Is infrared harmful to humans? (2023)

How does infrared affect humans?

Prolonged exposure to IR radiation causes a gradual but irreversible opacity of the lens. Other forms of damage to the eye from IR exposure include scotoma, which is a loss of vision due to the damage to the retina. Even low-level IR absorption can cause symptoms such as redness of the eye, swelling, or hemorrhaging.

Bottom Line. The bottom line is that infrared radiation can be beneficial when used with the right intensity, although it can also be detrimental for certain skin types and when it is too intense. If you are going to try an infrared sauna, it's a good idea to protect your skin with oral and topical antioxidants.

Are Infrared rays safe for people? Far infrared heating is 100% safe and natural for our bodies, and our well-being, as the human body is designed to accept and emit infrared. The feeling of warmth from infrared is particularly comfortable. It is UV that is harmful, not infrared, and so there is no need to worry.

IR radiation can penetrate the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue to differing extents depending on the exact wavelength range being studied. Exposure to IR is perceived as heat [2].

Infrared (IR) is a type of electromagnetic radiation, including wavelengths between the 780 nm to 1000 μm.

There are, to date, no studies showing that Far infrared exposure has any sort of negative health impacts and certainly not at the dosages received from infrared heating panels. Figure 1 – The electromagnetic spectrum contains everything from gamma rays to radio waves.

Infrared heaters are safe for indoor and outdoor use when installed and used correctly. They include protective elements against fire hazards such as a protective casing and tip-over protection. Their infrared radiation is safe and healthy. All infrared space heaters are perfectly safe to use.

IR light may cause thermal injury even if you do not feel pain for certain types of IR light exposure. Hyperpigmentation, scaling, and telangiectasias (erythema ab igne) may occur from repeated IR exposures of elevated temperatures, even if the skin is not burned. Skin cancer is not expected from exposure to IR.

Many studies have looked at using infrared saunas in the treatment of long-lasting health problems and found some proof that saunas may help. Conditions studied include high blood pressure, heart failure, dementia and Alzheimer's disease, headache, type 2 diabetes, and arthritis.

Is red light the same as infrared?

Infrared light is a type of energy your eyes can't see, but your body can feel as heat. Red light is similar to infrared, but you can see it. Red light therapy is also called low-level laser therapy (LLLT), low-power laser therapy (LPLT), and photobiomodulation (PBM).

Even though this type of treatment is generally very safe, negative effects may occur. As a consequence of light therapy, patients can complain of irritability, headaches, eye strain, sleep disturbances, and insomnia. Mild visual side effects are not unusual but remit promptly.

Yes and no. Red Light therapy does not penetrate through clothing or bandages as it visible to the eye. However near infrared light, which is invisible to the eye, will penetrate through clothes and many bandages and dressings.

Infrared energy and heat can penetrate the skin 1.5 inches and can accelerate the fat burning process. Fat breaks down and becomes water soluble at approximately 100.5 degrees fahrenheit. At that temperature fat breaks into particles.

Our infrared saunas use far infrared light to heat the body which is considered to be the safest form of infrared light. On average, most people use their infrared saunas three times a week for 15-20 minutes. This level of exposure to infrared light is not considered harmful and eye damage is extremely unlikely.

A: It is not required that you wear eye protection, nevertheless the lights are very bright and may be uncomfortable for some individuals with sensitivities to light.

In general, infrared saunas are considered safe for most people. However, if you're on medications, have implanted medical devices, or have a medical condition — whether acute or chronic — you should be cautious.

The IR therapy unit used was demonstrated to be effective in reducing chronic low back pain, and no adverse effects were observed.

An infrared heater is better than an electric heater in terms of energy efficiency. These heating units use 100% of the heat produced compared to 80-90% for electric heaters. Infrared heaters also offer various power source options, such as propane, natural gas, and electricity.

The eyes are especially vulnerable to infrared heat, and prolonged exposure can damage the eyes and lead to decreased vision. Far-infrared rays cause corneal burns, and even normal exposure times can cause some types of irritation.

Where should I place my infrared heater?

For a completely unhindered spread of heat, ceiling mounting your infrared panels is the way to go. Pointing your infrared panel down toward the floor ensures that living levels are always comfortably heated and all of the warmth created will be absorbed and re-emitted by the floor, walls and furniture.

Because infrared heaters do not use fossil fuels such as kerosene or propane, these heaters don't emit pollutants such as carbon monoxide, and will not cause fires and explo- sions due to a flammable fuel source.

Infrared heaters are perfectly safe to leave on overnight. Over-heating protection makes sure infrared heaters will not get too hot. Tip-over protection ensures shut down in case the heater should fall over.

Quartz heaters will be able to run for about 20.000 to 60.000 hours and carbon heaters are known to last for at least 10.000 hours. So, if you run your quartz heater for 4 hours a day, it will last about 3.5 years. Infrared heating panels however far surpass this durability and can last for 100.000 hours.

Simple. Such a heater consumes 36 kWh of electricity. Running a 1,500-watt heater for 24 hours will cost $4.80.

IR light may cause thermal injury even if you do not feel pain for certain types of IR light exposure. Hyperpigmentation, scaling, and telangiectasias (erythema ab igne) may occur from repeated IR exposures of elevated temperatures, even if the skin is not burned. Skin cancer is not expected from exposure to IR.

Infrared (IR) light is used by electrical heaters, cookers for cooking food, short-range communications like remote controls, optical fibres, security systems and thermal imaging cameras which detect people in the dark.

Infrared radiation has a longer wavelength and lower frequency than visible light. Too much exposure can damage your eyes and skin. On a global scale, trapped infrared radiation contributes to global warming.

NIR light is safe but effective. Within near-infrared wavelengths, light can penetrate eyes at maximal level, but absorption of light by cornea and lens is at minimal level (approximately 10%) ⁹⁵.

Why do I feel worse after infrared sauna?

The most common reason for people feeling unwell after using an infrared sauna is that their body is not accustomed to it. Infrared saunas do not work in the same way as other saunas as they increase the body temperature inside the body while traditional saunas use heat to increase the temperature outside the body.

Do not use the far infrared sauna without consulting your physician if you are or have: on prescription drugs, fever, sensitive to heat, over age 65, cardiovascular conditions, pacemaker/defibrillator, alcohol/alcohol abuse, joint injury (do not heat 48 hours after injury), hemophiliac/ prone to bleeding, chronic ...

You may need a treatment each week for about a month. Then you might need maintenance treatments every month or every few months. Some at-home devices may also require a substantial time commitment. You might need to use your device twice a day for 30 to 60 minutes for four to five weeks.

Like X-rays and radio waves, infrared light waves are outside the visual spectrum. But an international team of researchers has found that under certain conditions, the retina can sense infrared light after all.

Dogs are known to have dichromatic colour vision with an upper limit of detection around 555 nm [16], while Mustelids have been reported to have the capacity to detect infrared light up to 870 nm [17].

Typical control measures are provision of enclosures and shielding around the source to prevent exposure, use of protective clothing to prevent skin exposure and use of IR-opaque eye protection to prevent eye exposure.

It is fine. Eyes are damaged at a cellular level when the energy they're exposed to is either 1) in the ionizing portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (IR is nowhere near that), or 2) in high enough intensity to cause thermal-ionization (heat damage) to cells. These produce neither.

Our infrared saunas use far infrared light to heat the body which is considered to be the safest form of infrared light. On average, most people use their infrared saunas three times a week for 15-20 minutes. This level of exposure to infrared light is not considered harmful and eye damage is extremely unlikely.

These results suggest that infrared radiation may have beneficial effects on skin texture and wrinkles by increasing collagen and elastin contents from the stimulated fibroblasts.

Does infrared go through clothing?

Red Light therapy does not penetrate through clothing or bandages as it visible to the eye. However near infrared light, which is invisible to the eye, will penetrate through clothes and many bandages and dressings.

Clients are also encouraged by the fact that red light therapy is safe – because it does not harm the skin or the underlying tissue, there is virtually no risk of overdoing it. What's more, the drug-free treatment rarely has any side effects.