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dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012
Location: South Korea
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 Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 1:43 am Post subject: Sauna Safety |
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Is this becoming a hot topic, again?
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2013/11/137_146252.html
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The woman screamed before the man’s head hit the floor. At first it looked like she had hit him and was running away. His arms went into spasm; although he was flat out on the floor, both were pointing up from the elbow.
His fingers were rigidly splayed in opposing directions. By now the woman who had screamed was on the other side of the room, fleeing to nowhere, though the expression on her face cleared her of any role in the man’s condition.
No one really leapt into action, because no one really knew what was wrong with the man. Someone said “counter” and so someone went to the counter. I jogged to the men’s changing room but word must have already got through because a member of staff was heading out in the direction of the where the man lay.
We both rushed to his side. He was now shaking violently, and saliva was spewing from his mouth like water from a busted drain. His throat’s swallowing mechanism was working instinctive overtime in an effort not to choke on its own juices.
I looked at the staff member and he looked at me. I asked and he confirmed that someone had called an ambulance. His eyes betrayed panic at the man’s state. It didn’t seem to be improving. It was two in the afternoon and so there were only a few other people lounging about the jimjilbang. None of us knew what we were dealing with.
It seemed like the man’s eyelids were fighting to open; the gush of yellowing fluid from his mouth hadn’t ceased. I leant him over to one side slightly, so that the torrent of saliva might become a dribble instead of a life threatening flood. He was drenched in sweat.
The sweat was not cold. That means he’s not having a heart attack, right? I didn’t know. But it lasted another 10 minutes, the man fighting to deal with his shakes and saliva, and me and the staff member just waiting next to him and willing on the emergency services.
It isn’t the first time I’ve seen or heard about men over the age of 50 having sudden catastrophic health emergencies in the sauna or jimjilbang. Could it be that the contrast of temperatures in air and water, a reputed boon to blood circulation, skin tone, and more, can also spark a system overload of some kind? This being so, why was the staff member crouching alongside me with his fingers crossed not able to do more?
As a regular I know him to be jovial, active in replacing the contents of a dwindling shampoo tray, and efficient in replacing the towels. But he is so lacking in pressure on his time that it is not uncommon to see him snoozing in a leather massage chair whilst his hands instinctively fiddle with the remote control. Why not expand the remit of his duties?
The unspoken feeling as we waited for the ambulance was that at least one of us should have been trained in basic medical response techniques. Apart from the obvious benefits of potentially saving a life or at least buying time until a fully qualified medical staff arrives, it might be the first step in spreading a civic culture of first response medical competence at an ordinary man in the street level.
The ambulance crew wheeled a fold down stretcher into the jimjilbang lounge just after the man’s major symptoms had ceased. He was looking about the place with an oddly mystified air, and perhaps no memory of what he had just been through.
The medics shone a torch into his eyes, lifted him up into the stretcher in a sitting position, and we all noted the smear of blood on the floor where his head had hit the surface at freefall speed.
It was the first time I had seen an epileptic seizure up close. But not, I believe, the first time the jimjilbang worker had.
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dairyairy
Joined: 17 May 2012
Location: South Korea
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nicwr2002
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:54 am Post subject: |
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| Good saunas are awesome. Who doesn't like to sit in a hot tub and relax?? It's no different than a Japanese onsen. Some good ones even have an ice box that you can sit it as well. |
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yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: La Florida
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| Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:18 am Post subject: |
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"I don't want to see other naked men, either." Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:43 am Post subject: |
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From personal observation, some reasons I find bath houses/saunas to be unhealthy/unsafe in korea;
1/ People scrubbing the dirt off after going in the bath - rather than before. Leaving the bath swimming with dirt by early afternoon.
2/ Perverts touching up people (male and female either in the bath house or in the chimchilbang).
3/ The amount of homosexual activity that goes on at night (jimchilbangs specifically).
4/ Men (over 40) doing push-ups etc. IN THE SAUNA when its extremely hot.
5/ Fathers dropping their very young children into water over 40 degrees.
6/ People draping towels over the thermostat so that the temperature goes over a safe level.
7/ Sharing those little plastic, potty seat things without washing them.
The only thing that surprises me is that more people don't have heart attacks or catch piles. |
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hellofaniceguy
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: On your computer screen!
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 3:50 am Post subject: |
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I don't care what country....public saunas are nasty! People pee in the water, folks with open sores in the hot tubs, scrubbing each other and without rinsing off...jump right into the hot tub!
Floors are scummy at times. Sure...sauna employees try and keep the places clean...but you can't clean idiots who have no respect for others. I went a few times, enjoyed soaking in the different large tubs...hot/warm/cold...very refreshing....but when I see the nasty behaviour going on...never again have I gone! |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 4:36 am Post subject: |
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| I've used Korean public bathing facilities pretty much weekly for 14 years. I consider it a factor in my consistent good health. Yet to catch anything nasty from one. Saunas & hot mineral soaks do a body good. |
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coralreefer_1
Joined: 19 Jan 2009
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 6:42 am Post subject: |
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Its a shame people havent learned yet that if they want to go to a sauna for a hot/cold bath, the better options are the crummy places in the back alleys.
I'm here to tell you folks, the big places with hundreds of people running around in towels sitting around eating eggs are FAR more likely to house some of the previous things mentioned.
If you wanna "hang out"...by all means the big places are decent. However if you are there just to relax and maybe help the body recover from a hard workout or such...why bother?
Much better off spending 4-5 thousand won for that back in time place with literally noone around. Sure, it may not be as well-lit and no free or cheap eggs, shikye, computers or electric lockers...but all that is lacking is made up by the fact such places are usually empty for the most part |
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duhweecher
Joined: 06 Nov 2013
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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Did anyone else do this when they saw the writer's name?   |
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Hokie21
Joined: 01 Mar 2011
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Those places creep me out. No thanks. |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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Unfortunately, whenever I hear about sauna safety, I think of that young man, Mike - who died a few years back.
Be careful in there. |
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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| coralreefer_1 wrote: |
Its a shame people havent learned yet that if they want to go to a sauna for a hot/cold bath, the better options are the crummy places in the back alleys.
I'm here to tell you folks, the big places with hundreds of people running around in towels sitting around eating eggs are FAR more likely to house some of the previous things mentioned.
If you wanna "hang out"...by all means the big places are decent. However if you are there just to relax and maybe help the body recover from a hard workout or such...why bother?
Much better off spending 4-5 thousand won for that back in time place with literally noone around. Sure, it may not be as well-lit and no free or cheap eggs, shikye, computers or electric lockers...but all that is lacking is made up by the fact such places are usually empty for the most part |
do you mean mog yeok tangs (or however its spelt)? the places where you can relax to the glorious sound of people regurgitating phlegm onto the bath house floor whilst simultaneously pissing in the showers? Youre right, theyre slightly better if you can get there for opening time before anyone else has had the chance to infect it. Theyre still disgusting.
@helofa nice guy. I can assure you saunas in most countries arent as bad. From my exp., most people in Europe have some idea about sauna etiquette and follow it. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
Unfortunately, whenever I hear about sauna safety, I think of that young man, Mike - who died a few years back.
Be careful in there. |
Bringing up that incident is like saying Beetlejuice the third time. |
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cabeza
Joined: 29 Sep 2012
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| Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Captain Corea wrote: |
Unfortunately, whenever I hear about sauna safety, I think of that young man, Mike - who died a few years back.
Be careful in there. |
What happened to Mike? |
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Lucas
Joined: 11 Sep 2012
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