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Salt grottos - variants, health effects and suppliers
contents
- asthma therapy
- In the beginning was the cave
- Natural and artificial salt grottos
- halotherapy
- air therapy
- Salt grottos in Germany
- Medical evidence?
- What do doctors say about the healing properties of salt grottos?
- Nebulizer and rock salt
- Wellness program
- Who should not go to a salt chamber??
asthma therapy
In the second half of the last century salt grottos spread in Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine as focal points for patients with bronchial asthma. On the one hand there are natural karst caves in these countries, on the other hand salt has been mined here for centuries.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland is one of the oldest salt mines in the world. (Image: fotobroda / fotolia.com) In Germany, although the supposed healing effect of salt caves spoke around, but developed here no tradition to use salt grottos in therapies. The reason was simple: Although there are many salt mines in this country, a lot of saltpans and salt mines as well as various stalactite caves, but rarely combine economically exploited salt deposits with popular caves.
In the beginning was the cave
In Slovakia, for example, things are different. Few countries in the world have as many walk-in caves on a small area as Slovakia. Artificial or natural salt caves can be found today in Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Croatia, the Netherlands, the USA and Saudi Arabia.
They serve, in addition to general "wellness", asthma therapy and the treatment of allergies. In Germany, for example, the Teufelshöhle is known, in Austria Hallein near Salzburg, in the Ukraine Solotvino, and in Russia Perm.
Natural and artificial salt grottos
The microclimate in Solotvino should be suitable for alleviating diseases of the lungs. A disadvantage of natural salt grottos is their low number. Those affected have to travel far, adjust to the climatic conditions, and prepare for a waiting period in the nearby sanatoriums.
halotherapy
An alternative is Halotherapy. Here, the patients search for artificially created salt chambers. Their quality varies enormously, and the technical effort is not small. The air must be free of disease-causing bacteria, fungi and allergens, and the salt in the air must be at an appropriate level; In addition, humidity and temperature must be right.
Halotherapy is performed in artificially designed salt chambers. (Image: RioPatuca Images / fotolia.com) The salt should contain at least 90% NaCl, the humidity between 45 and 60% and the temperature at 18-24 degrees.
Russia is at the forefront of this halo therapy, and in 1990 the Russian Ministry of Health recognized the procedure as a cure. It is mainly about asthma, chronic bronchitis and other diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract.
air therapy
Tibor Barta of the Otorhinolaryngological Clinic in Bratislava-Petrzalka recommends outdoor culture in salt grottos for the following diseases: Acute and chronic respiratory diseases such as runny nose, vocal cord inflammation, asthma, healing of operations of the nasal septum, turbinate, tonsils and larynx.
The healing methods include inhalation in sanatoriums, walks by the sea and visiting the natural salt caves of Slovakia. The cures in the salt caves he considers helpful in diseases of the pharynx, the nasal cavities, the larynx and the thyroid glands.
Dr. Igor Kajaba, also from Bratislava, adds this list to inflammations of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine and large intestine. Also for stomach ulcers, gallbladder and biliary tract disorders, autoimmune liver disease, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
Salt grottos in Germany
Karl-Hermann Spannagel realized in 1950 that the Klutert cave was good for health. Here, locals had retreated during the Second World War to protect against bombing. Spannagels therapeutic approach did not spread: This was mainly due to the small number of natural salt caves in Germany.
Only since about 2000, the number of artificial salt grottos in spas, spas and spas.
Artificial grottoes consist of tons of rock or sea salt, for example from the Dead Sea or Pakistan. Nebulizers or artificial waters as well as salt generators create the necessary salt climate.
In contrast to the sauna, the visitors do not have to wear swimwear or go naked into the grotto, only the shoes are replaced by over socks. The phone is switched off. They stay in a deck chair for about three quarters of an hour.
Medical evidence?
For the curative effect of the artificial salt chambers in Germany there is so far no scientific proof, more exactly, a verifizierbarer benefit could not be proven. Suppliers report that inhaling the salt and other minerals and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium and iodine relieves chronic respiratory infections, relaxes and boosts the immune system.
Irrespective of the salt caves, brine-photo therapy follows a precise course, and the medicinal effect of the saltwater bath and the UV radiation, for example against psoriasis, is proven.
For the caves, however, there are no standards: According to a judgment of the Higher Regional Court Hamm (Az-I-4 U 124/12) operators of (artificial) salt caves in Germany may not advertise the healing effect.
Pulmonary physicians often recommend the inhalation of saline solutions for diseases of the respiratory tract. (Image: highwaystarz / fotolia.com) What do doctors say about the healing properties of salt grottos?
Although dermatologists confirm that atopic dermatitis or psoriasis can be treated with a moist salt mist. But the humidity would have to be at least 80%, and the patients would have to expose their bare skin to the fog.
The average salt chamber with about 50% humidity is not enough.
Pulmonologists recommend inhaling saline solutions for respiratory diseases.
Since no medical benefit is proven, health insurance companies usually do not cover the costs of visiting the salt room.
Nebulizer and rock salt
Going to a saline room is unlikely to cure serious illnesses, but it can help to reduce stress and improve your sense of well-being. However, salt cave is not salt cave.
The salt grotto Fürth, for example, advertises with brine nebulization, ie ultrasonic nebulization in which salt particles penetrate the lungs and skin. This is to help with deep-seated cough mucus and inhibit inflammation of the skin. In the nebulizer is an oxygen ionization module, which provides an oxygen concentration of 90%.
The Oasa salt cave in Helmstedt covered the walls of the grotto with 13 tonnes of unrefined "Himalayan" salt from Pakistan.
The Salzgrotto Hessen in the Hotel Ziegelruh sprays salt brine with an ultrasound device in nanoparticles.
The artificial salt chambers are often used to offer large wellness centers. (Image: romankosolapov / fotolia.com) Wellness program
Although there are several pure salt grottos in Germany today, most of them are integrated in comprehensive wellness centers, together with saunas, thermal baths, massages and solariums.
For example, the Landhaus-Die Arche in Mecklenburg offers classic massages, as well as lymphatic drainage and a salt full-body massage. The Soltau-Therme advertises with the possibility of inhaling the mineral-rich salty air directly in the sauna area. So, a salt chamber is a module in a series of saunas.
In Bad Schönborn is the "Dead Sea Salt Grotto" in the largest spa in southwest Germany, together with a Finnish loft sauna, a health center and a beauty salon. Salt from the Dead Sea is really special: in addition to sodium chloride, it contains magnesium, potassium, calcium, bromine and iodine.
The Spessart-Therme offers a children's grotto with sandpit, where the children can pat around in salt; the salt grotto Chemnitz invites to "crystal sound worlds".
The Magedeburger salt grotto has an additional salt cabin, so an infrared heat cabin with brine mist and ionized oxygen.
Who should not go to a salt chamber??
A salt chamber is not suitable for people who suffer from hyperthyroidism. These should at least first discuss with a doctor, if the increased iodine content in the air causes problems for them.
Who suffers from cave scare should not go into salt chambers, as he could get there oppressions. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)