[at-l] Suz's Sauna

[jbullar1 at twcny.rr.com (Jim Bullard)]

At 02:41 PM 1/6/2004 -0500, W F Thorneloe wrote:
>Lilla gets nausea and Jim B gets claustrophobia when exposed to hot air, 
>steam and naked bodies.

Nope, Jim gets claustrophobic underground. I know claustrophobia, a panicky 
'get me out of here' feeling. I discovered that while visiting a cave in 
geology class. It's part of the reason I turned down the suggestion to 
switch majors to geology. This is a more distinctly physical reaction. I'm 
not put off by being in the steam room/sauna. I literally have difficulty 
breathing. I can be in smaller spaces without the heat and it's no problem. 
I can dive underwater and it's no problem, as long as I have a snorkel or 
SCUBA gear of course.

>I think we know _their_ problem.
>
>:-)

Now, now. None of that.

>Actually, I suspect that there may be several factors involved, including 
>the problem of adding excessive heat to a chronically 98.6F 100% airway. 
>I'd anticipate increased mucous production for some, post-nasal 
>irritation, pharyngeal spasm and acute discomfort. There may be allergic 
>airway reactivity from the cedar and possibly any mold or mildew that 
>accumulates between heatings.
>
>Heck, saunas are up there with other YMMV activities. Some people think it 
>is great fun to leave hearth and home to walk thru sun and rain, sleep in 
>shanties with strangers, compete with mice for food, drop 15% of their 
>weight within a few weeks among other features of our sport.
>
>OrangeBug

Yeah, it's probably some of that post-nasal, mucus, spasm discomfort stuff. 
Not cedar though. Jim likes cedar. I use it to make picture frames (and 
other stuff).

Jim