Speleotherapy
Speleotherapy (Greek: Speleon — cave; therapy — treatment) stands for the use of subterranean salt caves for therapeutic purposes, especially the treatment of chronic airway diseases.
The healing atmosphere of the salt caves has been acknowledged for several centuries. For example, the medieval monks took sick people to the salt caves and let them breathe the air saturated with salt particles. These salt particles were freshly created and "activated" while the monks constantly crushed the stalactites.
In 19th century, the speleotherapy started to gain popularity in Europe. The salt industrialists in Poland noticed that none of the millers in the salt shafts ever suffered from lung related diseases, for example pneumonia and asthma. It was then that the first underground cure centre was established in Poland, Wieliczka, to cure the aforementioned diseases, especially asthma. In 1843, the Polish physician F. Bochkowsky published a book about the therapeutic effects the salt cave environments have on respiratory diseases.

Halotherapy

Since the natural salt caves and salt mines are not conveniently accessible for most of the people, the conditions of the salt caves are now recreated by using the scientifically proven methods of halotherapy (Greek: halos — salt; therapy —treatment). The therapy is carried out in a designated room -- the halotherapeutic chamber or the salt room.
Halotherapy is characterized by no-drug and noninvasive treatments of respiratory diseases. In its effectiveness, it can reduce the intake of medications or enhance their effectiveness, as well as providing the preventive measures and rehabilitation.
In the former Soviet Union, the research on the effects of the salt therapy started in 1968 in Trans-Carpathians at Solotvino village, in a hospital designated for the treatment of allergic diseases. The therapeutic effect was confirmed by various biochemical, immunological and microbiological studies. As the results of the studies showed, the salt therapy resulted in 6 months to 5 years relief for most of the patients participating in the research.
Supported by the research results, the new effective asthma treatment method was established. It is based on the patients being in a special salt room, where the microclimate of the salt cave is created with the help of the special salt-aerosol.

speleotherapy, halotherapy, salt therapy, salt cave therapy