Benefits of halotherapy
Saltwater has been used for centuries to treat many diseases. In ancient Greece, for example, saltwater baths were often used for problem skin, rheumatic pain and muscular problems.
Whether you want to eliminate muscle pain, relax or temper diseases, saltwater baths are a blessing for the body. The skin will absorb minerals such as magnesium and potassium to remove toxins and balance the entire body.
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Frequently asked questions
The rich source of high-quality salt in Eastern Europe has recently led to a global interest in the curative and palliative properties of salt. Yet, halotherapy is an ancient and widely used natural treatment that comes from the Greek word “halos”, meaning salt. Halotherapy involves breathing in particles of salt that mix naturally with the air inside a salt cave. The healing methods of the famous Hippocrates (460 BC) made frequent use of salt for tinctures. This forefather of medicine particularly mentioned inhalation of steam from salt-water as a way to improve one’s breathing, making this the earliest scientific mention of halotherapy.
In 1843, Polish physician Felix Boczkowski studied men working in salt mines at Wieliczka and found that salt miners rarely suffered from tuberculosis or respiratory diseases. Boczkowski’s research confirmed that inhaling salt dust yielded positive results for miner’s skin and respiratory health. His successor, Dr. Mstislav Poljakowski, opened the first official halotherapy spa in a salt cave near Krakow, Poland. That spa operates to this day.
Although consistent efforts have been made to scientifically determine the best use of halotherapy, science has yet to catch up with halotherapy’s full potential. Research examining the benefits of halotherapy are not as well documented as research examining other lung and skin treatments. Although more research is needed to conclude the positive benefits of halotherapy, research has not shown that halotherapy has negative effects, except where people misuse the treatment.
What is halotherapy?
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How does halotherapy work?
Sodium Chloride or NaCl, the basic chemical that makes up salt (with varying mineral levels depending on the salt’s source and formation), is one of the elements that regulates the dynamic of mucus in your lungs and airways. When the amount of sodium chloride in your respiratory system decreases, the natural production of mucus increases. This may cause your lungs’ breathing capacity to suffer, and can affect the quality of the air you breathe in, especially if you suffer from chronic lung disease like asthma. The natural salt dust that you breathe in from halotherapy functions like a dust brush: it gently cleans the airways and lungs of mucus, allergens, pollutants and other impurities. The sodium chloride you inhale, via halotherapy, also changes the consistency of your mucus, making it thinner and less sticky, therefore easier to clear out.
THE PROBLEM
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THE SOLUTION
Halotherapy seeks to enhance the amount of salt that you inhale to increase your respiratory health. Despite these benefits, going to salt caves in Eastern Europe can be time consuming and very costly, meaning that it may be impossible to frequently receive halotherapy. At Salt Cave Halotherapy, we offer a unique alternative to underground salt caves: we source 100% natural salt from Eastern Europe’s most renowned salt mines, to create salt tiles that replicate the exact palliative conditions found in Eastern European salt caves.
Different types of Salt?
SEA SALT
Sodium Chloride or NaCl, the basic chemical that makes up salt (with varying mineral levels depending on the salt’s source and formation), is one of the elements that regulates the dynamic of mucus in your lungs and airways. When the amount of sodium chloride in your respiratory system decreases, the natural production of mucus increases. This may cause your lungs’ breathing capacity to suffer, and can affect the quality of the air you breathe in, especially if you suffer from chronic lung disease like asthma. The natural salt dust that you breathe in from halotherapy functions like a dust brush: it gently cleans the airways and lungs of mucus, allergens, pollutants and other impurities. The sodium chloride you inhale, via halotherapy, also changes the consistency of your mucus, making it thinner and less sticky, therefore easier to clear out.
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Halotherapy seeks to enhance the amount of salt that you inhale to increase your respiratory health. Despite these benefits, going to salt caves in Eastern Europe can be time consuming and very costly, meaning that it may be impossible to frequently receive halotherapy. At Salt Cave Halotherapy, we offer a unique alternative to underground salt caves: we source 100% natural salt from Eastern Europe’s most renowned salt mines, to create salt tiles that replicate the exact palliative conditions found in Eastern European salt caves.
Halotherapy seeks to enhance the amount of salt that you inhale to increase your respiratory health. Despite these benefits, going to salt caves in Eastern Europe can be time consuming and very costly, meaning that it may be impossible to frequently receive halotherapy. At Salt Cave Halotherapy, we offer a unique alternative to underground salt caves: we source 100% natural salt from Eastern Europe’s most renowned salt mines, to create salt tiles that replicate the exact palliative conditions found in Eastern European salt caves.
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ROCH SALT (HALIT)
ROCH SALT FROM TRANSYLVANIA
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TREATMENTS
Research around halotherapy has finally begun to spark global interest, after centuries of being considered just an anecdotal cure. Although research into halotherapy has yet to draw full conclusions about its benefits, halotherapy still offers positive benefits for your health. This is because, most respiratory diseases currently have no medicinal cure, relying on palliative treatments.
Halotherapy offers a non-invasive and natural complement to medication intensive treatments, helping to alleviate your symptoms.
In this vein, we encourage you to continue to use current medications as specified by your GP, and to see halotherapy as a way to improve day-to-day life rather than as a cure for illness. In addition, our salt rooms, equipped with massage chairs, water fountains and entertainment, are designed to help you relax, enhance your mental wellbeing.
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ASTHMA
Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that currently has no cure. Asthma manifests as irregular attacks or spasms in the bronchi of the lungs, causing difficulty in breathing and is usually connected to an allergic reaction or other forms of hypersensitivity.
Halotherapy can help attenuate asthma by virtue of inhaling natural salt dust. This natural salt dust helps to gently clean the airways and lungs of mucus, allergens, pollutants and other impurities. In this way, halotherapy eases the congestion of airways, helping to improve breathing and relieve asthmatic symptoms.
ALLERGY
Halotherapy can help alleviate allergies because salt is a well-known decongestant. As a result of its cleansing activity, inflammation of the airway passages can be reduced, restoring the normal flow of air and mucus.
In turn, the respiratory system is better equipped to eliminate foreign allergens or residues at a faster rate.
BRONCHITIS
Given that salt has natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, halotherapy can speed up the process of recovery after the flu and relieve inflammation and congestion in the airways.
As the natural salt dust gently cleans the airways and lungs of mucus, it reduces inflammation throughout the bronchi, enhancing your breathing.
COPD
When chronic bronchitis, described above, occurs in conjunction with emphysema (a type of condition where the air sacs in the lungs become damaged and stretched, resulting in a chronic cough and difficulty breathing) you get chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The main symptoms of COPD include shortness of breath and coughing with sputum production. These symptoms are amplified over time by smoking, air pollution or simply dust around the house. As the lungs deteriorate over time, the symptoms typically get worse.
COPD has no cure at this time, but the inhalation of naturally forming salt dust can help improve your quality of life and keep your symptoms under control. Salt particles clean the respiratory system and accelerate the elimination of toxins found in it. Your breathing should improve and you should notice a difference. COPD manifests differently with each individual affected. Due to the severity of the condition and the multitude of possible complications, we kindly ask you to seek your GP’s advice before making an appointment in our salt rooms.
SINUSITIS
Sinusitis is an inflammation of the air cavities within the passages of the nose, also known as sinuses. Sinusitis can be caused by issues such as infection, allergies and growths in the sinuses (nasal polyps). Symptoms include, but are not limited to sinus headaches, facial tenderness, pressure or pain in the sinuses, ears and teeth, fever, and nasal stuffiness, etc.
The natural salt dust that you breathe in through halotherapy, gently cleans the airways (including your sinuses) of mucus, allergens, pollutants and other impurities. Given that salt also has natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, halotherapy also serves to relieve inflammation and congestion in the airways, positively altering the way your symptoms manifest.
SKIN CONDITIONS
Psoriasis, Dermatitis and Eczema all target the human being’s largest organ, the skin. Causes and symptoms of each of these life-altering conditions are well-known and will no doubt vary.
Salt has antiseptic properties. Therefore, halotherapy can neutralise the irritants and allergens your skin typically reacts to. Salt’s anti-inflammatory properties also help reduce skin inflammation. After a consistent number of sessions, where natural salt dust settles on your skin, natural salt dust enhances your skin’s health.
Nevertheless, halotherapy alone has limited effects on diluting the symptoms of skin conditions. Our suggestion, in this case, is to couple halotherapy sessions with regular baths using our natural bath salts. Natural Bath Salts (obtained by mixing natural cave salt with 100% natural ingredients such as essential oils or dried medicinal plants) can help with skin conditions in a much better and effective way.
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TAKE CONTROL
Please note that even one visit may have positive effects on your breathing, but the benefits of halotherapy need more than just one session in order to really kick in.
The full extent of what halotherapy can offer is only put in the spotlight after multiple visits that actually allow the salt to work. Please also note that we do not advise our visitors to consider halotherapy to be a standalone treatment or a cure for their ailments.