Asthma Cure and Speleotherapy
"Speleotherapy or underground climatotherapy is an alternative treatment for asthma used in Eastern Europe10. Curing asthma involves spending 2-3 hours a day underground in subterranean caves or salt mines over a 2-3 month period. This rather old therapeutic modality without a scientific explanation seems to give some benefit to patients with COAD and asthma." - 0. Karakoca Y, Demir G, Kisacik G et al. Speleotherapy in asthma and allergic diseases. Clin Exp Allergy 1995;25:666-667.
Although not known to be practiced in the U.S., speleotherapy, a process that involves using the health enhancing effect of salt mines or caves to cure asthma, is an old and yet popular alternative therapy that is still used in some regions of Central Europe, the Balkans, and in Turkey (Karakoca, Demir, Kisackik, Kalyoncu & Findik, 1995). One study describes a course of therapy which was 4 hours a day for 6-8 weeks, the 100 COPD and asthma patients reported improvement which lasted 6 months to 7 years (Skulimowski, 1965). Similar studies were published from Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia with cure rate of around 20% for asthma (Bichonski & Skumlowski, 1971; Kessler, Morik, Morlin & Varkonyi, 1969; Paskova, Kolesar & Siposova, 1976). Despite several published articles reporting a decrease in the symptoms of asthma and allergies, the investigations lack the scientific rigor necessary for many government and private organizations.
So that you may make your own informed decisions about your own heath, here is information about one Speleotherapy clinic in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Allergologic Hospital
The Ukrainian allergologic hospital (UAH) is a world renowned speleotherapeutic clinic. UAH is located in the temperate climate of the foothills of the Ukrainian Carpathian mountains in the valley of the river Tisa. There, patients, with all forms bronchial asthma and other chronic nonspecific lung diseases (CNLD), have been treated successfully in the unique microclimate of salt mines for more than 30 years.
During this period about 60000 patients are reported to have been cured. Annually more than 2000 adults and 1000 children attend the clinic. The hospital is designed for simultaneous treatment of 260 people.
TREATMENT METHODS
Three basic treatments are offered by UAH. Underground treatment that entails emersion in the unique and healthy microclimate deep in the salt mines, exposure to and emersion in the water from the salt mine works, and the application of high bromine ion containing brine and mud from a salt lake. This unique series of medical treatments offered by UAH offers relief to patients with many types of conditions. UAH treats patients with CNLD, psoriasis, neurodermitis, allergic dermatitis, post burn conditions, nervous system disfunction, sex disorders and patients interested in improvement of their general health through natural means.
THE FACILITY
UAH has an extensive facility that allows it to provide a broad range of treatments. There is the underground treatment facility (speleotherapy), a surface complex, which includes 3 therapeutic departments for the adults, a pediatric department, wards for intensive therapy and reanimation, X-ray, stomatological and allergological consulting rooms, an ORL-room, laboratory-diagnostic department, department of physiotherapeutic treatment with a cabinet for acupuncture, halls for medical physical training and consulting rooms for functional diagnostics.
Also UAH there is a comfortable area where people may rest while bathing in salt lakes.
Such structure of UAH allows ensuring a complex individual approach to diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation of each patient.
THE TREATMENT PROCESS AT UAH
During the initial period at the clinic every patient undergoes diagnostic testing determine the his actual condition, the time the patient has had the condition, severity of the condition and associated pathology. After that the patient is offered an assortment of medical treatments tailored to his condition and that are intended to achieve maximum results and to prolong the time that the condition is put into remission.
To increase the effect of speleotherapy, UAH widely uses various other natural therapeutic methods for health improvement such as thermal and electro treatment, inhalation and drink phytotherapy, various forms of massage, laser-therapy, aromotherapy, traditional Chinese medicine and physical conditioning. Qualified personnel apply modern treatment methods at high levels of standard.
UAH, based on its experience with many patients, confirms that speleotherapy is one of the simplest and a highly effective methods for non-medical treatment and rehabilitation of patients with various chronic nonspecific lung diseases.
Ions And Your Health
We spend most of our lives in enclosed places. Our frame of mind and physical condition depend on the composition of the air that we breath. Air is electrically charged, which means it contains in definite proportions, positively charged molecules (positive ions) and negatively charge molecules (negative ions). Scientific research has shown that their balance is required to create a good mood. Computers screens, air-conditioning, and TV sets are sources of surplus positive ions in the air. These devices make electrical smog that can lead to bad moods, weakness and sleeplessness. We must add negative ions to the atmosphere to achieve a balance in the air and neutralize the electrical smog around our homes and work places.
The environment we live in is full of positive ions, which makes the air more polluted. Electrical appliances are discharging these positive ions, high voltage networks, heating and cooling plants, radio and television transmitters, radar systems, tobacco, computers and TV sets. Rock Salt crystal is known to be one of the most efficient emitters of negative ions that improve the air quality.
Salt lamps create a microclimate that is similar to the air after a light spring storm.
In the high country and near the waterfalls, fresh air carries around 4000 negative ions per cubic centimeter whereas in big cities, during rush hours and traffic jams, the negative ions do not exceed more than 100 to 120 ions per cubic centimeter. The presences of negative ions in the atmosphere create a state of well-being.
Salt crystal, thanks to its chemical composition, is an ideal source of negative ions.
Negative ions clean the air of:
· Dust
· Pollen (grass, weed and tree pollen)
· Dust mites
· Animal dander
· Smoke
· Odor
· Mold spores
The impact of negative ions is powerful. Originally they were found to help asthma patients. Later they were discovered to affect Serotonin levels in the bloodstream, stabilize alpha rhythms and to positively affect reactions to sensory stimuli. The attendant greater level of alertness can translate into improved learning, improved well-being and enhanced performance of mental tasks.
Dr. Albert P. Krueger, a Microbiologist and experimental Pathologist at the University of California, found that an astonishing small quantity of negative ions could kill bacteria and quickly take them out of the air so they were less likely to infect people".
Rock Salt Crystal Lamps are highly suitable for daily use near Televisions, and Computers around smokers, in office with air-conditioning, during massage therapy, in mediation rooms and anywhere else you want to restore or preserve the natural air quality.
Ionizing machines emit negative electric charges into the air, and this supposedly causes airborne allergens to cluster and fall to the ground. These machines have been claimed to help hay fever and asthma sufferers by decreasing the allergen load on the nasal mucosa and lungs.
Speleotherapy is carried out in salt mines where there are large concentrations of healthy ions. These are the same ions that are given off by salt lamps.
Many people, who can't go to the salt mines, use salt crystal lamps to create those ions. They buy salt crystal lamps made from the same salt mines used the speleotherapic clinics. These lamps are reported to provide relief the same was people are relieved at the salt mines.
Salt Crystal Lamps and Color Therapy
The beautiful and rich color of the Salt Crystal Lamps has been known to be useful in color therapy.
THE THEORY BEHIND COLOR THERAPY is that when you absorb color energy it travels, via the nervous system, to the part of the body that needs it. Each body has its own optimum state of well-being and is constantly seeking ways to maintain or restore a balanced state. Utilizing COLOUR is one way you can help yourself to harmony.
Some of the colors that occur in many of the Salt Crystal Lamps when they are illuminated with an ordinary "white" light globe range from the original off white of pure salt through various degrees of yellows, peach, orange and shades of red to deep red.
The natural variations in the color of the Salt Crystal comes from the Iron Oxides in the soil above the salt crystal deposits that leach down over hundreds of millions of years. The colors and combinations of colors are made up from the different density of iron oxides left on the salt crystal veins. The patterns and combinations of colors naturally occur in much the same way as an iron pipe leaves varied, abstract and totally unique rust stains on a wall over time.
Different color therapists have varying thoughts on the benefits of each color in the spectrum. Following is an extract on Color Therapy by Walter Last however many other reputable Therapists interpretations are available on the Internet or by consultation. (NB: We strongly recommend seeking specialist color therapist advice for individuals with any of the following symptoms as this is intended for information purposes only.)
RED (BRIGHT RED)
Warm and stimulating. Use in anemia, or whenever you are feeling cold and pale, with chilled extremities; also useful for ultraviolet and X-ray burns and frostbite; red is a liver stimulant and counter-irritant (to bring internal inflammations to the surface). Nutrients: vitamin B12, acidity.
ORANGE
A respiratory stimulant; useful for weak lungs, asthma, consumption, emphysema; also for overweight and under-active people with an under-active thyroid (energizes thyroid, sedates parathyroid). Orange relieves spasms and cramps, increases milk secretion, corrects rickets and soft bones, osteoporosis; stimulates stomach and digestion, and relieves flatulence and distension; also stimulates the bladder, kidneys, liver and pancreas, try with epilepsy. It is valuable for chronic kidney disease and gallstones; arthritis, gout and rheumatism during non-painful periods. Minerals: boron, calcium, copper, selenium, silicon.
YELLOW
The most luminous color. A strong stimulant and energizer for muscles and nerves: use in all cases of paralysis and muscle disorders, for nerve building, and in nervous exhaustion. Yellow energizes the alimentary tract and stimulates digestion, flow of bile, gastric juices, pancreas activity, lymphatic system, heart, eyes and ears. It generally activates all bodily functions except those of the spleen, which is sedated; use for indigestion, constipation, diabetes, and depression for skin cleansing and to destroy intestinal worms. Minerals: magnesium, molybdenum, sodium.
Aroma Therapy
Alternative medical techniques can help you avoid the discomfort and side effects that come with prescription drugs. And depending on the technique used, psychiatrists say that elderly patients can very well tolerate them.
According to Professor Alistair Burns, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Manchester, England. Burns added.
"People with dementia are among the most vulnerable in our society. Symptoms often need to be treated expediently, and drugs, although moderately effective, can be hazardous,"
"Aromatherapy and bright light treatment seem to be safe and effective and may have an important role in managing behavioral problems in people with dementia".
Light therapy entails sitting in front of bright and colored lights in order to alleviate restlessness, behavioral and sleeping problems.
Mister Burns and other psychiatrists said in an editorial in The British Medical Journal that three trials done in the past year (2002) have shown the benefit of aromatherapy. Notable benefit for dementia patients resulted from the use of lemon balm and lavender oil. It seems that the oils contain compounds that are absorbed by body and that seem to cause relief from the normally expected symptoms.
And salt lamps are particularly effective for aromatherapy. Not only do these aromatic dispensers disperse the compounds that help your body, they give triple benefits. They give off light that is necessary to avoid depression and create a pleasant surroundings, they give off ions that create a healthy microclimate and they disperse healthy aromas into the atmosphere.
Light Therapy
Light is important to mental well-being. Light therapy is a common treatment in the North Countries where one finds high rates of depression that doctors have found are related to the long winter nights experienced by the people who live there.
Salt lamps can be used for light therapy and they can be used to adjust our emotional conditions.
Salt comes in a very useful spectrum of colors that create different moods. So you can choose one or more to fit your current condition.
Red is the provocative color that boosts your vital forces and gives you an energetic outlook on life.
Apricot is said to help you overcome over come emotional blocks, improve open mindedness and increase vital energy.
Orange is supposed to aid relaxation and improve body harmony. It is also said to be very helpful in overcoming stress, and nervous shock. It also is supposed to increase creativity and your outlook on life.
White brightens your outlook and has a calming effect that helps you concentrate and enrich your emotional life.
You can choose between the electric or candle aromatic dispensers. There is no doubt that for power applications where you need maximum effect, the electric model is best.
But if you use your aromatic dispenser as a preventative measure and atmosphere-enhancing decoration, there is no doubt that a candle model fits the bill.
What do we do? We are not waiting for problems. We use an electric aromatic dispenser in our family area. And when it is time to turn down the lights and entertain, we set up our candle unit.
Initiate Change Consciously
When you decide to apply some of the sole remedies at home, we ask that you not simply follow the procedures, but also to become consciously aware of the magnificent reformation that you are initiating in your life with help of the primal elements, water and salt. Even though you will primarily experience the effects on a physical level, they will also have implications on an energetic, subtle level for both your mind and spirit as well. Have patience. Give yourself the time and tranquility for attaining and remaining healthy from within. Be aware of the possibility of an initial aggravation of your condition and let your family and friends know what you are doing, so they can support you.
