Salt Therapy for respiratory illnesses
Salt Therapy has also been known and accept in Eastern an Central Europe for generations as the non-drug treatment and it has been known as Halotherapy (Halo = Salt) and Speleotherapy (Speleo = Cave). It uses the benefit of salt properties to treat respiratory illnesses. Womer (1999) reveals in his study of sat in the history medicine that salt therapy to treat respiratory illness is not new concept--Inhaling the salt airsteam from heating salt solution was recommended treatment by Hippocrates.
Speleotherapy or underground climatotherapy is an alternative treatment for asthma used mostly in Eastern Europe. Curing asthma involves spending 2-3 hours a day underground in subterranean caves or salt mines over a 2-3 month period. This rather old therapeutic modality without a scientific explanation seems to give some benefit to patients with COAD and asthma." - 0. Karakoca Y, Demir G, Kisacik G et al. Speleotherapy in asthma and allergic diseases. Clin Exp Allergy 1995;25:666-667.
HT is the method of natural therapy, which takes from Speleotherapy the main healing factor - aero dispersed environment saturated with dry sodium chloride aerosol. Halotherapy (HT) is a mode of treatment in a controlled air medium that simulates the natural salt cave microclimate. HT is performed in a special room with salt-coated walls and floor - the Halochamber. Dry sodium chloride aerosol containing particles of 1-5um in size is produced by a special nebulizer and released into the Halochamber.
Several research reports the benefit of Halo/Speleo therapy that can improve a condition of people suffering in chronic and allergic diseases of respiratory system such as asthma, allergy, rhinitis, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Skulimowski (1965) reports an improvement of salt therapy with the group of 100 COPD and asthma patients after applying the treatment of speleotherapy 4 hours a day for 6-8 weeks. Hovarths (1986) conducts a medical reserch and shows successful results in salt therapy in a group of more than 4000 patients in a 10-year period in a hospital-cave complex in Tapolca, Hungary. He shows that a sharp and long-lasting clinical improvement and a significant recovery from airway obstruction could be observed in the overwhelming majority of patients. At the Ukrainian Allergological Hospital (UAH), they report that the unique microclimate of the salt mines can improve patients with various forms of bronchial asthma and other types of respiratory diseases. In the course of more than 30 years about 60 000 patients are reported to have been cured. Annually more than 2000 adults and 1000 children attend the clinic. Chervinskaya and Zilber (1995) shows an evidence on halotherapy for respiratory diseases using areosal salt chamber. They show an evidence of improvement in clinical state in most patients in the group.
Today speleotherapy is more and more recognized as a “highly effective medication-free treatment method. At the World Paediatric Congress in Jerusalem in July 1997, speleotherapy was presented as a curative method for chronic and allergic diseases of respiratory organs.Even though there are several research conducted in Halo/Speleo Therapy over the years, the salt therapy seems to be less attractive to the Western world rather than conventional medical treatment. Beamont et al. (2005) points out that the Halo/Speleotherapy is not practically known in UK and USA, eventhough, the use of this treatment has been successfully used for over 50 years in Eastern and Central Europe for a treatment of respiratory illnesses and help for some symptoms such as colds, persitent cough and sore throat. More research in this treatment should be done.
See reference on Halo and Speleotherapy Click here
See how the salt therapy can benefit Click here
Click here to see published clinical trial in Salt Therapy
Click here to see Salt Therapy treatment
No. of visitors for Saltpipe since 8/06/05
©2005 Cisca Ltd
As exhibited in Allergy show 2005
As advertised in Allergy Magazine, The Independent and The Times newspaper
