Thread: Halotherapy?

  1. #1

    Halotherapy?

    Anybody know much about this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halotherapy


    It's basically simulating a salt cave in order to treat respiratory issues. Alongside the salt itself, salt caves are generally clean from air pollution and pollen, and have an interesting micro climate that can be beneficial to your health.

    It seems to be a bit more than just the average New Age quackery that's been proliferating recently. After some research, I think that this field has the potential to be beneficial for people with respiratory and skin problems such as asthma, COPD, psoriasis, and others. However, halotherapy has only been shown to help with cystic fibrosis in one study regarding an inhaler with a saline solution.

    Another problem I've noticed is that only pharmaceutical (pure) salt should be used, instead of "Himalayan" or "Dead Sea" salt, which contains trace minerals that should not be inhaled. And you cannot just place salt decor into a room and dump pounds of salt on the floor and expect to simulate a cave, you need special equipment for that. I'm sure that some of these places aren't doing that properly.

    Currently, salt caves are mostly a Central/Eastern Europe phenomenon, which is also where most of the research has been done. However, most of the research isn't up to the standards of acceptable rigor, leaving it's benefits in the dark.

    "Salt caves" are starting to sprout all over the United States nowadays, and I think it's time that serious medical studies are done on this potentially beneficial form of treatment because it's pretty fucking stupid to have all these salt caves opening up touting cures when they barely have the support, most of which is anecdotal, to back their claims.


    So what do you guys think? Scam? Legitimate treatment? Decent possibilities? Obsolete? I might edit in a poll if there's enough interest.
    Quote Originally Posted by Nakura Chambers View Post
    Rejoining Britain would be a liberal's wet dream. They could get rid of the Bill of Rights, have nationalist healthcare, have open borders, guns would be banned, they'd have a weak foreign policy, etc.
    Gotta love MMOChampion's insightful and profound remarks on politics.

  2. #2
    Salting various goods was a way to preserve them long before our current methods of saturating our food in "preservatives". For that matter, alcohol drinks didn't grow pathogenic stuff in them like standing water would. But salted meats could be stored for a longer time due to the salt preventing growth of molds and fungus.

    Also, the salt caves might tend to suck the moisture out of the surrounding air. Dehumidifiers do the same basic thing.
    http://www.walmart.com/ip/JetChemica...of-12/21437210

    As for any crystal structures affecting Chi and general energy flows, salt isn't a common healing agent in new age medicines for that particular purpose. It has, however, been used to ward off demons for thousands of years, as well as making for great movie and TV show anti-demon effects. Warlock 1989.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Mongo42 View Post
    Salting various goods was a way to preserve them long before our current methods of saturating our food in "preservatives". For that matter, alcohol drinks didn't grow pathogenic stuff in them like standing water would. But salted meats could be stored for a longer time due to the salt preventing growth of molds and fungus.

    Also, the salt caves might tend to suck the moisture out of the surrounding air. Dehumidifiers do the same basic thing.
    http://www.walmart.com/ip/JetChemica...of-12/21437210

    As for any crystal structures affecting Chi and general energy flows, salt isn't a common healing agent in new age medicines for that particular purpose. It has, however, been used to ward off demons for thousands of years, as well as making for great movie and TV show anti-demon effects. Warlock 1989.
    Salt has been pretty useful throughout the ages for medicine as a disinfectant and as a solution for IV lines (though it's not really the salt, but salt's effects on the ability to perform osmosis) Even the Mayo Clinic suggests saltwater remedies for things like the common cold. I myself wouldn't be surprised if salt had another medical use.
    Quote Originally Posted by Nakura Chambers View Post
    Rejoining Britain would be a liberal's wet dream. They could get rid of the Bill of Rights, have nationalist healthcare, have open borders, guns would be banned, they'd have a weak foreign policy, etc.
    Gotta love MMOChampion's insightful and profound remarks on politics.

  4. #4
    Salt therapy might be legit & needs more research. Salt lamps are pretty much bullshit though.
    "In order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance." Paradox of tolerance

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by wikipedia
    Efficacy

    A 2009 Cochrane summary concluded that there is insufficient evidence to determine whether salt therapy is effective.[2]
    Seems legit. Why pay greedy medical corporations of corporationyness 10 bucks for a tube of skin cream to treat that psoriasis outbreak when you can support these altruistic natural healers by paying them for 12, 100 dollar sessions to do the same thing the natural way. That's sticking it to the man.

    EDIT: How long does a psoriasis outbreak last anyways? A little over 2 weeks? About the amount of business days 12 daily sessions takes?

    EDIT2: I could picture inhaling salt particulate to be helpful for lung infections though, given salts disinfecting properties. But a single salt session would set you back as much as a months supply of antibiotics. so GLHF.

    It should be mentioned though that all good quackery contains a tiny grain of truth to it.

    EDIT3: Missed this.
    Quote Originally Posted by FTAzai View Post
    Salt has been pretty useful throughout the ages for medicine as a disinfectant and as a solution for IV lines (though it's not really the salt, but salt's effects on the ability to perform osmosis) Even the Mayo Clinic suggests saltwater remedies for things like the common cold. I myself wouldn't be surprised if salt had another medical use.
    I would be. Considering that the only thing biological organisms use it for is as an electrolyte and for osmosis. (And for a microorganism it spells death by osmosis, ergo disinfecting).

    It's a very simple molecule. Any possible interaction salt has with other chemicals and elements that make up the body have all been documented by now.
    Last edited by Gheld; 2013-07-30 at 05:25 PM.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Gheld View Post
    Seems legit. Why pay greedy medical corporations of corporationyness 10 bucks for a tube of skin cream to treat that psoriasis outbreak when you can support these altruistic natural healers by paying them for 12, 100 dollar sessions to do the same thing the natural way. That's sticking it to the man.

    EDIT: How long does a psoriasis outbreak last anyways? A little over 2 weeks? About the amount of business days 12 daily sessions takes?
    By the way, the Cochrane statement only says it's inconclusive due to the low number of studies, not because of any concrete conclusion. Read the link cited.

    I wouldn't use one particular salt cave located in an affluent neighborhood as the standard for halotherapy. $100 is a ridiculous price. I think $35-50 per session is reasonable, considering that a proper salt cave has expensive generators, decor, and equipment. A few combine halotherapy with other forms of treatment/spa stuff to enhance the experience.

    Besides, you're focusing on psoriasis, which isn't a chronic condition, and is only one of the many things halotherapy claims to treat. Most of the "repeat sessions" are recommend for chronic conditions like asthma and cystic fibrosis.

    EDIT2: I could picture inhaling salt particulate to be helpful for lung infections though, given salts disinfecting properties. But a single salt session would set you back as much as a months supply of antibiotics. so GLHF.
    How exactly would it set you back a month? Do you mean by cost? If you're going by your estimate, sure. I have yet to hear of a salt cave charging $100 per session. Even if you were to show me one, it would be an outlier.

    And besides, there are legitimate reasons not to use antibiotics, considering we live in an age of increasing resistances to common antibiotics, the fact that more powerful antibiotics can have side effects, that some people are allergic to antibiotics, etc.

    Not that I'm saying screw antibiotics, hell I owe my life to vancomycin, but they have their limits.

    It should be mentioned though that all good quackery contains a tiny grain of truth to it.
    All? No. Perhaps the semblance of truth is common to all?

    EDIT3: Missed this.


    I would be. Considering that the only thing biological organisms use it for is as an electrolyte and for osmosis. (And for a microorganism it spells death by osmosis, ergo disinfecting).

    It's a very simple molecule. Any possible interaction salt has with other chemicals and elements that make up the body have all been documented by now.
    The simplicity of the molecule has nothing to do with our imagination of how it can be applied. Besides, you're basing this off your faith on the premise that all research ever needed to be performed on salt, has been done.

    All very valid observations though, thanks for your input. I just wish there could be more research done on this since it seems like a very harmless treatment that's been used for decades to aid with respiratory problems with very little side effects. It seems too good to be true. Worst case scenario, you're paying to relax in a richly ambient room. Best case scenario, you're getting effective treatment too.


    I wonder how saline treatments compare with the salt cave/spa experience, since you can probably just buy a saline inhaler for much cheaper than a round of salt caves.
    Last edited by FTAzai; 2013-07-30 at 07:42 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Nakura Chambers View Post
    Rejoining Britain would be a liberal's wet dream. They could get rid of the Bill of Rights, have nationalist healthcare, have open borders, guns would be banned, they'd have a weak foreign policy, etc.
    Gotta love MMOChampion's insightful and profound remarks on politics.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by FTAzai View Post
    Besides, you're basing this off your faith on the premise that all research ever needed to be performed on salt, has been done.
    I'm basing it off of Ockham's Razor. The known uses of salt in medicine are based on chemical/physical interactions that have been observed and categorized.

    Your hypothesis, that it could have other benefits would require types of interaction which have not been observed.

    Whereas calling placebo on any benefits beyond the documented medical uses of salt doesn't require any new interaction.

    So the investigation should begin with the placebo effect.

  8. #8
    Well I usually play Halo to receive Halotherapy!

  9. #9
    As a side-note, I use salted water for rinsing my nostrils, as per my doctors recommendation (I have an inflammation).
    "In order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance." Paradox of tolerance

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Mongo42 View Post
    [...]
    I just wanted to say that I enjoyed this post.

    And I thought of Halo first as well .

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by FTAzai View Post

    Besides, you're focusing on psoriasis, which isn't a chronic condition, and is only one of the many things halotherapy claims to treat. Most of the "repeat sessions" are recommend for chronic conditions like asthma and cystic fibrosis.

    As someone who suffers psoriasis and so does my grandmother I will tell you now that you are wrong. psoriasis is chronic it not only can and does last in bouts of over 3 months but also flares up and goes away in spells.

    I sure as hell would not use a salt cave for mine since dry skin or any kind of drying is the last thing i want when it flares up.
    Last edited by Frah; 2013-07-31 at 06:45 AM.

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