Sauna-related burns: a review of 154 cases treated in Kuopio University Hospital Burn Center 1994–2000

Bathing in sauna has been customary for Finnish people for centuries. However, there are no actual reviews on sauna-related bums in the literature. This 7-year retrospective analyses of 598 burn patients treated in Kuopio University Hospital Burn Unit revealed that every fourth burn in our unit was sauna-related, giving a total of 154 cases. Most of these burns were minor but 54% required operative treatment. A total of 71% of patients were male and 40% of all patients were under the influence of alcohol. The incidence of sauna-related burns in Finland according to our material is 7/100,000, giving a total of 357 patients annually. Hence, there is one sauna-related burn per day requiring hospitalization in Finland.