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Halotherapy

Unproven alternative medicine that uses salt

Halotherapy
Summary

Unproven alternative medicine that uses salt

The unique red salt mine in Salihorsk, Belarus.
Halotherapy spa in Slovakia

Halotherapy (also known as speleotherapy when practiced inside caves) is a form of alternative medicine which makes use of salt. Halotherapy is an unproven treatment that lacks scientific credibility. Spa owners attribute a wide range of health benefits to halotherapy.

Norman Edelman of the American Lung Association suggests that, for people with obstructive lung diseases, halotherapy might be more than a placebo effect. He speculates that inhaled salt particles might thin out mucus, aiding patients in expelling sputum. However, a recent review of the research supporting halotherapy determined that, out of 151 studies on this topic, only 1 was a well-designed randomized controlled trial that met their inclusion criteria for a meta-analysis.

History

The earliest known mention of spa resorts dates back to the 12th century in Poland, where people were urged to bathe in mineral waters. Modern history of halotherapy dates back to 1843, when a Polish physician named Feliks Boczkowski promoted the idea of salt treatment after noticing that workers at salt mines, unlike other miners, did not have respiratory or lung problems. In those regions with natural karst caves and numerous salt tunnels and salt mines, therapeutic centers for people with asthma have been established since the 1950s, notably in Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine, in addition to Poland.

Forms

There are several forms of halotherapy:

  • Saline solution inhalations
  • Dry salt aerosol inhalations
  • Irrigation and lavage
  • Saline and brine baths
  • Taking the waters (crenotherapy)

References

References

  1. (2012). "Unproved and controversial methods and theories in allergy-immunology". Allergy and Asthma Proceedings.
  2. Novella, Steven. (June 13, 2018). "Halotherapy – The Latest Spa Pseudoscience".
  3. (June 9, 2016). "Promising or Placebo? Halo Salt Therapy: Resurgence of a Salt Cave Spa Treatment".
  4. (February 21, 2014). "A review of halotherapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease". International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
  5. Kamińska, Katarzyna. (2014). "Halotherapy". Salsano Haloterapia Polska.
  6. Shah, Allie. (18 November 2013). "Salt therapy is finding new fans, but doctors remain skeptical". [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]].
  7. a.s, Petit Press. (2007-04-30). "Caves offer asthma relief for tourists".
  8. (2006-01-03). "Ukrainian mine helps asthmatics".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

alternative-medical-treatments hydrotherapy naturopathy
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