History of Halotherapy
“Halo” is the Greek word for “Salt”, Salt therapy has a long history through Europe dating back to the 12th century where “Speleotherapy” visiting salt caves was common as were wet forms of salt therapy which included bathing in mineral salt water, ingesting salt water and using it for nasal irrigation.
Fast forward 600 yrs to 1839 in Poland when Dr Feliks Boczkowski a physician visiting the famous Wieliczka salt mines observed that the local salt miners were not inflicted with the same respiratory illnesses that other miners suffered elsewhere.
By 1949, the German Physician Dr K.H.Spannahel observed that people who had hidden in salt mines during WWII exhibited respiratory health benefits that could not be ignored as a coincidence and with the support of a Hungarian Geologist called Dr H Kessler they created the foundation for Speleotherapy that paved the way for Halo Therapy that we have now.
How does Halotherapy work?
You sit in a gently warmed sauna for approx. 20 minutes per treatment and medical grade sodium chloride (salt) is passed into a machine called a “Halo generator”, the Halo generator spins the salt breaking it down in to particles approx. 0.3 to 1.0 nanometre in size and at regular intervals throughout the treatment this salt is then dispersed into the room every few seconds.
As the salt is inhaled the micro sized particles penetrate deep inside your lungs. As the salt then dissolves, they attract positively charged impurities which are then either coughed up to be removed from the body or go into your bloodstream to be removed by your bodies normal metabolic processes.
Benefits of Halotherapy
Respiratory conditions:
Respiratory conditions improve due to the salt drawing out the impurities in the lung’s airways both upper and lower reaches. This stimulates the body’s normal internal processes for cleansing and removing build-up of foreign particles. Halotherapy also has anti-inflammatory properties, opening bronchial tubes in the lungs and reducing inflammation in the sinuses. Halotherapy has also been shown to strengthen the respiratory functions and break up and clear moisture and mucus within the body.
Conditions: – Asthma, Allergies, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis, Cold & Flu Symptoms, Sinusitis, Bronchitis, Covid and Long Covid
Skin Conditions:
Salt Therapy naturally triggers the skin microcirculation and membrane activity which will increase the skins protective and reparative properties. Salt also helps balance the natural PH of the skin back to it’s optimal level of 7.5ph and is also anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory which means germs on the skin are killed and skin inflammation reduces.
Conditions: Psoriasis, Eczema, Acne, Dermatitis, Rosacea, Dry Itchy Skin, Ageing Skin, Allergies
Other Conditions:
When the airways are expanded you increase your lung function, oxygen saturation and exchange rate. Your abdominal wall muscles are strengthened, and this will help increase the lung capacity further as well as oxygenation. As you improve your breathing and breathing techniques this also induces a more calm and relaxed body due to the increased oxygenation of the body.
Conditions: Stress Reduction, Increased Strength, Lung Function, Oxygen Saturation, Allergies
