear….

I’ve grown to love those, too!!!

Maybe due to feeling embarrassed for stealing the thread, maybe due to wonderful energy of caring I’ve received, an AHA moment has just arrived. I feel I owe it to those who have read my posts above, that part of my complaint is dishonest!!! 😳
I conveniently “forgot” that the pain side of my present complaints (possibly more than pain) is that I have been consuming really big amounts of junk chocolate for good 6 weeks!!! 😳 Outside of sugar, which in junk chocolate is “pure” HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) made of GMO corn, cocoa is also genetically modified. I am allergic to corn and I do react to GMO’s. Organic chocolate somehow does not bother me, GMO one, does. I was eating lots of this junk daily, feeling justified that I was increasing my endorphins!!! I think it was helping in this respect, but was bringing up pain, too. I was also eating a lot of nuts, not necessarily soaked (soaking lowers the lectin content) and nuts do cause some joint pain for me.
Organ inflammation is an ongoing thing for me. The detoxification problems contribute or cause it. For me, detoxification measures always bring about some side effects while helping at the same time. So I have to rotate many different ones. And there are many days when I don’t do anything in spite of obvious signs of toxicity. Guilty this time around, too! 😳

I’ve just read in “Healing with Whole Foods” by Paul Pitchford, that people with depleted conditions (easily recognized by feeling cold, weak, tired + tongue stripped of any coating) do not do well on most detoxification programs, not even on juicing or raw vegetables (which are “cold” by nature and exacerbate the cold condition) and I have been eating 80% raw veggies and juices daily last few months. I was warned not to go raw, but I thought 80% will help more than it will harm.
So yesterday and today I had no raw veggies and except very cold this morning, all day long I’m drenched in sweat!!!! I WAS hugely overdressed, but there’s an obvious connection between feeling cold and giving already cold body foods that induce the cold condition.
My apology for the details. I thought they may help someone wondering why things don’t work for them when they are even avoiding gluten. The answer is: there are many pieces of this darned individual puzzle and even when we think we know them all, we may still be forgetting and doing things that just do not agree with our bodies and make them protest!
I have not solved my puzzle completely, but if I incorporated consistently what I know is good for me and my individual condition, the little burps on the road would remain just few and short lasting.

Wish you all great perseverance, optimism and lots of good luck and great results on whatever program you are on! May you succeed and may your puzzle be very simple and stay simple and easy to solve!
Warm wishes, Krys

[cavalier]

Hi Krys – it’s that time of year for me where i really need my bunkie as I call it – I use it more in the cooler weather as I cant keep my internal temp warm enuf – not sure why – maybe i am depleted as you mentioned but for me it really helps – here is the info of what i got one of the best money i ever spent.
No affliation.

Brand New XL Far Infrared Slimming Blanket / Sauna

List Price: $699.95
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You save $250.00!

Purchase Your Brand New XL Far Infrared Slimming Blanket / Sauna Today! Limited Quantities Available! Call 1-866-606-3991.
Great Sports Inc
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Sales – Call Toll Free 866-606-3991
Hours Of Operation:
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sales@saferwholesale.com
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All Orders Must Be Submitted Online Or By Phone!!
http://www.saferwholesale.com/category-s/45.htm?gclid=CLK3g7WT0LMCFQWonQodgVUAOg

Best – Jill Lyme

[Krys]

Thank you, Jill!!! I have to wait till Dec. with the purchase, and will check and use the link then.
Yes, colder weather definitely makes it harder for all of us.
Warm wishes, Krys

[cavalier]

Your most welcome Krys – I got mine at the sale price during Dec. last year. For the money it’s alot of bang. I used one at a spa 1st same brand & model 1st to know i liked it & it could do the job. They charged 150 I think for one session – obviously I felt once i found out how inexpensive cost wise it was it paid for itself in no time. I do use a towel to lay down so i sweat into the towel & then take it out & put it in the wash. I really didn’t want to commit the room in my home as it would need to be upstrs not a easy feat to then take back out – we want to move one day in the fut. nor did I want it taking up room in our garage, which even though insolated, our garage is not heated. Showing a house down the road I felt something taking up a foot print makes a 3rd car garage look smaller. Anyways this works out well for now & I have already gotten my return on it. I really wanted one to sit on my deck outside with a window to look out for serenity as we have woods behind us but most are not weather proof & most manuf’s said the cooler air would take more to get it to heat up etc. so I abandoned that idea as ideal as would have been.

Best – Jill Lyme

[Krys]

Thank you, Jill. You are so immensely sweet!
I think I’ll love the sauna and maybe even will allow myself to sweat a little bit, just sometimes.
I’ve been using my FIR heating lamp (it turns out I DO have exactly the same one as Jan) lots of times a day and I think I will even when I have a FIR sauna blanket. My toes started sweating which is such an incredible feat, I feel as if I’m already half recovered!!! Not! But Yeepee anyway!!!
I think I will love the FIR blanket but the heating FIR lamp is so bloody awesome! (I couldn’t resist it! Someone used this expression on RBF a while ago, and it is so cute and it fits so perfectly! 😆 😆 ) I use the FIR lamp the first thing in the morning right after I wake up, before I even get out of bed. I drink my water and then coffee in bed and toast my toes or knees with the FIR lamp. I brush my teeth or use the bathroom and the lamp is right on my feet. It’s the last thing on some joint before I fall asleep at night (I do turn it off before falling asleep!)
I think both will be dearly used and greatly helpful. I wish I could find the UV lamp: it could be nice to boost Vit. D level while warming up!
I don’t have the space for a standing sauna unit and even if I had, I think I prefer to warm up/detox lying down.

Why this talk about ceramic vs charcoal heating in the FIR sauna? Is any one of them harmful?
Another question: Jill, if you sweat in the sauna, do you feel weaker afterwards?
Hugs, Krys

[cavalier]

The Standups have ceramic or Charcoal heaters I used to know which was better when I was checking into them but I have had so many things on my brain anything I dont use I could not tell you now. 😆 one is more polluting for emissions type of thing.
The blanket I call it my bunkie – uses only glass replacable bulbs but their life is long & you can buy replacement bulbs.
They are pretty tough though as mine has gotten stepped on.
Not usually I dont feel weaker I think once or twice i have – but most times not at all i feel relaxed & i dont hurt as much for sure & helps when I am herxing alot & usually I feel better so i was surprised the 2 times I felt weak but I may have been exhausted & when I relaxed I felt it even more I dunno.

OK my turn so where did you get the FIR lamp at ? Approx how much? do you sweat or just get warm?

The bunkie you can adjust the temp.
Best – Jill Lyme

[Author]

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