Healing salt caves. Salt cave - the benefits and harms of the halochamber

In St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Samara, there are halochambers (other names are salt caves, speleological chambers). This method of treatment is called speleotherapy (or halotherapy). This is a non-drug treatment of human diseases by staying in a room that recreates the microclimate conditions of natural caves.

From the history

The first halochamber was designed by the Soviet health resort physician Pavel Petrovich Gorbenko, who in 1976 opened a speleotherapy hospital in the village of Solotvino. And already in the 90s, Russian medicine introduced halochambers into the practice of improving people's health.

How does a salt cave work

The benefits of a salt cave are due to maintaining the desired level of indicators: humidity, temperature, pressure, ionic composition of oxygen. Allergens and bacteria are absent in the sterile air of salt caves.

The main component of the halochamber that produces a healing effect is a dry aerosol - microscopic salt particles sprayed in the air. For artificial salt caves, sodium salts or potassium chloride are used. Aerosol particles penetrate the respiratory organs due to their small size (from 1 to 5 microns).

The procedure is as follows:

1. You enter the salt room, where unobtrusive music plays and subdued light comes out.
2. Sit on a sun lounger and relax.

From the control room to the wellness room, the halogenerator delivers dry aerosol through ventilation. The air passes through the salt blocks and is filtered. This is how the human body adapts to the peculiarities of the microclimate of the salt cave: the organs restructure their activities. With a calm inhalation of salt particles, the activity of inflammatory and infectious processes in the respiratory tract decreases. Simultaneously, the immune system is stimulated. The duration of 1 treatment session is 40 minutes. for adults and 30 min. for children.

Indications for the salt cave

Before signing up for a course of treatment in a salt cave, find out for what indications it is prescribed:

• all pulmonary and bronchial diseases;
• allergy;
• skin diseases (including inflammatory processes);
• diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• psychological conditions (depression, fatigue, tension);
• endocrine pathologies;
• rehabilitation period after acute respiratory infections, influenza.

The indications for children undergoing salt cave treatment are the same as for adults. In pediatrics, the procedure is prescribed in the presence of any ENT disease in a child. Speleotherapy is also recommended for the rehabilitation of young patients with skin diseases, sleep disorders, stressful conditions, to strengthen the immune system and bronchial asthma. Children who have reached 1 year of age can undergo treatment with a salt cave.

Salt cave contraindications

There are contraindications to visiting the salt cave. The main ones are:

• acute forms of diseases;
• infections;
• severe stages of diseases (diabetes mellitus, heart failure);
• serious mental disorders;
• oncopathology (especially malignant);
• diseases of the circulatory system;
• metabolic disorders;
• the presence of abscesses, bleeding wounds and ulcers;
• severe addiction (alcoholism, drug addiction);
• haloaerosol intolerance.

Contraindications during pregnancy, prohibiting visiting the salt cave, are discussed with the attending physician. With caution, women should take speleotherapy during lactation. Sometimes experts prescribe a salt cave to expectant mothers as a remedy for toxicosis. But the decision to visit the halochamber is made by a doctor who takes into account the state of health of the pregnant woman.

Contraindications for children are the same as for adults. For any pathologies in the development of systems and organs in a child, a pediatrician's consultation is required before visiting the halochamber.

Salt cave benefits

Doctors say that one session of speleotherapy is equivalent to a four-day stay on the sea coast in terms of its healing effect. Let's figure out what the health benefits of a salt cave are and what the healing effect is due to.

Improves overall well-being

Patients note that staying in a salt cave eliminates the feeling of fatigue and anxiety, raises the overall tone of the body. Negative ions present in the air of the halochamber stimulate metabolic processes in tissues and increase the body's resistance to stress. The relaxing atmosphere of the salt cave has a positive effect on the nervous system.

Increases immunity

The procedure increases the activity of the immune system. Salt aerosol activates local immunity of the respiratory tract, has an anti-inflammatory effect, and strengthens general immunity. Increases the body's resistance to external pathogenic factors.

Reduces the manifestations of diseases

The main task of the salt cave is to help the patient in the fight against the disease, reducing the degree of manifestation. While in a salt cave, contact with allergens and toxic substances from the outside world is interrupted. This speeds up the recovery of body systems.

Increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood

The therapeutic effect of the salt cave improves the functioning of the circulatory system. As a result, the hemoglobin content rises. Symptoms associated with low levels of iron-containing protein go away.

The benefits of a salt cave for children are higher than for adults. The child's body is being formed, so it is possible to prevent pathogenic changes.

• The salt room has a positive effect on the child's central nervous system: hyperactive and excitable kids will calm down and relax.
• The immunomodulatory, bacteriostatic and anti-edematous effect of salt spray is useful for diseases of the nasopharynx in a child.
• For teenagers, staying in a salt cave will relieve psychological stress, relieve obsessive states.
• Often manifested in children during puberty. With this diagnosis, it is recommended to undergo a course of treatment in a halochamber.

Tapolca- a small charming town that attracts tourists 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. Bordered by basalt mountain cones, completely covered today with vineyards, the city of Tapolca was built in a place where in ancient times
the waves of the Pannonia sea lapped.

Tapolca is a resort that is rightfully considered one of the best in the treatment of diseases of the upper respiratory tract

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

One of the city caves - Tavash - is famous not only for its beautiful views. Thanks to its special microclimate and the cleanest air, patients with bronchial asthma, allergic diseases, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases have been successfully treated here for several decades.

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, when a full report was submitted to the Ministry of Health about the truly wonderful properties of the microclimate of the cave. Since then, people suffering from various kinds of allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory diseases have been coming 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 (+13 +14 degrees Celsius), humidity is high (about 100%). All this contributes to the cure of asthma, allergies and other respiratory diseases.

A stay in a cave is also recommended for people suffering from stress and striving to find harmony in order to "escape" from everyday reality. Peace, twilight and the whole environment of the cave create the best conditions for relaxation, stress relief and healing.

Hunguest Hotel Pelion 4*

The microclimate of karst caves has recently been used for medicinal purposes. Information about the healing properties of the microclimate of karst caves in relation to patients with bronchial asthma is confirmed by observations made in Austria, Hungary, and Germany. Under the influence of a moderately low air temperature, heat transfer from the body surface is enhanced both by conventional and radiation methods, which has a stimulating effect on the heat transfer mechanism, causes an increase in oxidative processes with all the accompanying physiological changes in respiration, blood circulation and tissue gas exchange. Under the influence of cool air, narrowing of peripheral vessels and redistribution of blood from the periphery to internal organs which promotes blood circulation. Inhalation of cold air has a positive effect on all indicators of alveolar ventilation, which improves gas exchange in the lungs. Low physiological relative humidity enhances moisture transfer from the respiratory surface of the lungs and better oxygenation of arterial blood. An important element of the microclimate of a karst cave is a high degree of air ionization and air radioactivity. A significant concentration of light aerons has a beneficial effect on the functional state of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, on various types of metabolism, and under the influence of radon and its decay products, blood pressure decreases, which improves the clinical condition of patients with bronchial asthma and hypertension. It has been experimentally established that a three-hour speleo procedure is optimal both in terms of tolerance and effectiveness.

Walkable length of the cave is about 360 m. cave system is located in the Sarmatian limestones, and belongs to the karst type of caves. A cool climate prevails in the cave, located at a depth of 10-15 m. Its temperature, in addition to the surface climate, is also affected by the heat coming from the Tavash cave. The absence of temperature difference in the cave provides favorable bioclimatological conditions

Opening hours of the cave: from Monday to Saturday, from 13 to 19 hours

There are 70 beds in various halls.

The water of the hotel's thermal pool is suitable for the treatment of the following diseases:

Degenerative forms of rheumatic diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system
- Chronic inflammatory diseases of the spine and joints
- Rheumatic diseases of the connective tissues
- Secondary diseases of the joints, joint pain as a result of 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

Nagyobb terkepen valo megjelenítese

Speletherapy can be safely attributed to the natural and natural method of treatment. It does not cause complications and meets the most important principle of medicine - "do no harm."

The air in salt caves is 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.

Salt caves healing properties

In speleotherapy, there is a large variability of methods, depending on the disease and its course, the optimal combination of salt concentration and climatic factors is selected, and the time spent in the cave is determined individually, but the effect of such therapy only intensifies. Although the success of the treatment depends not only on this, in addition to this, the patients, entering the salt cave, are faced with a change in temperature, pressure and humidity of the surrounding air, etc. Meeting with unusual factors, a person activates all the defense systems responsible for the restructuring of the body under stressful conditions. But a sharp drop climatic conditions does not occur in salt caves, because in this case, you can get the depletion of compensatory mechanisms. And the method of treatment is aimed at facilitating their work.

For example, asthmatic diseases, treatment is aimed at reducing the frequency and number of attacks, improving overall well-being. After the procedure of speleotherapy, the feeling of anxiety and tension decreases in patients. During sessions of staying in salt caves, the patient's body is rebuilt to a new and more favorable mode of operation, remembering it at the cellular level.

Chronic diseases proceed for a long time, and a kind of chain of protective reactions is created in the body, which is not always effective. The healing properties of salt caves are aimed at breaking such existing vicious bonds and stimulating the formation of new ones, thanks to which all organs and systems begin to function normally.

It is this property of speleotherapy that can explain the short deterioration in the state of health of some patients in the middle of treatment. This is due to the fact that compensatory mechanisms have to "break" the usual work of all organs and systems in a new, healthy way. However, this should be treated with caution, since the more cardinal changes must occur, the higher the risk of complications.

It is amazing how slight fluctuations in environmental parameters, sometimes they are not noticeable to a person, can cause such a powerful reaction from the protective and adaptive forces of the body.

In almost 100% of cases, the push received during spleotherapy sessions, which is aimed at breaking the stable, painful reactions of the body, allows you to turn the course of the disease in the opposite direction, and sets the body to recovery. As a result of treatment in salt caves, the clinical manifestations of many diseases can disappear, even if the disease has a long and chronic course. There is one “but”, in the case of the resumption of the old way of life, the disease returns, especially if there is a genetic predisposition.

Scientists, studying the healing properties of salt caves, came to the conclusion that the improvement in the general well-being of patients and a high percentage of achieving stable remissions of various diseases occurs due to hormesis. Hormesis is the stimulation of the body as a whole or its individual systems, but with insufficient force to cause harm. Causing, thereby, a peculiar response of the compensatory capabilities of the human body to changes environment that takes place in salt mines.

Climatic conditions, of course, have a positive effect on the entire body, but one should not forget about the direct beneficial effects of salt aerosols, high humidity, and an increased concentration of aeroins. All these factors, by the way, are used to treat bronchial asthma, sputum evacuation improves and its viscosity decreases.

It is the combination of characteristics: the unique microclimate of salt caves and the special reaction of the body in combination that give a positive and stable therapeutic result.

Despite the fact that official medicine is rather skeptical about speleotherapy, it is successfully used to treat most diseases, in many sanatorium-resort complexes with the help of caves or artificially created such conditions. But it still has only an auxiliary character to the main therapy.

Given the hormesis factor, are regulated indications and contraindications to treatment in salt mines.

Indications:

Bronchial asthma in remission, mild to moderate severity, not complicated by severe cardiopulmonary insufficiency.

Chronic respiratory diseases without purulent discharge from the lungs.

Atopic dermatitis, not in the acute stage.

Chronic bronchitis in remission, and the absence of cardiopulmonary insufficiency.

Allergic hay fever (runny nose) and other respiratory diseases.

Vegetative-vascular dystonia.

Contraindications:

Any disease in the acute period.

Mental illness or disorder.

Cachexia (pronounced thinness).

Drug addiction and substance abuse.

Tendency to bleed.

Tuberculosis in active form.

Diseases of the hematopoietic organons.

Tumors.

Pregnancy.

Radiation sickness (it all depends on its degree).

Acute infectious diseases.

Treatment in salt mines should only be carried out under medical supervision.

Salt caves healing properties

halotherapy is a modern method of speleotherapy. The method is based on staying in an aerosol environment saturated with dry salt aerosol with a strictly defined concentration.

The field of halotherapy services is relatively new, but already proven, it can be combined with biological restoration and preventive services in health tourism. Halotherapy services are medical services that contribute to the improvement of the psychophysical state of people. In this regard, the promotion of a healthy lifestyle comes to the fore.

Long-term experience of pulmonologists shows that salt cures many ailments, bringing mental and physical comfort to a person every day. Based on the experience of pulmonologists, many products have been developed and patented: slabs, panels, salt rooms, grottoes, caves, cooling towers , - they are all made from natural rock salt crystals containing trace elements necessary for human life, such as:

• iron- counteracts anemia, eliminates general weakness and improves immunity
• calcium- acts prophylactically against diseases of the musculoskeletal system
• magnesium- prophylactically acts against metabolic disorders, excess cholesterol and oxalates (stones of the bile and renal ducts), reduces nervous excitability
• copper- eliminates metabolic disorders and promotes better absorption of iron
• manganese- softens the toxicity of harmful compounds that we encounter daily
• zinc- acts prophylactically against prostate diseases and growth disorders
• selenium- "cleanses" the body from free radicals and protects against the development of malignant tumors, neutralizing the harmful effects of mercury, lead, cadmium contained in polluted air, and also slows down the aging process of the body.
• lithium- counteracts the development of sclerosis, heart disease, and, to some extent, diabetes
• iodine- Protects against thyroid diseases.

Crystal rock salt is a natural ionizer that effectively improves air quality by releasing negative ions, which are found in large quantities over the sea, over waterfalls and after a storm. Negatively ionized air improves health and helps in the treatment of various diseases: bronchial asthma, diseases of the lungs and bronchus, circulatory failure, post-infarction condition, hypertension, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, gastritis, and psoriasis, skin inflammation, allergies, hypersensitivity, various types of neurosis, depression, stress, fatigue.

The beneficial qualities of the microclimate created by products made from natural rock salt that promote healing are based on the formation of natural aerosols: the dispersive phase is modified air, while the diffusion phase is liquid or solid particles. An important fact is that the components volatilized into the air are negatively charged.

IN salt rooms From the point of view of physical, chemical and biological, as well as therapeutic conditions, thanks to the use of a system of air conditioning equipment and ventilation, the temperature, humidity and specific, unique microclimate of underground mines at depths of up to 650 m are reproduced.

The air that fills the salt rooms and salt saunas , is rich in valuable microelements and practically does not contain pollution, typical for the modern urban environment. Due to the high concentration of sodium chloride, which acts anti-allergic and antifungal. The purity of the air in the Crystal Salt Room is ten times higher than outside. These properties of the microclimate, i.e. biological and chemical purity, saturation with microelements and negative ionization also have a positive effect on the body of healthy people.

Staying in such an atmosphere significantly reduces stress, deepens and slows down breathing, strengthens the body's immune system, increases the ability to concentrate, brings a feeling of freshness and satisfaction, while slowing down skin aging, smoothing wrinkles and accelerating calorie burning, effectively fighting overweight.

Salt room visits should take place every two days, and for healthy people without any worries, once a week as a preventive measure to boost the immune system.

Speleotherapy (gr. speleon- cave) - a method of treatment by a long stay in a kind of microclimate of natural karst caves, grottoes, salt mines, artificially traversed mine workings of metal, salt and potash mines.

There are no more than 30 underground sanatoriums in the world.

In Russia, the only speleological clinic in the potash mine in Berezniki was closed in 2006 due to emergency at the mine.

Vorontsov caves

From the history of speleotherapy or cave treatment

The history of speleotherapy has about 2500 years. In the IV century. BC. in the region of Pergamon (Asia Minor), an underground temple of the god-healer Asclepius was built. Its surviving part consists of two 50-meter tunnels and a large hall with columns. Pliny the Elder (79-23 BC) in the Natural History, which until the end of the 17th century. was used as a source of knowledge about nature, wrote that "salt from the caves relieves nervous suffering, crowbar in the shoulders and lower back, stabbing in the side, pain in the stomach."

Thermal caves, which are characterized by a rather high air temperature, its high humidity and radioactivity, began to be used for medicinal purposes earlier than others. In Italy, in 1849, quarry workers located near Monsummano found an unusual grotto. Located at a depth of 300 m, the grotto was striking in its beauty: it was filled with bizarre stalactites and stalagmites, steam mysteriously swirled over a small picturesque lake. Some of the cave explorers noticed that their joint pains and coughs were gone. The owners of the quarries, the family of the poet Giuseppe Giusti, set up “treatment rooms” in the cave.

In the silver mines near the Austrian city of Oberzeiring, treatment under the supervision of doctors began to be carried out in the 19th century. At present, a speleological clinic for the rehabilitation center for pulmonological patients has been built in the adits. In Austria, the world's first society for the study of caves, distinguished by a scientific orientation, was formed.

The first radon speleological clinic was discovered in the resort of Bad Kreuznach, where in 1904 Karl Aschoff discovered the radioactivity of the sources, and in 1912 the radioactivity of the air adits. Soon the first emanatorium was built in the resort, which was destroyed during the Second World War. In subsequent years, the research results of Dr. K. Aschoff were confirmed by the research of Professor Shemintsky (University of Innsbruck) and Professor Muth (University of Saar), and patients were again admitted to the radon adit.

Austrian resort Bad Gastein (Bad Gastein Bad Gastein) famous radon galleries over 2 km long. Three healing factors in the tunnels of the Redhouse Mountain - the content of radon in the air (4.1 nCi / l), air temperature from 38 to 41.5 ° C, relative air humidity close to 100% - were discovered “accidentally”, after the healing of the miners from rheumatism. Among the indications for treatment in radon galleries, the main place is occupied by degenerative and rheumatic diseases of the musculoskeletal system, neuralgia, long-term non-healing wounds, and skin diseases. The effectiveness of treatment in radon galleries for allergic respiratory diseases, including bronchial asthma, has also been proven.

Therapeutic effect of the microclimate of karst caves also discovered by chance. During World War II in a karst cave Klutert near the city of Ennepetal b, federal state North Rhine-Westphalia, a bomb shelter was set up. People stayed in the cave for a long time, and what a surprise it was when patients with bronchitis and asthma found that with each air raid, cough and shortness of breath bothered them less and less. German researchers summarized benefit data long stay a large number of people in a karst cave. In the post-war years, Doctor of Medicine K. Spannagel conducted clinical and experimental studies that confirmed the therapeutic effect of the microclimate of the caves. The results of these studies and the joint work of Dr. K.Kh. Spannagel and the Hungarian geologist, the famous speleologist Dr. H. Kessler, laid the foundation for modern speleotherapy.

The first speleological clinic in a karst cave was equipped in November 1954. The spelunking clinic in the Klütert Cave entered the German Spa Association as a climatic health resort "Ennepetal mit Klimahöhle". The method was called speleoclimatotherapy. In Germany, the German Union of Speleotherapy (Deutschen Speläotherapieverband) was created, uniting 12 speleological clinics created in salt mines and karst caves; the method is called Höhlentherapie (cave therapy) or Heilstollentherapie (healing galleries). Doctors of the German Union of Speleotherapy recommend daily procedures in the speleotherapy clinic for 2 hours, a course lasting at least three weeks.

The mechanism of therapeutic effects of speleotherapy in karst caves

The effectiveness of speleotherapy in underground clinics was first associated with the peculiarity of the microclimate under the vaults of karst caves in 1980, 20 years after the widespread introduction of speleotherapy into clinical practice.

• Low (6-12 ° C), but constant air temperature contributes to the narrowing of dilated blood vessels;
• The high content of carbon dioxide (СО₂ 0.3–3.0% versus 0.03% on the surface) increases the volume of breathing by 1.0–1.5 l/min. and promotes deeper ventilation of the lungs;
• High air ionization and the presence of aerosols of different compositions help to reduce swelling of the mucous membranes; proven bactericidal and fungiostatic effect of negative ions;
• High humidity (95-100%) contributes to the deep penetration of charged particles and aerosols into the respiratory tract;
• High air purity (less than 150 microbes per 1 m³), ​​the absence of allergens in it leads to a decrease in the blood levels of immunoglobulins A, G and E, antibodies, circulating immune complexes;
• The silence of the caves and the feeling of isolation from the "aggressive" external environment have a psychological impact, allowing you to better perceive the rest of the healing factors.

When inhaling the air of karst caves with a moderately low temperature, low relative humidity and high carbon dioxide content, the mechanisms of thermoregulation are activated, accompanied by an acceleration of metabolic processes, an increase in oxygen consumption by tissues, and an improvement in the function of external respiration and blood circulation.

The mechanism of therapeutic effects of speleotherapy in salt caves

The assumption that The main therapeutic effect in speleotherapy is provided by air saturated with salt dust of sodium chloride., was first expressed by the Polish doctor Felix Bochkovsky in 1843. At the same time, the first sanatorium in Wieliczka was opened. In 1958, its activities were resumed on the initiative of Professor Mieczysław Skolimowski. He was the first in the 1960s. initiated research in new area medicine - subterraneotherapy. Later, treatment by the microclimate of the caves was called speleotherapy.

The effectiveness of speleotherapy in the conditions of salt speleo-hospitals is due, first of all, to climatic features caves: temperature, humidity, gas composition and increased air ionization, absence of allergens.

The microclimate of speleological clinics in salt caves is distinguished by the fact of stability: the complete absence of pollen allergens, practically sterile air (3-5 microbes per 1 m³), ​​high air ionization (up to 4000-5000 light negative ions and 2200-3000 positive air ions). The air temperature is 8-10 °C all year round. The gamma background does not exceed the level on the earth's surface.

In addition, in the air of the salt mines there are charged particles of salt aerosols up to 5 microns in size, which are able to penetrate far into the respiratory tract, which has several biological effects. Inhalation of air ions leads to increased movement of the villi of the ciliated epithelium of the trachea and bronchi, providing sanitation of the respiratory tract. The chemical components of salt change the electrolyte balance of smooth muscle fibers, which leads to their relaxation and increases the number of fully ventilated alveoli: lung ventilation improves, oxygen diffusion rate, and its utilization by various body tissues.

Speleotherapy in the conditions of karst and salt caves has a pronounced elimination effect in allergic asthma and respiratory allergies. Speleotherapy in the course of treatment improves the drainage function of the bronchi, helps to reduce the inflammatory reaction of the mucosa of the upper and lower respiratory tract, and increases the overall nonspecific and immunological reactivity of the body. Bronchial asthma and respiratory allergies occupy the first place in the list of indications for speleotherapy.

Treatment in the conditions of speleological clinics in salt and karst caves makes it possible to achieve remission from 6 months to 3 years in 70-80% of patients.

Speleotherapy in karst caves

At present, speleological clinics in the conditions of karst caves have been built in Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany, Georgia, Italy, the USA, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Uzbekistan.

Speleotherapy in Hungary held in 6 karst caves. There are more than 700 caves in Hungary. In the toponym of the capital of Hungary "Budapest", "caves" are present twice: "Pest" has Slavic roots and comes from the word "peshtera". The Germans still call the second part of the proud - "I will be" "Ofen", which translates both as "furnace" and as "cave". Semlohedi Cave in Budapest has been used for speleotherapy since 1990. In the giant corridor there is a clinic, which is a department of the St. Janos Clinic. Underground spleleological clinic is located in the largest in Europe stalactite cave in Aggtelek included in the list of the World cultural heritage. The length of its section in Hungary is 17 km. Through an artificial underground corridor in Joshvafyo you can get to beke cave, in which asthma patients undergo a course of speleotherapy, as well as in the 30 m high stalactite hall of the Giants. Located on the territory of the Byuk National Park St. Stephen's Cave previously used exclusively for tourism purposes. Since 1991, speleotherapy has been carried out in the Black Hall of the cave. Speleological clinic is arranged in Abaliguete cave in the northeastern part of the foothills of Mechek, in the vicinity of the city of Pecs.

Speleological clinic in the resort of Tapolca in Hungary, you can go down from the lobby of the four-star Pelion Hotel, built in 2003 over a karst cave. Thanks to its special microclimate, characterized by a constant temperature (14-16 °C), high humidity, lack of dust and allergens, patients with respiratory diseases have been successfully treated here for several decades. On the recommendation of the WHO (World Health Organization), with the participation of the scientific committee of The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), a special asthma treatment program has been developed, which has been put into practice at the medical center of the Pelion Hotel by the Professional College of Pulmonologists and Pediatricians of Hungary. The hotel has two departments of pediatric pulmonology, a diagnostic department, and an inhalation room.

In Slovakia first speleological clinic in Gombasek karst cave in the eastern part of the Ore Mountains was opened in 1972, and ten years later was built children's underground sanatorium Bystrya in the Low Tatras at an altitude of 2024 m above sea level. To ensure a more complete inhalation of the healing air of the underground hospital for children, they alternate active games, yoga classes and periods of relaxation with reading fairy tales.

IN Czech speleological clinics for children with respiratory diseases arranged in the caves of the Moravian Karst: South Moravia(Ostrov u Macochy and Mladec-Vojtechov) and in the northern part of Moravia (Zlate Hory - "Edel"). The place of Zlaty Gory, located not far from the famous resort of Jesenik at an altitude of 620 m above sea level, from the middle of the XIX century. was considered one of the best climatic resorts for the treatment of patients with respiratory diseases, and in 1993 a rehabilitation center "Edel" for children with respiratory problems. Two years later, 7 km from the sanatorium, a speleological clinic was built in a karst cave with a network of underground corridors of 1600 m, with a maximum depth of about 93 m and a year-round temperature of 7-8 ° C. The underground galleries are equipped with playgrounds for playing volleyball, basketball, table tennis, game rooms, "bedrooms".

Duration of speleotherapy in Czech healing caves about three hours. Treatment programs consist of 9 blocks of 20 minutes in which active games and breathing exercises alternate with periods of relaxation. Children aged 3 to 15 years old are accepted for speleotherapy in the direction of allergists, with payment by insurance companies of the Czech Republic. The duration of treatment is determined by the director of the sanatorium, as a rule, for children of school age 5 weeks, for preschoolers 6-7 weeks.

Speleotherapy in salt caves

In addition to natural caves, artificial caves, often salt ones, are also used for speleotherapy. These are either abandoned workings of salt mines, or niches specially carved in the thickness of the salt layer, where speleological clinics are equipped.

Speleological clinics operate in the salt mines of Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Ukraine. In Russia, the first underground sanatorium is being built in the salt mines of Sol-Iletsk.

About Polish Wieliczki, near Krakow, in 1958, a sanatorium for 70 people was opened in an old salt mine at a depth of 200 m, and years later a speleological clinic was opened in Praida salt caves (Romania).

salt cave"Velichka" better known for tourist routes, underground restaurants, a museum, but there is also a speleological clinic at a depth of 135 m.

Speleological clinic Bochnia established in the oldest Polish lands salt mine Bochnia, 40 km east of Krakow. After almost eight centuries of operation, the mine resembles a vast underground city, where some of the unique workings are used for medicinal purposes. In the Wessel Lake Salt Cave, equipped with exercise machines, 7-hour treatment procedures are organized daily as part of 14-day rehabilitation programs.

Romania leading in the number of salt caves. In Transylvania, salt mining was carried out 5,000 years before our era, salt mines were actively developed during the Roman Empire. Later, when the surface salt deposits dried up, salt was mined using the mine method. In many salt caves formed as a result of salt mining, caving clinics and even entertainment centers have been built.

Salt mines of Salina Turda(Salina Turda) in Transylvania is one of the most unusual tourist centers in Romania. Salt mining, which began under the Romans, was stopped in 1932. In 1992, the salt mine was transformed into tourist centre on the site of which in 2010 a grandiose entertainment center was built with an underground lake, a bowling alley, concert halls, Ferris wheel and panoramic elevator. Treatment under the supervision of doctors is not carried out, the benefits of the climate of the salt caves of Salina Turda have been proven experimentally.

In Praida Salt Caves (Jozsef Cave) in Romania the first speleological clinic was built at a depth of 120 m. In the underground clinic, which is 14 m high, 20 m wide and several hundred meters long, located at a distance of 1250 m from the entrance, 2500-3000 visitors are delivered daily in the summer months by a special bus. The salt cave has a large children's playground, billiard tables, gyms, comfortable chairs - everything that makes a four-hour daily stay in the underground hospital comfortable, recommended by doctors in the treatment of respiratory diseases. Speleotherapy includes medical gymnastics under the guidance of experienced instructors, walks with a gradual increase physical activity. Patients aged 2 to 60 years are accepted for treatment. According to the results of many years of observations by the pulmonologist F. Emese, after 3-4 procedures of spleen treatment, the frequency and intensity of asthma attacks in bronchial asthma are significantly reduced, coughing is reduced, and the body's resistance is increased.

Not far from the famous resort Romania Slanic Moldova another Romanian speleological clinic was built. The largest sanatorium in Europe is located in the salt grottoes of Tirgu Okna. Chambers, a bowling alley, sports grounds are equipped in huge spacious halls. According to the observations of the doctors of the Slanic Moldova resort, the effectiveness of the treatment of bronchial asthma in children is 90%.

Romanian resort Slanic Prahova 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 busts and sculptures made of salt.

In Ukraine, the development of speleotherapy began in 1968 with the opening of the first underground hospital in the USSR regional allergological hospital in Solotvyno, small village in the foothills Ukrainian Carpathians in the valley of the Tisza River with a mild foothill climate. Soon, in 1976, another underground hospital was opened in Solotvino. For the first time in the world, salt mines were drilled for an underground hospital according to a special project.

Ukrainian Allergological Hospital in Solotvyno Transcarpathian region was the first in the former USSR, where in the treatment of patients with bronchial asthma and other respiratory diseases, the method of speleotherapy was used in the microclimate of salt mines.
Speleotherapy sessions in Solotvyno were held in an underground department specially built in the thickness of the salt massif at a depth of 300 m from the surface of the earth. The speleological clinic, which consisted of a system of galleries with a total length of 600 m, an average height of up to 6 m and a width of up to 12 m, was designed to receive 190 people at the same time.

Underground speleological clinics in the salt mines of Solotvyno are currently not functioning. In September 2008, after a breakthrough of water in the ventilation shaft, the speleological hospital of the Allergy Hospital of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine was closed. In May 2009, after another water breakthrough, the regional allergological hospital was closed.

Belarusian Republican Allergological Hospital in Soligorsk was built in 1985 in a depleted salt mine at a depth of 430 m in the Soligorsk potassium salt basin. Part of the underground chambers of the speleological clinic are located in the potash layer, others are in the rock salt massif, where patients rest, inhaling the healing light ions released by sylvinite and salt layers, and various procedures are carried out in the medical building on the picturesque shore of the reservoir: electro-, phototherapy, massages, inhalations , baths that reinforce the effect of underground air therapy. According to the doctor's instructions, patients go down to the speleological clinic either during the day for 6 hours or at night for 12 hours. Course of treatment: 18 days.

Speleological clinic of the health-improving center Chon-Tuz in Kyrgyzstan It was built in 1981 in specially made salt mines at an altitude of 2100 m above sea level, near the village. Kochkorka, Naryn region. The unique combination of these natural factors, as high mountains and an increased concentration of aerions in cave mines, helps with many diseases of the respiratory system. In Chon-Tuz (Kyrgyzstan), the age is also limited - 5-65 years.

Sylvinite speleological clinic in a potash mine in Berezniki, Perm region at the Verkhnekamsk potash deposit was opened in 1977. It was the first such speleological clinic not only in Russia, but also in the world. Clinical Efficiency underground speleotherapy in the speleological hospital of Berezniki (15 years of observation) was 85.2% (in patients with severe bronchial asthma - 42.8%). At the same time, the positive effect of speleotherapy in patients with bronchial asthma was maintained for 1-3 years in 93% of cases. But the small capacity of the spleen clinic does not even satisfy the needs of the city of Berezniki, not to mention the entire Perm region. In 2006, due to an emergency situation at the mine, the speleological clinic in the potash mines in Berezniki was closed.

In the literature about spa treatment you can find a description of speleotherapy in Sol-Iletsk. Speleotherapy in the conditions of salt caves in Sol-Iletsk is not carried out, although in the worked-out adits of salt mines, nature and man have created unique conditions for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Salt is mined underground (chamber mining system) at a depth of about 300 m. The spent salt chambers are caves with ceilings up to 30 m high and wide, 500 m long, on the walls of which the combine leaves a pattern with a snow-white convex pattern with cutters. This is a unique deposit: the Iletsk salt is the purest sodium chloride and does not require additional purification and enrichment. At present, the construction of an underground speleological clinic and a ground-based sanatorium is underway as part of the development of the tourist and recreational cluster "Salt Lakes".

Salt Symphony, was rebuilt and since 2007 began to accept patients again.

In the Pretau karst cave in Italy It took 15 years to create an underground sanatorium. In the summer of 2003, the healing adit was open for several months, and already in 2004, more than 3,000 patients were treated in the speleo-hospital.

Soon, underground hospitals will be built in the Russian salt mines in Sol-Iletsk, and possibly “star” hotels will be built over the karst caves of the Urals, Crimea and the North Caucasus.

Indications for speleotherapy

• Bronchial asthma of mild and moderate severity without exacerbation (pulmonary insufficiency not higher than II degree).
• Pollinoses.
• Allergic rhinosinusitis without exacerbation.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
• Allergic dermatitis, neurodermatitis subacute or without exacerbation.
• Vegetative dysfunctions.
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Contraindications to speleotherapy (in underground clinics):

• all diseases in acute form or in the acute stage,
• decompensated diseases of the cardiovascular system with circulatory failure,
• hypertension, with
• conditions after a heart attack, stroke,
• tuberculosis,
• cancer disease,
• pregnancy,
• bathophobia (fear of depth).

Speleotherapy in the Nomenclature of Medical Services

Service code; Name of medical service:

A20.30.018; Speleological influence

Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation of December 27, 2011 No. 1664n "On approval of the range of medical services"

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