Salt Cave Therapy: Rediscovering the Benefits of an Old Preservative
Abstract
Salt Cave Therapy Rediscovering the Benefits of an Old Preservative Sala Horowitz, PhD Countries in Eastern and Central Europe, where underground salt caves are located in mountainous regions, have a long tradition of âminingâ these caves for their health benefits. This article examines traditional and contemporary complementary and alternative (CAM) applications of speleotherapy (salt cave therapy), halotherapy (therapy that replicates salt cave conditions), and forms of inhaled saline solution. Also reviewed is the accruing research evidence supporting the efficacy of exposure to high-salt environments for treating respiratory and other ailments. cilities and spas, are also located in other Eastern and Central European countries including Russia (BerezikiâPerm region), Austria (SozbadâSalzeman region), Azerbaijan (Nakhichevan), Rumania (Sieged), Slovakia (Bratislava), and the Ukraine (SolotvinoâCarpathians and ArtiomovskâDonietsk regions).3 In Russia (as in other European countries), shortages of medical supplies during wartime spurred reliance on natural traditional methods of healing and were frequently integrated with allopathic medicine after World War II.4 Going to salt caves for health enhancement is as much a part of the Eastern and Central European spa medicine tradition as is âtaking the watersâ (balneotherapy) or sea air, and practitioners may combine several of these modalities. For example, the Ukrainian Allergologic