Speleotherapy: underground clinics in salt, sylvinite and karst caves, radon galleries. Treatment in salt caves

The healing properties of salt caves have been known to mankind for more than 2000 years. People have learned to artificially create a healing microclimate that reigns in real underground caves Oh. This method of treatment is official medicine called "speleotherapy". Its effectiveness is recognized worldwide. This is a non-drug aerotherapeutic treatment in special comfortable halochambers.

Artificial salt caves receive positive reviews. Many note an improvement in their general condition. In a few sessions, allergies disappear and immunity is strengthened. However, this method also has opponents who deny the positive impact and consider speleotherapy a meaningless procedure. With this opinion, many practitioners can argue. Let us describe all the advantages of the halochamber.

A bit of history

The healing power of salt crystals has been noticed for a long time. Modern history has become interested in the benefits of the air of underground caves in the last century. The first researchers were German scientists who began to actively build speleological clinics.

The method received instant appreciation from satisfied patients. On the territory of Russia, a similar one filled with salt aerosol was founded in 1977 in Perm region. Soon people with chronic and pathologies of the respiratory system were drawn here.

Today, experts consider speleotherapy to be a more effective procedure compared to cavitation therapy (inhalation of sea air). Salt caves operate in Moscow and outside the Russian Federation. Many sanatoriums and boarding houses have specialized rooms that recreate the healing atmosphere of the dungeons.

Healing properties

A huge advantage of speleotherapy is the variability of the procedure. Based on the individual characteristics, course and severity of the disease, a combination of climatic factors and salt concentrations is selected. Getting into an unusual zone, a person experiences a surge of strength, his defense systems are activated and his psycho-emotional state stabilizes.

Benefits for children

In the center "Salmed" there is a salt cave (Yaroslavl). The administration invites for the treatment of small children from two years old. In special halochambers, children will be able to recuperate, recharge their batteries, get rid of allergies and a constant runny nose. The main indications are:

Chronical bronchitis;

Asthma (in remission);

Allergic rhinitis and dermatitis;

Pollinosis;

Adenoids.

The session lasts from 1.5 to 2 hours. The average number of procedures is 10-15. Children under the age of five are only allowed if accompanied by an adult.

Salt caves: contraindications to visiting the halochamber

Despite the seeming harmlessness and safety of the method, it still has some limitations. Persons with acute pathologies, tuberculosis, general exhaustion, mental and nervous disorders are not allowed. You can not visit salt caves with oncological diseases. The contraindications do not stop there. The limitations include pregnancy at any time and pathological processes of the respiratory system.

Operating principle

The healing effect is easily explained by science. In salt mines, mines and karst caves a unique microclimate, with a comfortable temperature, low humidity, a certain pressure, a high content of salt microparticles and carbon dioxide. And most importantly, there is no harmful dust and allergens in the atmosphere.

All of these characteristics and factors have a positive effect on the health of a person who lives in a gassed metropolis. A stable air environment is constantly maintained by an ultrasonic nebulizer. Finely dispersed aerosol forms a number of health-improving factors. That is why salt caves are so popular. The reviews of ordinary people clearly confirm this.

Visiting Rules

Many medical centers specialize in speleotherapy. Several halochambers (salt cave) were opened in St. Petersburg. You can get treatment by appointment and after consulting a doctor. You will receive a disposable bathrobe and shoe covers from the administrator. It is not allowed to bring any items with you.

Do not use perfume before the procedure. You should stop smoking approximately 30-40 minutes before the session. Persons under the influence of alcohol are not allowed in the premises. To achieve a therapeutic effect, you will need to go through at least 10 procedures for 40 minutes.

Digest

Salt caves regularly receive enthusiastic reviews. According to patients, after several sessions, working capacity increased, depression and drowsiness disappeared. And after 5-7 procedures, the characteristic symptoms of bronchial asthma and cough disappeared.

Parents who took their children to speleotherapy were satisfied with the result: they managed to get rid of seasonal allergies, chronic rhinitis and strengthen immunity. After completing the full course, frequent colds ceased to bother. Pricing policy is acceptable for different segments of the population.

The saying that salt is white death is not always true. Sometimes salt can even be very useful. For example, if it is in a salt cave. Salt caves are starting to gain more and more popularity every year.

Under such caves is meant a special room in which the floor, ceiling and walls are lined with blocks of salt. They are used for medicinal purposes. A person, being inside, inhales the air, which includes useful minerals. What effect does a salt cave have on the body? What is the benefit of this procedure and is there any harm?

Indications for visiting salt caves

Not everyone can visit salt rooms, but for some they become the main way to get rid of the disease. Doctors often prescribe halochamber visits to their patients as an alternative to medical treatment.

1. People suffering from frequent colds. If you visit the cave at the very initial stage of the disease, you can stop its development.

3. It is useful to spend time in halochambers in case of any diseases of the respiratory organs. With the help of a salt room, as an addition to the main treatment, you can get rid of sinusitis and adenoids.

4. A good effect can be achieved in the treatment of any kind of dermatological lesions in the salt cave.

5. Rooms are useful as rehabilitation after suffering severe forms of the disease. They help to normalize the nervous system, improve brain activity.

6. With the help of a salt cave, you can even increase metabolism and lose weight. Procedures for weight correction are considered the most popular.

Salt caves for children

In pediatrics, the use of salt rooms is used very often in the complex treatment of bronchitis and other respiratory diseases. A visit to the cell can reduce the use of antibiotics, reduce the risk of developing allergies against the background of the disease.

In a salt cave, an imbalance in the vascular system of a teenager can be effectively treated. The relaxing effect that the cave has, helps to reduce attacks of vegetovascular therapy.

Who is contraindicated in salt caves

There are contraindications to visiting salt rooms. It is not recommended to be in it for people with acute chronic diseases in the acute stage.

In addition, the list of diseases in which the procedure is prohibited includes:

1. Respiratory tract infections, such as tuberculosis.

2. Cardiovascular diseases of the last stage.

3. Mental illness.

4. Oncology, malignant tumors.

5. The presence of open and bleeding wounds.

6. Severe form of alcohol or drug addiction.

7. Diseases that are sexually transmitted.

9. Only after consulting a specialist is it possible to visit the cave for lactating women.

What are the benefits of salt caves

The benefits of salt caves have been known since ancient times. Our ancestors visited natural caves with salt walls to recover from colds.

The ecological situation in our cities is far from perfect. Every day we breathe in a huge amount of harmful elements. This leads to a deterioration in immunity, problems with the nervous system, and the development of asthma. Salt caves and rooms come to the rescue here. In Russia, natural salt caves are found only in the Perm region. Residents of other regions can use the services of halochambers or salt rooms.

How do salt caves work? The main component in the rooms are saline aerosols, which are sprayed into the air. The ionic composition of the room favorably affects the functioning of the whole organism. Allergens and harmful bacteria are completely absent here. Particles of salt cleanse the respiratory tract to the very bronchi.

During a visit to the salt room in the human body, all metabolic processes improve. Toxic substances that can harm the body begin to be released from the body.

The composition of aerosols may include salts of different composition, which affect the body in different ways:

2. Magnesium normalizes the work of the heart.

3. Potassium and sodium improve blood circulation.

4. Calcium monitors the strengthening of the defenses.

5. Purifies the body of toxins and harmful substances manganese.

6. Selenium protects the body from the formation of malignant tumors.

7. Iron regulates the level of hemoglobin in the blood.

8. Copper eliminates disorders that could arise due to metabolic disorders.

Salt caves can be used both to eliminate existing diseases and for preventive purposes.

Are there any harms from visiting salt caves?

The salt room cannot harm, but certain features must be observed when visiting it. You can not carry out the procedure if:

1. Diseases of the bronchi are in the acute stage.

2. The person has a high temperature.

3. General poisoning of the body.

4. Tuberculosis at any stage. It is forbidden to visit the cell even with a residual form of the disease.

Many are afraid of the exacerbation of the disease, which can be caused by a visit to the halochamber. For example, a person develops a strong cough after the second procedure. This is not considered a pathology and refers to a normal phenomenon. Salt spray has the effect of thinning sputum that has stagnated in the respiratory tract. There are cases when an exacerbation begins to appear after the first visit to the cell. Most often this occurs in children, as their respiratory system is very susceptible to changes.

By the middle of treatment, the symptoms decrease and disappear completely. If they do not go away, and the condition only worsens, it is necessary to inform the attending physician about this. Perhaps the patient has individual intolerance to salt chambers.

Most often, a runny nose appears as an exacerbation. Rhinitis may begin at the first procedure. In children, it manifests itself much more intensely due to the narrow nasal passages.

In the first days, the patient may experience an increase in temperature. This is due to the fact that the body begins to fight chronic latent infections.

All manifestations and changes must be reported to the doctor.

How is the procedure

The maximum effect of the treatment will be achieved if you have visited the salt room for four weeks, one hour a day.

One session will not bring any effect. You must complete a course of at least 10 procedures. Such a number of visits can be compared with two weeks of stay at sea. One session lasts about an hour. You can get this treatment up to three times a year.

Being in a salt room is not only a treatment, but also a relaxing procedure. Children watch cartoons during this period, places with toys are equipped for them.

Adults enjoy pleasant music. But, pay attention, you can’t sleep in a salt cave. During sleep, a person's breathing becomes superficial, and the procedure will not bring any benefit.

1. An hour before the session, you can not use perfumes and play sports.

2. In the room you need to be in clothes made of artificial fabrics.

3. Do not rub your eyes with your hands.

4. Do not drink within half an hour after visiting the halochamber.

If you or your child get tired quickly, feel unwell, and summer vacation still far away, a salt cave will help you tone up and improve immunity.

Abstract of a series of articles

Maybe some of us think that the planet Earth has been studied for a long time and there are no "white spots" on it. This is far from true. Read the series of articles "Meridians of Miracles", and you will see how much on Earth is amazing, unusual and not yet fully understood. Everything in the nature around us is interconnected and interdependent. Just think what would happen to us if there were no secrets, riddles and questions that have no answers yet? 99.99% of what happens in nature goes unnoticed and incomprehensible, and what is noticed is often not given much importance and ignored - either by mistake or deliberately.

Speleotherapy sessions are perhaps the most effective treatment for allergic diseases, neurodermatitis and eczema, chronic bronchitis, mild to moderate bronchial asthma and pre-asthmic conditions. Staying in caves is very rewarding. The aging of the body slows down, and a person can switch to a 48-hour day, despite the fact that he will sleep, just like we do - for 8 hours.

Speleotherapy ( Greek speleon - cave; therapy - treatment), that is, treatment with a long stay in the conditions of a unique and peculiar microclimate of karst (carbonate and salt caves), appeared quite a long time ago. From the second half of the 19th century, speleotherapy became widespread in Italy, and after the Second World War it began to spread to other countries. Nowadays, it is actively used to treat respiratory diseases, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, hypertension, joint diseases and many other ailments.

The natural microclimate of the caves strengthens the body's defenses and activates blood circulation. Atmospheric pressure, temperature and humidity are stable, the radiation background is reduced to a minimum, the air is saturated with negatively charged ions, which are extremely beneficial for our health.

A huge plus of speleotherapy is that it does not cause side effects, and therefore can be shown to both children and adults. But speleotherapy should not be prescribed in the second half of pregnancy, with malignant tumors, epilepsy, serious mental disorders, in case of individual intolerance. Speleotherapy sessions are perhaps the most effective treatment for allergic diseases, neurodermatitis and eczema, chronic bronchitis, mild to moderate bronchial asthma and pre-asthmic conditions.

Staying in caves is very rewarding. The aging of the body slows down, and a person can switch to a 48-hour day, despite the fact that he will sleep, just like we do - for 8 hours. First, acclimatization occurs, and then the body enters a new rhythm. In addition, being in a cave, a person stops getting sick, so speleotherapy can be safely attributed to a natural and natural method of treatment. It does not cause complications and meets the most important principle of medicine - "do no harm."

However, not all caves have healing properties. The "healing" caves should primarily include carbonate karst caves formed in limestone and salt deposits. These are the caves of the Crimea and the Caucasus, salt mines in Transcarpathia and Belarus, as well as the Khoja Mumin salt cave in Tajikistan, as well as thermal caves, such as the Bakharden cave in Turkmenistan.

Karst caves in carbonate rocks (limestones)

The microclimate of karst caves in limestones has recently been used for medicinal purposes. Pathogenic bacteria are almost completely absent here. And an important element of the microclimate is a high degree of air ionization. A significant concentration of light aerons has a beneficial effect on the functional state of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, on different kinds exchange, there is a decrease in blood pressure, which improves the clinical condition of patients with bronchial asthma and hypertension.

Under the influence of cool air, narrowing of peripheral vessels and redistribution of blood from the periphery to internal organs which promotes blood circulation.

Salt caves and salt mines

Their medicinal properties known since ancient times. And the method based on the use of the climate prevailing in them was called "speleotherapy" - patients stay for a long time in the conditions of the unique microclimate of salt caves and spears. Air in salt caves saturated with natural salt, and it affects the entire human body, combining several factors of influence at once, medications are not used, and all actions are aimed at stimulating the body's defenses against rapidly changing environmental conditions.

• bronchial asthma
• allergies, bronchitis
• lung diseases
• chronic tracheitis
• chronic sinusitis

Thermal springs in karst caves

The air and microclimate in caves with thermal springs and thermal lakes is especially useful for diseases such as:

• Degenerative forms of rheumatic diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system
• Chronic inflammatory diseases of the spine and joints
• Rheumatic diseases of connective tissues; Secondary joint diseases, joint pain due to metabolic disorders
• Treatment and rehabilitation after fractures, injuries, operations of the musculoskeletal system
• Treatment before and after operations on the joints and articular discs
• Chronic gynecological diseases

These caves include, first of all, the most famous post-Soviet space Bakharden cave in Turkmenistan.

Bakharden cave

This giant cave with two large grottoes. It is located on the northern slope of the Kopetdag in Turkmenistan, 19 km southwest of the village. Bakharden, about 120 km from Ashgabat. The total length is 250 m, the depth is 69 m, the volume is 75 thousand m/cu. The air temperature is from 20 - 25°С in winter to 27 - 32°С in summer. The sloping floor of the Main Grotto (57 m long, 20 m wide) is littered with boulders and covered with accumulations of guano; The second grotto is almost entirely occupied by an underground flowing lake. Kou-Ata (72 m long, up to 12 m deep) with thermal (30 - 37°C) hydrogen sulfide water.

The cave is electrified and equipped for visiting. Known since the eighteenth century. The Bakhardenskaya Cave is located in highly fractured Upper Jurassic limestones containing interlayers of gypsum up to 8 m thick. Its formation is associated with the impact on gypsum and limestones of ascending sulphurous waters in the zone of thermal springs. The cave begins with four entrances, the lower of which, the largest, has the form of an arch 6.5 m high. It is essentially represented by two large grottoes with a total length of about 230 m. The sloping floor of the first Main Grotto, reaching 57 m wide and 20 m high, covered with blocks of limestone and accumulations of guano. Its shores are rocky, the walls rise almost vertically, turning into an uneven stone vault 6-8 m high. Due to the impact on the limestones of the rising sulfurous waters and the hydrogen sulfide released from them, complex geochemical processes take place in the cave. Along with the leaching of limestones, carbon dioxide is displaced by hydrogen sulfide from carbonates and the interaction of hydrogen sulfide with calcium, which leads to the formation of gypsum, the crystals of which cover certain sections of the walls and roof of the cave. These processes are especially active in summer time, when, due to weak air circulation in the cave, hydrogen sulfide evaporation reaches the highest concentration.

The fauna of the Bakharden cave is peculiar and interesting. Bats, rodents, birds, and about 50 species of invertebrates live here. In summer, the number of bats in the cave reaches 150 thousand individuals. During the day they stay in the cave, and in the late afternoon, after sunset, they fly out to hunt. At first they fly out of the cave one by one, and then, as darkness falls, in many thousands, forming a continuous living stream. Mice fly away for the winter.

Dangers in the caves

Biological hazard. Not all caves are curative. Some of them can pose a serious risk to human health. Caves are especially dangerous in warm and humid climates, with big amount various rodents and traces of their vital activity (faecal matter). No less dangerous are natural mines and wells, which are, as it were, a natural trap for animals, and their decaying corpses can lead to human infection.

People - accidentally or unknowingly found themselves in the area of ​​​​underground burial grounds, are often not even mentally prepared for the possibility of meeting with especially dangerous infections, therefore:

• upon detection of suspicious remains of animals and people, traces of burials, a large number ash, you must immediately leave the suspicious underground cavity
• if for some reason it is necessary to stay in such an underground cavity for some time or move along it, then it is necessary to cover the nose and mouth with a cloth bandage and in no case touch objects on the floor of the cavity and even the walls
• do not arrange temporary and permanent camps in the underground cavities, do not lie down to rest on the floor of the underground cavity

Gas contamination. In poorly ventilated caves, especially dead-end "pockets", accumulation of carbon dioxide and methane is possible. These gases are completely odorless, invisible and therefore represent a special danger. Dangerous gas contamination of the cave can also be caused artificially. This can be facilitated by:

• some long time burning candles in a small underground room (grotto) with poor ventilation or if there are several people in it
• underground use of stoves in small rooms
• use for lighting long-burning torches (soaked in fuel oil or kerosene)
• kindling fires both in the cave itself, or in an artificial working, and in its entrance, since in the latter case a reverse draft may occur through a natural chimney

All of the above, except for candles, leads to smoke passages and the formation of carbon monoxide. Candles also contribute to the release of carbon monoxide and, in addition, burning candles in a small room create fumes, from which a severe headache occurs, and even death can occur from carbon dioxide poisoning.

Radiation hazard. The danger of radioactive contamination in karst caves is associated primarily with the natural, radioactive inert gas radon. Colorless, odorless gas, 7.5 times heavier than air, accumulates in niches, side "pockets", and cave depressions. Radon is one of the decay products of radium, as well as uranium 238, widely distributed in low concentrations in soils and rocks of the earth's crust. When released into the open atmosphere, it quickly dissipates, but in closed volumes it accumulates in high concentrations.

Radon has three isotopes, one of which has a half-life of almost three days. Being an active isotope, it decays into daughter products short-lived isotopes of polonium, bismuth and lead and, unlike radon gas, form solid particles that attach to air aerosols. It is the daughter products of radon that pose the main danger to a person, settling in his lungs when they are inhaled with air, and during the half-life, the lungs receive a significant dose of radiation. This increases the incidence of lung cancer, as well as blood cancer, and other diseases. The highest concentration of radon, dangerous for a long stay underground, was registered in the caves of Kugitang (Turkmenistan), Crimea and Podolia (Ternopil region, Ukraine). So, for example, the maximum annual dose of radiation will be obtained during a five-day stay in the Geophysical cave on Kugitang.

bacteriological danger. Sometimes natural underground cavities (karst, volcanic and tectonic caves) have an increased bacteriological risk of infection for people penetrating into them. It is possible to learn that there was an infectious burial ground in this place only from the multiple remains of animals and people, etc. In addition, underground cavities are often home to various rodents, which are potential carriers of many of the infectious diseases listed above. A meeting with such infectious sites for a person - by accident, or on purpose, who has fallen into such underground cavities with burials, can be deadly. This is due to the fact that the causative agents of the diseases listed above, being in an environment with their high concentration, can persist without losing their damaging properties for a very long time.

In general, hey! - good in the caves! ..

Even in the ancient Asian countries more than two thousand years ago, people first noticed the healing effect of long stay sick person in a cave.

And during World War II, salt mines were often used as bomb shelters. And many asthmatics lurking there have reported significant improvements in their health.

So what's the salt?

Cave air contains calcium, magnesium, sodium salts and negative ions.

It turns out that the whole point is in the unique microclimate of karst and salt caves, mines and grottoes. Here, the temperature is constant all year round from 10 to 16 degrees, the air humidity is about 80%, and the carbon dioxide content is ten times higher than in the atmosphere. And the air of the caves is saturated with the smallest aerosol, which contains salts of calcium, magnesium, sodium and negative ions.

It is in these caves that salt therapy sessions are held.

Healing properties of speleotherapy

Speleotherapy- this is a way of various diseases in the natural conditions of the cave. In our country, it began to be practiced in the middle of the twentieth century.

What are the benefits of visiting the salt mines?

First, the human body must adapt to new conditions, and only after that comes the therapeutic effect. The duration of speleotherapy sessions is from 2 to 9 hours, it depends on the patient's disease. The optimal course of treatment is 15-20 procedures.

While in a cave, positive changes occur in the human body:

• Normalizes blood circulation and heart function;
• The immune system improves;
• Pass allergic and inflammatory processes;
• The lungs are cleansed and moistened;
• Deep breathing is stimulated.

In addition, the atmosphere in the cave causes calmness and relaxation, positively affects the psycho-emotional state. During the stay in the salt mine, the patient rests calmly, walks and does gymnastic and breathing exercises.

Indications for speleotherapy

• Chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma;
• chronic diseases upper respiratory tract (allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, chronic rhinosinusitis);
• Allergic diseases, hay fever;
• Prevention of recurrent bronchitis;
• Cardiopsychoneurosis;
• Condition after operations on the lungs, respiratory tract and diaphragm;
• Atopic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, recurrent eczema;
• Obesity.

Speleotherapy can also benefit a healthy person: it helps to relieve fatigue and irritation, improve sleep and increase the tone of the body as a whole.

Contraindications for speleotherapy

• Acute bronchitis;
• Bronchial asthma with multiple severe attacks;
• Severe eczema of the lungs.

But modern speleotherapy is not only about caves and salt deposits…

Artificial analogues of salt caves

Recently, scientists have created artificial salt rooms - caving chambers. And now the speleotherapy method of treatment is used in many sanatoriums of the world, where you can try it for yourself salt treatment and at the same time have a great rest.

By the way, there are salt rooms not only in sanatoriums, but also in many hospitals, SPA centers, kindergartens and offices.

There are salt rooms not only in sanatoriums, but also in many hospitals, SPA centers, kindergartens and offices.

Salt lamp - another modern invention that recreates the atmosphere of a salt cave and ionizes the air. It is a block of rock salt on a wooden stand. Inside this crystal there is a hole with a lamp installed in it. As the lamp heats up, the salt evaporates through the small holes.

A salt block can be natural, unprocessed, or some interesting form made by hand. This salt lamp combined with subdued light creates a soothing, pleasant atmosphere.

In the old days, it was believed that salt has magical properties, protects against witchcraft and the evil eye, and serves as a talisman. Now she also continues to bring health benefits, good luck and amazing peace to the one who inhales her healing vapors.

Speleotherapy- a method of treatment of diseases of the respiratory system, by a long stay in the microclimate of natural karst caves, salt mines, passed mine workings of salt, metal and potash mines.
Speleon- translated from Greek means cave.
The essence of the method lies in the impact on the human body of natural healing factors characteristic of the microclimate of the caves and determined by the geophysical location and chemical composition of the rock of this massif. All underground speleological clinics, located in different climatic and geographical zones and having different microclimate parameters (temperature - from 12 to 24 degrees Celsius, relative humidity from 10 to 100%, aerosol concentration from 0.1 to 20 mg / m-3, its respirable fraction from 50% to 95%, air ionization from 500 to 20,000 ions per cm-3, etc.) have the same treatment efficiency.
Caves can be completely different: grottoes, mines, natural formations in the rock mass and in layers of edible rock salt, but regardless of the rock, an increase in the immunohormonal status of the human body is observed. From this it follows: speleotherapy involves the cure of diseases through strengthening the protective properties of the body, i.e. not the disease itself is treated, but the cause of its occurrence

How is the treatment in salt caves?
Before going to the caves and after visiting them, doctors conduct a thorough examination of patients. First of all, the pulse and blood pressure, respiratory rate, vital capacity of the lungs are measured, then the results obtained are compared with the previous ones. In caves (adits), patients, covered with warm blankets, lie or sit quietly. The time spent in a particular cave is different and depends on the depth of the cave, pressure, temperature and salt concentration in the air.

Indications for treatment in salt caves
Treatment in salt caves is useful for patients with respiratory diseases and asthma. It is believed that during one treatment course in salt caves, all bacteria in the nasopharyngeal cavity are destroyed and the condition of patients with bronchial asthma improves. Salt caves treat bronchial asthma, chronic catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, emphysema, and chronic inflammation of the lungs. It is possible to treat diseases of the cardiovascular system and blood vessels, metabolic disorders and diseases of the digestive tract. It is also possible to treat rheumatic diseases, diseases of the joints and spine.

Why is being in salt caves beneficial?
There are practically no allergens in the cave. When pathogens, pollen or other substances that cause allergies enter the cave, they settle on its walls. In addition, the concentration of carbon dioxide is slightly increased in the air of the cave, which makes it easier for asthma patients to breathe. With an increased concentration of carbon dioxide, the respiratory center of the medulla oblongata and chemoreceptors in the walls of blood vessels are activated, the exchange of gases in the lungs and oxygenation of arterial blood improve. Thanks to the specific air pressure, temperature and relative humidity, the condition of patients with respiratory diseases improves.
Treatment in the microclimate of salt caves is contraindicated for patients suffering from various phobias, especially claustrophobia. It is also contraindicated in patients with certain forms heart failure, angina, acute infectious diseases and epilepsy.

Where to get treatment in salt caves?
When choosing a resort for patients with bronchial asthma, it is necessary to take into account not only climate zone, in which the resort is located, but also the season, given the contrast of weather conditions and the time of flowering.
The effectiveness of treatment is affected by the season, as well as the form of bronchial asthma. The greatest effect is given by the resort treatment of the atopic form in the fall - 96.7%, and the least in the summer - 86.8%, with the infectious-allergic form, the most effective treatment is in the summer - 88.3%, and the least effective in the spring - 79.1%. With a mixed form, the greatest effect occurs in autumn - 92.6%, and the smallest in spring - 76%.
It is not advisable to send patients with bronchial asthma living in sharply continental zones to southern resorts in the fall, since their return to the place permanent residence fraught with exacerbation due to contrast climatic conditions and reduced ability to readapt. Also, short courses of spa treatment, which are so popular today, are inappropriate.

Poland
In Europe, salt treatment was first used in Poland, where in the middle of the 19th century, the industrial therapist Felix Boczkowski noticed the absence of asthma in the miners of the Wieliczka salt mine near Krakow. In 1959, the first "lung salt clinic" was opened in this mine.

Speleotherapy at the Salt Mine Rehabilitation and Treatment Center "Velichka"
In the underground rehabilitation and treatment center of the Velichka salt mine, the method of subterraneotherapy is used to treat respiratory diseases. This method consists in the specific impact on patients of stimuli of physical, chemical and biological origin, found only in the depths of the earth with a complex natural structure and biodynamics. The Underground Rehabilitation and Treatment Center is the only one in Poland and one of the few in the world that implements an active rehabilitation program based on modern respiratory gymnastics in the specific microclimate of salt mines, which includes breathing control exercises, breathing correction, learning to breathe through the abdominal diaphragm, training the respiratory muscles, as well as bronchial cleansing procedures.
The treatment is carried out on the third level of the mine, at a depth of 135m underground in the "Lake Wessel" chamber. Stays in these cells for medical purposes are carried out in the daytime for 6.5 hours. In the Lake Wessel chamber, treatment is carried out in the form of active rehabilitation, which is based on ventilation of the respiratory tract in a microclimate. For those who cannot exercise, there are walks around the lake, the perimeter of which is about 200 meters, and games and team fun are provided for children.
Tour

Speleotherapy in Zdravnitsa Salt Mines "Bochnia"
The Salt Mines in Bochnia is the oldest salt mine in Poland, where the extraction of rock salt began. Its origins go back to 1248. After almost eight centuries of operation, it resembles an unusual underground city, surprising with unique excavations, chapels carved from rock salt, as well as original sculptures and tools with centuries of history. The mine can be explored not only on foot, but also using the underground railway, located at a depth of more than 200 meters underground or on boats ... This unique and original passage takes place at a depth of 230 meters underground. Participants swim a distance of 120 meters in a cave filled with brine in 12-seater boats. The transfer can only be booked as additional service combined with any stay in the mine.
In 1995, the owners of the mine made a decision to establish "Zdravnitsa Bochnia Salt Mines" Ltd.
non-public Medical institution at the "Health Center Salt Mines in Bochnia" was established in order to treat two groups of patients:
The first group consists of patients suffering from diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract. The second group consists of patients suffering from neurological and rheumatic diseases, as well as dysfunction of the motor system.
Tour

Hungary
Tapolca- a small town that attracts tourists from all over the world with its cultural heritage and rich natural resources. The name comes from Slavic language and means "hot water". The city is located 100 km from the Austrian border, 15 km north of Lake Balaton and 187 km from Budapest.
Surrounded by basalt mountain cones now covered in vineyards, the city of Tapolca was built on the site where the Pannonia sea was located in ancient times.
The main attractions of the speleological resort Tapolca are thermal springs and karst caves.
One of the city caves - Tavash- famous for its special microclimate and clean air for several decades, patients with bronchial asthma, allergic diseases, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases have been successfully treated here. People suffering from various kinds of allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory diseases come to Tapolca for treatment in the cave.
The microclimatic parameters of the cave are constant and do not contain any aggressive factors such as pollen or dust. The temperature is also constant, the humidity is high (about 100%). All this contributes to the cure of asthma, allergies and other respiratory diseases.
The cave, discovered back in 1903, along with all the underground corridors (their length is about 20 km), began to be used for medicinal purposes only in 1981.
You can go down to the underground hospital in the resort of Tapolca in Hungary from the lobby of the Pelion 4 * hotel, built over a karst cave. That special microclimate, characterized by constant temperature (14-16 °C), high humidity and lack of dust, successfully treats patients with respiratory diseases. The Professional College of Pulmonologists and Pediatricians of Hungary has established two departments of pediatric pulmonology, an inhalation room and a diagnostic department in the hotel.
Tour

Germany.
Salina Baden-Baden salt cave in Baden-Baden, the walls and ceiling of which are covered with salts Dead Sea. Due to the high concentration of salt, a unique microclimate has been created in the cave, saturated with minerals and microelements, which have a healing effect on the human body.
A visit to the salt cave has a beneficial effect in the treatment of the respiratory tract and mucous membranes, the treatment of eczema and skin diseases, fatigue and burnout syndrome, some types of allergies, helps to strengthen the physical and mental state of a person, promotes relaxation and relaxation.
One session of visiting the Salt Cave in Baden-Baden lasts 45 minutes. A minimum of 8 treatments are recommended for optimal results.
Opening hours of the Salt Cave in Baden-Baden: Mon-Fri 8.00-20.00, Sat-Sun 9.00-18.00.
The cost of a single ticket to visit the Baden-Baden Salt Cave: 14.50 euros (children from 14 years old and adults), 5 euros (children under 14 years old). Discounts are offered for group visits, as well as when purchasing a subscription.
The salt cave is supervised by the medical center of Baden-Baden Vincenti.

Romania
In Romania, the first speleological clinic in the Jozsef cave was built at a depth of 120 m. Every day during the summer months, up to 3,000 visitors are delivered to the underground speleological clinic by bus, including from among the guests of the Sovata resort. There is a large playground, "sports halls", comfortable chairs- everything that makes a daily four-hour stay in the underground speleotherapy clinic convenient, recommended by doctors in the treatment of respiratory diseases, which includes medical gymnastics under the guidance of instructors, walks, with a gradual increase physical activity. Patients aged 2 to 60 years are accepted for treatment. Romanian resort Slanik Prahova is known for one of the largest salt caves in Europe, consisting of two different levels of caves - Unirea and Mihai. In the old salt adit, at a depth of 210 m, a speleological clinic is equipped for the treatment of patients with respiratory diseases. In the salt cave of Unirea, you can admire the sculptures made of salt. Another Romanian speleological clinic was built near the most famous resort in Romania, Slanic Moldova, in the salt grottoes of Tirgu Okna, the largest speleosanatorium in Europe was built. Chambers, a bowling alley, sports grounds are equipped in huge spacious halls. According to the statistics and observations of the resort doctors, the effectiveness of the treatment of bronchial asthma in children is 90%.

Armenia
The Republican Speleotherapy Center of Armenia is a relatively young medical institution. The speleotherapy center is located on the territory of the Avan-Arinj salt mine and has an area of ​​4000 square meters, carved in the thickness of natural rock salt, at a depth of 235 meters from the surface of the earth.
On this useful area there are medical and diagnostic rooms, a sports town, and galleries for walking, therapeutic walking, and niches for rest and sleep. The cave is located in the capital of Armenia - Yerevan. Similar speleological clinics functioned in Ukraine, Italy, Germany, Poland, Hungary, but natural caves or worked-out mines for the extraction of rock salt were used there. The speleological clinic in Yerevan was built for the first time in the world according to a special project developed by the Institute of Galurgy (Leningrad). In 1985, the underground part of the center was completed, and on May 5, 1987, the first patients were admitted.
The speleo-hospital accepts 25-30 patients per day. According to studies, the optimal course of treatment is 20 sessions, but the effectiveness is noticeable after 10 sessions.
Treatment in the speleotherapy center of Yerevan takes place every day for 6 hours: they go down to the department at 09:00 and rise at 15:00

Azerbaijan.
Salt caves of the Nakhichevan Physiotherapy Center "Duzdag".
The advantage of the treatment center of the Nakhichevan Physiotherapy Center "Duzdag" from other salt mines is that the mines are located horizontally. And before the patients go down to the underground compartment, they adapt. In addition, the ventilation in the mine is natural, microbial creatures are at a low level, and there are no allergens.

Belarus
The Republican Allergological Hospital of Belarus was built in a depleted salt mine at a depth of 430 m in the Soligorsk potassium salt basin. Some of the chambers are located in the potash layer, the other part - in the rock salt massif, where patients rest, inhaling the healing air, and in the medical building on the surface of the earth, the effect of underground air therapy is fixed with many procedures. According to the doctor's instructions, patients descend into the dungeon either during the day for 6 hours or at night for 12. The course of treatment is 18 days.

Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, the speleological clinic of the Chon-Tuz health-improving center was built in specially made salt mines at an altitude of 2100 m above sea level in the Naryn region. A unique combination of natural factors: high mountains and an increased concentration of aerions in mines, helps with many respiratory diseases.
main view rocks here is marl clay, and salt layers reach a thickness of up to 25 m. The concentration of salt microcrystals in the air of the underground station reaches 5-10 mg.m. The concentration of light ions ranges from 4-6 to 10-11 thousand per 1 m3 of air in various rooms used by those undergoing treatment. At the same time, there are practically no allergens of plant, animal, domestic origin in the underground station of the Chon-Tuz cave. The air temperature in the caves is constantly stable and does not depend on the season and ranges from +8 to +10 degrees Celsius, humidity - 45-60%.

Ukraine
In Ukraine, the development of speleotherapy began with the opening in 1968 of the first underground allergological hospital in the USSR in Solotvyno. In 1960, a delegation from Transcarpathia visited Poland. After a thorough study of the experience of neighbors in 1968, a speleotherapy department for 70 beds was opened at the Solotvinskaya mine No. 8.
The effect was enormous! Officials did not believe the reports of doctors, and after a while the hospital was visited by the luminaries of medicine from the USSR and Ukraine. After confirming the results, it was decided to build a separate hospital. The underground department (mine No. 9) was opened in 1976, and the full commissioning of the speleological clinic was completed in 1980.
The main method of treatment - speleotherapy - is carried out in an underground department specially built in the thickness of the salt massif at a depth of 300 m from the earth's surface. It is designed for the simultaneous reception of 190 people and consists of a system of galleries 600 m long, average height reaches 6 m, and the width is 12 m. On both sides of the galleries, chambers were cut in the salt massif. The interior of these chambers is covered with an original natural pattern, created from alternating layers of white and gray salt, of different thicknesses and shapes. The department has diagnostic and treatment rooms, a rest room, a gym for physiotherapy exercises, a library, a lecture hall, and a chapel. Patients are accommodated in underground wards for 2, 3, 4 and 6 people. Children are accommodated in the same room. There are 2 nursing posts in the underground department, a doctor and a safety engineer are constantly on duty. There is a museum of the history of the development of speleotherapy.

Speleosanatorium "Donbass", built many years ago in the city of Soledar in salt mines"Artyomsol" stood motionless for several years, but today in the Artyomovsk salt grottoes, the speleosanatorium, called the "Salt Symphony", began to revive and again accept patients. The underground branch of the speleosanatorium is located at a depth of 280 meters in the thickness of the salt layer of the Artemovsky salt deposit. This rock salt deposit has been developed since 1871. The geological age of the deposit is 230 million years, and in terms of chemical composition, this salt has no analogues in the world, since 99% consists of pure NaCl and only 1-1.5% are impurities that do not contain harmful elements. At the same time, 110 people aged from 6 to 60 can improve their health in the speleosanatorium. The obtained therapeutic effect in the speleosanatorium in patients with bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis of different age groups with different variants of the course of the disease is confirmed by the data of biochemical, immunological, microbiological studies. Numerous scientific studies have made it possible to determine the indications for the appointment of speleotherapy, to develop their own differentiated complexes for its application.

Russia
Since 1977, the first in Russia, but also in the world, sylvinite speleological clinic has been operating in a potash mine at the Verkhnekamskoye potash salt deposit (Berezniki, Perm Region). The clinical effectiveness of underground therapy, over 15 years of observation, was 85.2%, and in patients with severe disease - 42.8%. At the same time, the positive effect of speleotherapy is retained in 93% of cases, for 1-3 years. But the treatment is spontaneous, the small capacity of the premises and the lack of infrastructure do not meet the needs of the Perm region, not to mention the whole of Russia.

Speleotherapy is not carried out in Sol-Iletsk, although in the worked-out adits of salt mines, nature and man have created all the conditions for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Salt is mined underground at a depth of about 300 m. The spent chambers are rooms 30 m high, 30 m wide and 500 m long, on the walls of these chambers there is a pattern with a snow-white convex pattern. This unique salt deposit is the purest sodium chloride and does not require additional purification and enrichment.

In 1985, the world's first medical halochamber was built in Leningrad, which reproduced the microclimate of the underground department of the Republican Allergic Hospital in the village of Solotvino.

Availability of halochambers and speleochambers in resorts: speleo-halochamber (salt) chamber in the sanatorium "Radon" (Voronezh region); a curative halochamber made of natural red sylvinite from the Verkhnekamsk potassium salt deposit in the Perm Territory; ground speleoclimatic chamber at the balneological resort "Ust-Kachka"; halochamber in the sanatorium "Yantarny Bereg" (Kaliningrad region); halochamber in the sanatorium "Katun" ( Altai region); halochamber in the sanatorium "Versme" (Lithuania); halochamber in the sanatorium "Arkhipo-Osipovka" ( Krasnodar region); halochamber in the sanatorium "Helios"; in the sanatorium "Gurzufsky" (Yalta, Crimea); halochamber in the sanatorium. Vorovsky; in the sanatorium "Red Hill"; in the sanatorium "Clear Dawns" (Yaroslavl region); halochamber in the boarding house with treatment "Verkhnevolzhsky"; in the sanatorium "Kashin"; in the sanatorium "Karacharovo"; in the sanatorium "Igumenka" (Tver region); halochamber in the sanatorium "Staritsa" (Ryazan region); halochamber in the recreation center "Kolontaevo"; in the sanatorium "Victoria" (Moscow region); halochamber in the sanatorium "Beryozka" (Belarus).