Besides breathing polluted air, the water we bath in is also polluted.
Exposure to different pollutants like this can cause skin and respiratory problems, which take the form of breathing difficulties, asthma, skin rashes and other conditions.
Contrary to popular belief, what we eat and drink are the primary ways in which the environment affects our health. However, this is not the case.
The skin and lungs are the main interfaces exposed to the outside world. Skin is the largest organ in your body and plays a vital role in regulating the body’s temperature. Both skin and lungs absorb toxins easily.
The chemicals found in conventional medicines often do more harm than good, which is why natural solutions like speleotherapy can cure the problems or mask the symptoms.
How speleotherapy works in treating respiratory conditions?
Speleotherapy makes use of underground locations like caves and mines to cure various illnesses, respiratory diseases in particular. The air found in caves is very low on dust and is full of ions and salt microns which can cure asthma attack or allergy reactions.
Spending time in a cave for two to four hours a day over a two to three-month period has been found as an effective remedy to reduce allergies, asthma and other breathing difficulties. The therapy also offers relief from skin irritations and allows your body to restore the ionic balance.
Speleotherapy practitioners maintain that the removal of skin irritation gives your body a chance to heal itself. Cave air is higher in non-toxic carbon dioxide (Co2), which is oxidised by the body and exhaled in order to produce energy. With ten times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere, cave air influences your autonomic nervous system and stimulates intense and deeper breathing, which helps in relieving any type of asthma.
No medical treatment is included in this holistic, alternative therapy. Pregnant women can also use speleotherapy for asthma cure without harming their babies.
Research shows that the therapy gives beneficial short-term effects on lung function. Some therapists use radon, salt or some other natural resources.
Drawbacks of speleotherapy:
The major drawback of speleotherapy is that mines are not generally conveniently located for most people. The cost, both in terms of time and money is prohibitive. A more accessible alternative in the form of salt lamps produces similar effects to speleotherapy. The lamps are made of solid portions of mineral salt, are decorative pieces of art work and offer health benefits at the same time.
