Air treatments help with many chronic diseases

Climate therapies have existed for more than 150 years and are currently experiencing a new upswing. Above all, the holistic therapy approaches, which focus on strengthening the self-healing powers, are well received by the patients. As recognized natural remedies, the health insurance companies often bear the costs of chronic diseases. Patients often benefit from the soothing effects of a three-week course for almost a full year. Climate therapies are mainly in the high mountains and the sea but also in natural caves or former mines. Often, a local medicine, such as radon in a healing tunnel, is added. The most important climate therapies at a glance:

Cures by the sea - natural salt especially effective
Sea air is full of small salt water droplets that release mucus in the airways and bronchi. The climate stimulates the metabolism and the total activity of the body. "In addition, the air is very pure and therefore low in pollutants, which has a positive effect especially on people with chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma or sarcoidosis," med. univ. Simon Gütl, spa physician, doctor for medical rehabilitation and medical director of the Gastein Heilstollen. Salt baths help with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. At the North Sea, patients can also walk in the mud. The silt is used as a remedy and works especially in rheumatic diseases, circulatory disorders and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Cures in tunnels - heat, radon and allergy freedom act
Another form of climate therapy is the tunnel or cave therapy in natural caves or former mines. As in the high mountains and by the sea, there is a virtually dust and pollen-free atmosphere underground, which benefits people with respiratory problems. Patients enter the tunnel several times by train and spend about one hour on the therapy stations. Special importance is attached to so-called radon heat therapies in tunnels. Here, the noble gas radon naturally exits the rock and is absorbed through the skin and lungs. In addition, there is a tropical climate, with heat and high humidity. "Together, it stimulates the body's own cell repair mechanisms, reduces the activity of inflammatory cells as well as painkillers and relaxes muscles," Dr. Gütl. Patients with chronic diseases of the rheumatic type, the musculoskeletal system, the respiratory tract and the skin benefit from this special climate therapy.

Cures in the high mountains - dust and low-pollen air effective
In the Alps or high mountains over 1,500 meters, there are no mites, mold or pollen more, which achieves anti-allergic effects in respiratory and skin diseases. Due to the lower atmospheric oxygen in the alpine areas, the body is also in endurance training - this has a long-term antihypertensive, although it is initially often a temporary reactive increase in blood pressure. The blood pressure should therefore be checked in advance and adjusted correctly. "The level affects blood count, oxygen transport, blood sugar, blood pressure and pulse behavior, so that cures in the mountains are well suited for people with cardiovascular problems," concludes Dr. Gütl. (Pm)