The unique red salt mine in Belarus – Soligorsk.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.[1] Spa owners attribute a wide range of health benefits to halotherapy.[2]
Norman Edelman of the American Lung Association suggests that, for people with obstructive lung diseases, halotherapy might be more than a placebo effect.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6] 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,[7] Romania, and Ukraine, in addition to Poland.[8]
^Shah, R.; Greenberger, P. (2012). "Unproved and controversial methods and theories in allergy-immunology". Allergy and Asthma Proceedings. 33 (Supplement 1): 100–102. doi:10.2500/aap.2012.33.3562. PMID22794702.
