Is infrared dangerous? Safety of blankets and lamps explained

Is an infrared blanket dangerous? It is one of the fairest questions you can ask before you spend hours lying wrapped in a warm device, and the answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Infrared heat itself is something you are surrounded by every day: the sun, a heater, an open fire and the warmth of another body all work with the same kind of radiation.

At the same time, a sauna blanket or an infrared lamp is an electrical device that sends heat your way, and that does come with risks. Not mysterious risks, but very ordinary ones: too hot, too long, not drinking enough, falling asleep, a damaged cable, or using it while your body is not ready for it for some other reason. This guide sets out what really matters, what is nonsense, and what you do need to watch out for.

Is an infrared blanket dangerous? The short answer

With normal use by a healthy adult, an infrared blanket from a decent manufacturer is not a dangerous device. It is heat, not UV and not X rays, and the temperatures are lower than those of a traditional sauna. Most people who experience something unpleasant with it are bothered by things that have to do with heat itself: feeling dizzy when getting up, a clammy and stuffy feeling, a headache because they did not drink enough.

When it does go wrong, it almost always goes wrong in one of these ways: someone turns the temperature straight up to maximum, stays in far too long, falls asleep without a timer, uses a device with a damaged cable, or uses heat when there was a good reason not to. Each of these is something you can prevent, and they make up the rest of this guide.

The honest caveat: "usually safe" is not the same as "safe for everyone". There is a list of situations in which it is better to check with a doctor first, and that list further down is not there for decoration.

What infrared radiation is, and why it is not UV

The word radiation understandably makes people nervous, but it is a broad word. Radio waves, the light from your reading lamp, the warmth of a radiator and the X ray at the dentist all fall under electromagnetic radiation. What sets them apart is the wavelength, and with it how much energy each particle of light carries.

Infrared sits right next to visible red light, on the side of the longer wavelengths. That means less energy per particle than visible light, not more. You do not see infrared, you feel it as warmth. Ultraviolet sits on the other side of visible light: shorter wavelength, more energy, enough to damage molecules in your skin cells. That is where sunburn comes from, and that is where the warnings about sunbeds come from.

Infrared does not ionise. It simply does not have the energy to cause that damage. It will not give you a tan, it will not burn you the way the sun does, and it does not build up in the way people know from UV. What infrared does do is transfer heat. And heat can become too much, just as a hot water bottle can be too hot.

Far infrared and near infrared: the difference that matters

Within infrared, a distinction is made between ranges, and for your safety that makes a difference. The two you come across in online shops are far infrared (often abbreviated to FIR) and near infrared (NIR).

Far infrared has the longer wavelength of the two. It is absorbed almost immediately in the upper layers of the skin, and you feel that straight away as warmth. This is what an infrared sauna blanket uses: your whole body lies in a warm environment and you start to sweat. Near infrared has a shorter wavelength, penetrates further into the skin and gives less sense of warmth for the same amount of energy. That is what you find in red light panels and many infrared lamps, usually combined with visible red light. How much further that is in practice is, by the way, a matter of millimetres and not centimetres, as you can read in the explanation of how deep infrared actually penetrates the skin.

In practice: with far infrared you usually notice by yourself when it gets too much, because you feel the heat. With near infrared and bright red light, the main precaution is not the heat but your eyes. If you want to know exactly which wavelength range does what, that technology is explained separately in the knowledge base.

What is a real risk with infrared heat

This is the heart of the story. The risks of using infrared at home are almost all heat risks and not radiation risks. They are easy to keep track of and easy to prevent, but they are real.

Overheating and carrying on too long

Your body gets rid of heat by sweating and by sending blood to your skin. In a blanket you are wrapped up, so sweat evaporates less easily than in the open air. If you carry on too long or set the temperature too high, your core temperature rises and you notice it through a headache, nausea, palpitations or feeling lightheaded. That is the moment to stop, not to push on.

Dehydration

Sweating costs fluid and salts. If you have drunk little before a session, have just done an intense workout or have been drinking alcohol, you start at a disadvantage. Feeling dizzy when you stand up too quickly is the best known result. A glass of water before and after the session is not a pointless rule but the simplest thing you can do.

Burns to the skin

A burn from a sauna blanket is rare, but not impossible. The risk mainly arises with direct skin contact with a hot surface, with a blanket that is sharply folded so the heat builds up in one spot, and in people who are less able to feel when something is getting too hot. Clothing with long sleeves or an inner liner between you and the blanket largely solves this. With lamps the same principle applies to distance: too close and too long on the same spot is what you want to avoid.

Anyone who uses heat very often and for very long on exactly the same spot can develop a blotchy discolouration of the skin. This has long been known from hot water bottles and heat pads, and with normal use, varied sessions and a timer it is not a realistic scenario, but it is a reason not to expose the same spot for hours every evening.

Falling asleep

This is the most underestimated risk, precisely because it starts off so pleasantly. Warm, dark, quiet, and you are gone. Without a timer, that means a session of unlimited length. That is why every serious sauna blanket has an adjustable timer, and you set it at the start, not halfway through.

Eyes with lamps and panels

With a sauna blanket this hardly plays a role, because your head stays outside the blanket. With a bright infrared lamp or a red light panel it does matter. Looking straight into a bright source is unpleasant and unnecessary. Close your eyes, look to the side or use red light glasses that shield your eyes. The fact that eye damage occurred in old industrial jobs with years of extreme heat radiation does not mean that a session at home carries that risk, but it is the reason eye protection is recommended as standard.

EMF and an infrared blanket: how much of that story is true

Search for whether an infrared blanket is dangerous and within two clicks you end up at EMF, often with strong conviction on both sides. The honest answer lies in the middle, and it is not complicated.

Every device that runs on mains power creates electric and magnetic fields. That applies to your fridge, your hairdryer, your laptop charger and so also to the heating wires and control unit of a sauna blanket. Those fields are low frequency and do not ionise: they do not have the energy to damage DNA directly the way X rays can. For exposure to this kind of field there are international guidelines, drawn up by ICNIRP, which European regulations refer to.

What is true about the concern: with a sauna blanket the distance to your body is small. With most devices in the home you stand a metre away and the fields are long since negligible, whereas a blanket lies right against you. Field strength drops quickly with distance, so anything you place further from your body counts.

What is not true: claims like "EMF free". A device that runs on mains power and gets warm cannot, by definition, have zero fields. "Low EMF" on its own also says little as long as no measurement data comes with it. If you want to attach value to this, ask further: at what distance was it measured, in what unit, at which point of the device and by whom. A seller who has no answer to that is selling you a word, not a measurement.

In practice there are three things you can do yourself: do not place the control unit on your body, do not coil the cable up under the blanket, and switch the device off completely when you are done instead of leaving it on standby. If it really keeps you up at night, a panel or lamp at a distance from your body may suit you better than a blanket, simply because you are not lying inside it.

Infrared itself is rarely the problem. Too hot, too long and too little to drink are.

Electrical safety and which quality marks matter

A sauna blanket is an electrical heating device that you lie inside. That is exactly the type of product where build quality counts for more than the nice photos in the advert. The good news is that a few checks already get you a long way.

You do not have to rely blindly on CE. CE is mandatory for this kind of product in the EU, but it is a declaration by the manufacturer or importer that the product meets the applicable European requirements. It is not an independent quality mark and it says nothing about how pleasant a blanket is to use. What says more is a test report from an independent laboratory or a voluntary safety mark issued by a recognised body. Ask about it if a seller is vague on the subject.

At least as important are the things you can see for yourself:

• A manual in your own language with clear safety instructions.
• A manufacturer or importer with an address in the EU, so that warranty and liability end up somewhere.
• A neatly finished cable and a sturdy connection to the control unit, without an adapter plug.
• An adjustable timer and temperature, with a display you can also read while lying down.
• Customer service you can reach and the option to order spare parts.

During use, the usual rules for electrical devices apply. Do not use a coiled cable reel, because it can heat up under load. Do not use the device on a wet surface or touch the controls with wet hands. Check the cable now and then for kinks and damage, and do not keep using a blanket with a damaged cable until you have had it checked. If you want to know what else to look out for when buying, the complete guide to buying an infrared blanket goes into more depth.

What happens behind the socket belongs to this just as much: how many watts you can put on one circuit, which extension lead can handle that load and why the residual current device matters are set out in the explanation of connecting infrared safely to a 16 amp circuit.

Is infrared healthy? What you can and cannot expect

The question "is infrared healthy" comes up almost as often as the question of whether it is dangerous, and the two belong together. The honest answer is that a sauna blanket or a lamp is not a medical device and does not treat any condition. What many people experience is relaxation, a warm and calm moment, and the feeling that stiff shoulders feel looser. That is valuable, but it is something other than a health promise.

What you should not expect: that heat detoxes your body. Sweat consists mainly of water and salts, and the work people mean by detoxing is done by your liver and kidneys. Do not expect weight loss either: what you see on the scales after a session is fluid, and it comes back as soon as you drink. If you are looking for a sober weighing up of what infrared heat does and does not do, you will find it in the guide to the pros and cons of an infrared sauna.

There is one more honest point: for some people a sauna blanket is simply not pleasant. If you quickly feel closed in within small spaces, cope badly with heat or get restless from lying still, it will do little for you. That is not a failure of the device and not a danger either, it simply does not suit everyone. A lamp or panel, where you sit or stand freely, is then a more logical choice.

Who should take extra care

This is probably the part you came for. Heat does something to your blood vessels, your heart rate and your fluid balance. For most people that is perfectly fine, but not for everyone and not in every situation.

Two topics deserve extra attention. Around pregnancy, the general advice is to be cautious with anything that raises body temperature considerably, and that is exactly what a sauna blanket does. So we do not prescribe what is or is not allowed: that is a conversation with your midwife or doctor. The background is in the article on an infrared sauna blanket and pregnancy.

The second is households with children. A sauna blanket is not a toy and not an extra duvet. Children find it harder to free themselves from a closed blanket and regulate their heat differently from adults. Put the device away after use and keep the control unit out of sight. Practical agreements about this are in the article on safe use with children in the home.

How to build up a session safely

Safe use is mostly a matter of starting gently. If you go straight to the highest setting and the longest time the first time, you are asking for an unpleasant experience. This build up works for almost everyone.

1. Get your spot readyA flat surface, water within reach, your phone nearby and enough free space to get up calmly.
2. Start low and shortFor the first few times, choose a low to medium setting and a short session, so you notice how your body responds.
3. Set the timer before you startSet the time before you lie down, not halfway through. That way falling asleep does not matter.
4. Build up week by weekIncrease either the time or the temperature first, never both at once, and only if the previous session went well.
5. Get up slowly and drinkStay sitting for a moment before you stand up, dry yourself off, drink water and put on something dry.

How much time and what temperature go with that depends on the device and on you. Go by the manual of your own blanket or lamp and by what feels pleasant, not by what someone else does online.

What to do if you feel unwell during a session

Stopping is never a waste. Ending a session costs you nothing and there is no reason at all to grit your teeth. If you feel unwell, do this:

• Switch the device off and open the blanket or turn off the lamp.
• Get up slowly and sit down for a moment before you stand.
• Drink water in small sips.
• Cool your wrists, neck and face with lukewarm water, not ice cold.
• If you are dizzy, lie down with your legs slightly raised until it passes.

Usually it passes within a few minutes and it was simply too warm or too long. If it continues, or you get chest pain, confusion, a severe headache or you faint, do not wait and see but call your GP or the emergency number. The usual signs that a session was too much are covered in detail in the article on what to do if the heat feels too much or stifling.

Lamps and panels: different points of attention from a blanket

An infrared lamp or red light panel is not a blanket and so has a different risk profile. You do not lie inside it, you overheat less and you can walk away at any moment. On the other hand, you often sit closer than intended and your eyes are near the source.

With lamps and panels, pay particular attention to these points. Keep to the distance the manufacturer states and do not sit closer in the hope of more effect. Do not aim a bright lamp at exactly the same spot for a long time without a break. Do not look into the source and use eye protection if the panel is bright. Set the lamp down firmly or mount it securely, because a heat source that falls over is a bigger risk than the radiation itself. And do not leave a lamp on in an empty room.

Which type suits which purpose and what to look out for when buying are covered in the guide to buying a red light lamp or panel. If you mainly use a lamp for stiff muscles and a stiff back, the same rules about distance, duration and breaks apply.

What to watch out for: misconceptions and pitfalls

There are strong stories going around about infrared, told with equal conviction from both sides. These are the misconceptions you come across most often, and how much of them is true.

• "Radiation is radiation, so it is dangerous." Infrared does not ionise and has less energy than visible light. It is not comparable to UV or X rays.
• "You burn your skin just like in the sun." There is no UV in infrared heat. A burn can only come from too much heat, not from a sunburn reaction.
• "Hotter is better." A higher setting mainly means more strain on your body, not more result. Pleasant and sustainable works better than as hot as possible.
• "Longer is better." A long session mainly increases the chance of dehydration and dizziness. The timer is there for a reason.
• "A blanket detoxes your body." Sweat is mainly water and salts. Detoxing is done by your liver and kidneys.
• "It makes you lose weight." What you lose straight after a session is fluid. It comes back as soon as you drink.
• "EMF free." Impossible for a device that runs on mains power. Ask for measurements instead of nice words.
• "Every day is always better." Frequency depends on you and on your goal. More is not automatically better, and a rest day is fine.
• "CE means independently tested." CE is a declaration by the manufacturer or importer, not an independent quality mark.
• "A timer is a gadget." The timer is the most important safety feature of the whole device.

What all these points have in common: they are not about whether infrared is dangerous in itself, but about how you use it. You have almost all of that in your own hands. That makes the subject easier to grasp than it seems on the internet.

Luxyor Comfort 150

• Adjustable temperature and timer on the control unit
• The heating stops as soon as the set time is up
• Zip and controls stay within reach during the session
• 60 days to change your mind and 2 year warranty

View the Comfort 150

Finally

Is infrared dangerous? As a heat source, it is one of the gentlest forms of radiation you have in your home, and there is no UV and no ionisation involved. The risks that do exist are heat risks and electrical risks: too hot, too long, too little to drink, falling asleep without a timer, or a device that is not up to standard. You can do almost everything about those by building up gently, using the timer and stopping as soon as something does not feel right.

And the most important nuance still stands: with pregnancy, heart and blood vessel problems, fever, medication or reduced feeling in the skin, a conversation with your doctor is not a formality but the logical first step. If you want to read on, take a look at the Luxyor infrared sauna blankets with their settings and timers, or browse the knowledge base on infrared and sauna blankets for the technology behind them.