daystar1952
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3255
posted
I'm not sure if this subject has been talked about yet but I ordered a Salt Pipe from th U.K. Here is the link before I forget http://www.thesaltpipe.co.uk/order.htm
I have chronic moderate asthma and have to use my albuterol inhaler at least 6 times in 24 hours. I have only had the salt pipe for 4 days now and have only had to use my medical inhaler 3 times. Twice I went 24 hours without using it at all.
The salt pipe is a ceramic pipe with a chamber inside which holds special salts that when we breathe the microparticles , it cleanes our entire respiratory system. It thins and loosens mucous and makes it easier to expell, the salt kills germs, it reduces edema in the respiratory tract and has several other beneficial qualities. The pipe lasts for 5 years when used 20 minutes a day. Many healthy people use it as a preventative , including athletes. Because it cleans the respiratory system, it helps counteract our polluted air.
Listening to the media hype about the bird flu this morning, I am also wondering if the Salt Pipe would be a preventative measure against any flu or cold? I think it came to 58 dollars plus shipping. I think it's worth every penny
Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Neti pot?
Sis swears by it.
Yes, sodium kills pathogens. Dr. Pierre Delbet figured this out long ago, but he determined Mg works even better.
Re: bird flu...
A worse virus is SARS...very fast lung problems. Look closely at what researchers have found out about that virus (although in mice only so far):
Penninger and colleagues report in Monday's issue of Nature Medicine that, working in mice, they found that angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a crucial receptor for the SARS virus.
The result is disruption of the body's protective renin-angiotensin system, leading to respiratory distress syndrome as fluids seep into the air sacks. The renin-angiotensin system uses enzymes to regulate sodium balance, fluid volume and blood pressure.
SARS was first identified in 2003, originating in China and spreading rapidly to Asia, Canada and elsewhere. It killed nearly 800 people and disrupted travel, economics and even some scientific meetings.
The researchers found that the SARS virus binds to the ACE2, Penninger said in a telephone interview.
If disabling ACE2 allowed lung damage to occur, the researchers wondered whether providing more of the enzyme would help. They created more ACE2 and infused it into the mice. The result was to protect mice from the lung failure effects of SARS.
It was effective in two ways, Penninger said.
First, ACE2 combined with the virus and prevented it from binding to normal cells. Also, the enzyme protected the mice from acute lung failure.
"We of course need to extend these findings in mice now to humans," Penninger said. "Yet in essence, SARS pointed us to a protein that may help millions of people affected with a previously untreatable disease."
Bb locks onto the HS - heparin sulfate receptor. Warfarin not only prevents this, but warfarin is capable of destroy Bb too. Unfortunately this drug does not come without significant dangers.
To block angiotensin II...INhibit HMG CoA reductase = Benicar (potential kidney problems) or Mg...lots.
Keep in mind though...respiratory acidosis and metabolic acidosis are NOT the same!
For status asthmaticus, Mg is given IV.
For organic pesticide poisoning (very toxic = acidic)...IV Mg, 4 GRAMS daily...for how many days? I don't know...the article didn't say...now where did I put that file?...
***There are a number of pathogens/diseases that follow the glycolysis-cholesterol pathway. So does cholera.***
Need you to think about why lyme research...from Italy and Romania... came out of cancer hospitals.
Need you to think about why lyme is being "ignored" re: research dollars.
In the 1970s in Germany, vets gave dogs with neuro babesia IV soda bicarb...and they recovered.
What? Natural things (without side effects) can work? Looks that way.
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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daystar1952
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3255
posted
Yes, it's the same basic principle as the neti pot...getting salt into the sinuses.....but the Salt Pipe is an inhaler and it's dry...no water used and it is very convienient and not messy and wet. I have a neti pot and sometimes it would make my nose stuffier . Other times it seemed to help. I love my salt pipe and eventually would like to sell them over here in the U.S. I think they are now basically only available in Europe
Posts: 1176 | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
Looks interesting but I see one potential negative.
CLEANING is said to be done with just a damp cloth after each use. Im not sure I could put something in my mouth everyday for 5 years that only could be wiped with a damp cloth. Gives me the heeby jeebies.
The site says they take international orders for anyone interested.
Im going to have to remember to use my netti pot. Having one and remembering to use it are two different things.
Posts: 561 | From connecticut | Registered: May 2004
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posted
Hi Daystar, Thanks for the info. I will share this with my M.D. and also my acc who has lyme and asthma. I'm wondering if it will help with 2nd smoke I have been exposed to by a rude neighbor smoker.
I have asked nicely if they could smoke away from my window as it is making me more ill. They became angry and defensive. I do not care if people smoke, but not where it will harm others.
If the pipe helps with polutants it should help me with my problem which has been going on 8 months. Thanks again for posting this. Joyce
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Hey Healing, read your post about smokers under your window. How rude.
Im assuming this is when the window is open that the smoke comes in. If Im right is it possible for you to install one of those window exhause fans?
That way it would blow the smoke right back at them instead of coming inside.
If you cant do that then a simple table top fan set close to the window should do the trick.
Posts: 561 | From connecticut | Registered: May 2004
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posted
Thanks for the tip. I have mild asthma also, and it's been getting worse, so I just ordered one. Hope it works for me.
Posts: 449 | From Pasadena, CA, usa | Registered: Aug 2005
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daystar1952
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3255
posted
I also thought about the germ thing with using the pipe every day but salt is a natural disinfectant. I take a solution of Himalayan salt and water....27% and it really seems to give me more energy. The directions for making this solution ....sole(solay) says that you can just keep adding more salt rocks and more water forever and that it's totally sterile.
I'd love to hear the experiences of anyone who gets one of these devices. I have been so impressed with salt lamps, salt sole, Himalayan salt on my food, etc that these salt pipes have just clinched it for me and I would like to import some and sell them over here. I've been wanting to get involved with something that really helps people and so far......I cannot believe the results. I've been doing 20 minutes or so 3 times a day but I don't find it inconveinient...it's actually fun and relaxing...knowing it's natural and all and that it can even possibly prevent illness. I'm wondering if it would help prevent flus and colds
Posts: 1176 | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
Thanks Sofy, They are right next door to me,and smoke right outside my door. Did wheather sp? brain fog. And after 8 mo after the manager being fired I am getting a new window. Yahooo! I have done the fan thing this summer, it cracked me,my friends and family up.
Laughter very healing. I am unable to go out my door or come up my steps if they are there. I have multiple chemical sensitives,like alot of us here have.
It stills comes in with windows open or shut. Lots of studies on this. Lots of info about 2nd smoke on no-smoke.org We are working on changeing ordinance in our town. We already have no smokeing on some of our beaches and downtown. There needs to be designated smokeing areas.
Posts: 905 | From Santa Cruz,Calif | Registered: Aug 2005
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Contact Us Halotherapy: Aerosol Salt Treatment of Respiratory Diseases
Halotherapy (HT, from Greek halos=salt) uses dry aerosol microparticles of salt and, in one version, minerals to treat respiratory diseases. HT seeks to replicate the conditions of speleotherapy (from Greek speleos=cave), a treatment that has been practiced in old salt mines of Eastern Europe since the early 19th century.
Halotherapy belongs to the category of the physical therapies--non- drug treatments of diseases, many associated with the spa treatments of Eastern Europe. In the former Soviet Union, medical researchers engaged in a concerted effort to develop physical therapies in order to avoid the costs and side effects of drug therapy as well as microbial and tumor resistance. Russia has become the world leader in developing and testing new and increasingly effective physical therapies.
Most of the dozens of clinical trials thus far, mainly reported in Russian-language journals, have focussed on HT as a treatment of asthma and chronic bronchitis. But HT may also be effective as a main or adjuvant therapy across the entire range of upper and lower respiratory tract diseases and potentially against systemic diseases as well.
Respiratory diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Asthma has become ever more prevalent in industrialized societies, with special impact on children. Meanwhile, cigarette smoking has spread chronic bronchitis and emphysema everywhere; in developing countries biomass cooking smoke has a similar devastating impact on women and children. The situation in especially bad in China, with its 350 million smokers and terrible air pollution.
Most drug therapies of respiratory diseases have only palliative effects, and many have significant side effects. So a physical therapy like HT is much needed. HT's excellent action and modest cost make it a very attractive kind of medicine.
Speleotherapy
It is likely that miners and others knew about the beneficial health effects of the microclimate of salt mines for centuries before they were first described in a book published by a Polish physician in 1843. Since then, the practice of bringing patients with respiratory diseases down into salt mines for cures gradually spread throughout Eastern Europe, and it has become a standard feature of spa treatment there.
By its very nature, speleotherapy resists scientific norms. The reported healing and invigorating effects of the microclimate of salt mines are variously ascribed to the microparticles of salt floating in the air, the temperature, the relative humidity, the near or total absence of pathogens and allergens, the effects of radiation from minerals, and the tranquillity of the setting. But it is difficult to determine the relative influence of these factors, and presumably some synergy exists. In addition, each chamber in each mine has a distinct microclimate. Conducting clinical trials in such conditions is not easy. Often speleotherapy has been combined with other modalities. And many of the early clinical trial reports lacked scientific rigor.
Speleotherapy also makes a great demand on patients' time. The mines are not conveniently located for most people. The total cost is fairly significant. Determining a specific dose and tracking long- term effects of speleotherapy have proven very elusive goals.
Nonetheless, various clinical trial reports and the favorable outcomes for many individual patients have led to growing scientific attention and a devoted following for speleotherapy (for a sample report, see Horvath, 1986). They also gave the Soviet (now Russian) space agency the idea of developing microclimate optimization devices for cosmonauts that would replicate the microclimates of salt mines. Most of this work has been done in St. Petersburg, which is now the location of the leading Russian HT company, Aeromed Ltd, and of the Arsenal Design Bureau, which works on the salt + mineral approach.
HT Devices
In the 1980s the Russians began to build halochambers that recreated in clinics the microclimate of salt mines. These halochambers have floors and walls lined with rock salt (halite). Patients sit in the halochamber for an hour per session while music and pleasant videos are played to create a relaxed mood. Halochambers are certified as medical devices in Russia, are in use in Eastern Europe, and are starting to spread to North America.
Another approach has been the desktop HT device, which has tubes for breathing in the aerosol salt or simply fills the air with microparticles of salt. Thus far no multimineral aerosol appears to have been supplied this way, though halochambers have been lined with silvinite, the rock from potash mines that contains about 60 percent sodium chloride, 35 percent potassium chloride, and 5 percent of other minerals. Pure halite is the precipitate from the shores of ancient seas, while silvinite results from the evaporation of a dead sea. Often a desktop HT device is used in combination with a halochamber.
A ceramic salt pipe from Hungary represents a third approach. The patient breathes in gently through the mouth, then exhales through the nose.
A fourth, popular device is the rock crystal lamp (Pakistan) or salt lamp (Poland), which is comprised of a largish piece of rock salt with an attached light bulb that glows through the salt and whose heat causes microparticles to become airborne.
Serious clinical studies have been done of the first two methods, where the number of microparticles per cubic meter is monitored, permitting accurate dose measurement. The ability to deliver a specified dose represents a major advantage of halotherapy over speleotherapy. Still, speleotherapy retains importance as a source of scientific evidence regarding the as-yet not well-characterized, multiple factors that deliver the therapeutic effect. Depending on the conditions of a certain salt mine or cave, speleotherapy might also prove more effective than halotherapy in a given case.
Parameters
Aerosolized microparticles larger than 10 microns in diameter are caught in the upper airways and transported up and out of the respiratory tract by the mucociliary system. In the range of 5-10 microns, they penetrate into the trachea and central bronchial area, but no farther. Only below 5 microns do the microparticles penerate deep into the lungs, though the larger microparticles have useful effects in the upper respiratory tract. In the range of 0.1-2.5 microns--the same size as the most damaging microparticles from auto and industrial pollution, and invisible to the human eye--the microparticles of salt penetrate into every corner of the bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli and deposit upon the surface. Even though the salt microparticles spread over an area in the alveoli roughly the size of a tennis court, only a few milligrams of salt are needed. So there need be no concern about the possibility of excessive salt intake from halotherapy in the case of hypertensive patients.
The extremely small size, relatively low amount, and slow dosing of the microparticles also make them much less likely to provoke a hyperreactive response in asthma patients than moist hypertonic saline. The hygroscopic characteristics of moist particles make them grow significantly during transit and therefore to deposit mainly in the upper respiratory tract and in the central area of the trachea and bronchi. Still, studies have shown that moist particles of salt from hypertonic saline have beneficial effects in cystic fibrosis, for instance, at least in the short term (Wark and McDonald, 2004).
A significant parameter for HT devices, therefore, is the fraction of the microparticles produced that is below 2.5 microns.
According to many authors, maintaining a room temperature in the vicinity of 18-24� C and a relative humidity around 50% can conduce to better treatment outcomes. Devices can be set to emit different amounts of salt microparticles-e.g., four levels from 1 to 16 mg/m�, monitored by a microparticle counting device.
Another parameter of note is the negative electrical charge on the particles, which has been measured at 6-10 nK/m� (Cervinskaya, 2002). It is argued that dry salt particles have higher surface energy than moist ones and so have a more marked impact on the walls of the airways. In addition, the negatively charged microparticles repel each other, preventing clumping and ensuring very high dispersal.
Many authors claim that the negative charges on the microparticles (coupled with the radioactive emissions from potassium-40 and tiny fractions of other elements in silvinite) create negative aeroions that contribute to the beneficial effects of halotherapy. This is a controversial subject; the scientific jury is still out, though the weight of the evidence seems to favor those who argue that negative aeroions do confer favorable biological results. Still, the effects of negative aeroions are not required to explain the overall effectiveness of HT, so perhaps it makes more sense for the time being just to consider the possibility of a benefit from negative aeroions as a potential free add-on to HT.
Mechanisms of Action
Halotherapy dehydrates microbial cells and impairs their albuminous structure. Small particles of salt adhere to microbial bodies, undergo hygroscopic growth, and precipitate. Via these and perhaps other mechanisms, HT kills pathogenic microorganisms throughout the respiratory tract (Chervinskaya and Zilber, 1995). American researchers had found that H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae--two of the main pathogens present in the respiratory tracts of chronic bronchitis patients--are very sensitive to hypertonic salt (Rein and Mandell, 1973).
In turn, the body's normal microflora repopulate the area, and the removal of pathogens leads to a reduction in inflammation from the immune response. The numbers of immune cells are normalized, while both numbers and activation of alveolar macrophages increase. The normalization in immune response explains much of HT's action in treating asthma.
The deposition of microparticles of salt reduces the viscosity of the mucus and restores the normal mucociliary transport that removes mucus, pathogens, and debris from the airways. In some chronic bronchitis patients, coughing becomes more frequent during the first seven days of daily treatment. Large amounts of mobilized mucus that had been blocking the bronchioles are expelled, whereupon the patient experiences general improvement.
The relative absence of allergens and microbes in the air breathed by patients during therapy presumably also contributes to improved status via desensibilization.
Therapy with silvinite (potash) includes three further mechanisms, though their relative importance is not clear:
the significant fraction of potassium and other electrolytes in theory can optimize the electrolyte balance in the respiratory tract and perhaps throughout the body; the presence of a score of elements in tiny quantities permits the body to use them to heal and restore itself, much in the matter of a combination herbal therapy with hundreds of phytochemicals; and radioactive emissions from K-40 and from some of the microelements play a role in the healing process. Representing just 1 in 10,000 potassium ions, K-40 is nonetheless present to a more significant extent in silvinite HT than, for instance, in a banana because silvinite contains about 35% potassium. While the amount of silvinite used in HT is just a few milligrams, the surface of the lungs represents a much smaller target than the entire body. The amounts of radiation in silvinite HT are relatively low and below officially permitted levels. Still, they differentiate this approach from the use of pure sodium chloride. One could, of course, also add certain desired ions to the aerosol mixture, perhaps copper or zinc or iodine, not to speak of aerosol drugs. So one needs to think of halotherapy in general as comprising an X (the effects of pure aerosolized halite/rock salt), a Y (the effects of silvinite HT that go beyond those of X), and a Z (the effects of added ions that go beyond X and Y). In theory, adding Y and/or Z will provide a superior therapeutic outcome to that achievable with X alone. It is easy to see how adding more "medicine" might improve outcomes, but exactly how and to what extent deserve careful investigation. Presumably, silvinite HT would be useful for treating the more serious and intractable cases, as well as for treating certain systemic disorders.
How HT might work against other indications is not well known. It would seem that the microbicidal action of the salt microparticles could make HT effective against lung infections in cystic fibrosis, against tuberculosis, and against other respiratory infections. However, HT is counterindicated in tuberculosis, according to the Russian literature. No reason is given, but perhaps coughing associated with HT could prove problematical in TB patients with significant lesions in their lungs.
Side Effects and Counterindications
Halotherapy appears to have few side effects. Some patients experience itchy skin in the halochamber. Too much aerosol salt can cause conjunctivitis, so sensitive patients should keep their eyes closed during treatment. Some patients feel a tickling in the throat. 82% of patients in a silvinite clinical trial reported an initial sedative effect (Rassulova et al., 2000). There has been no report of such an effect in HT with pure sodium chloride.
Owing to the HT-induced drainage of accumulated mucus, many patients experience an increase in coughing after several days of HT, and some have dyspnea. The viscosity of their mucus samples increases, as does the number of pathogenic microorganisms in them. These side effects subside as the lungs are cleared of mucus. So it is important to make a distinction between such Therapeutically Essential Side Effects (TESEs) and other side effects, such as occasional headaches at the onset of silvinite HT, which bear no relationship to the healing action of the therapy.
The use of hypertonic saline quite frequently provokes a hyperreactive response in asthma and chronic bronchitis patients, but there is little evidence that such a response occurs with dry salt microparticles in HT. One clinical trial specifically examined the response to HT of patients in a state of exacerbation of their chronic bronchitis and found that they did not show hyperreactivity. However, other authors state that the acute stage of respiratory diseases is a counterindication and that HT should not be used in the third stage of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (bronchitis and/or emphysema), in intoxication, in cardiac insufficiency, in bleeding and spitting of blood, and in advanced hypertension (Speleotherapy Clinic, 2004). It is possible that simply lowering the dose in states of exacerbation can ensure that there will be no hyperreactive response, while even at the lowered dose HT can convey its benefits. Whether these benefits extend to mitigating the exacerbation itself deserves further examination.
It is likely that in some cases HT has been underdosed--that more of it would have led to better results for more patients (Borisenko et al., 1994). This also implies that, when optimally dosed, HT may prove more effective than it has thus been shown to be. Also, there does not seem to be a single account of a patient who suffered from an overdose. Halotherapy is typically provided in 10-20 daily sessions of 60 minutes each. In some cases, results do not show up until 2-3 months have passed, so follow-up monitoring is required (Borisenko et al., 1994). Failure to wait to register such delayed results may also have led to underreporting of successes.
In general, long-term follow-up can go far toward defining the results of HT. For instance, HT may lengthen the intervals between exacerbations in the year following treatment--a key indicator. More study is required to pin down the existence and degree of such improvement as well as the percentage of patients who experience it. Also, of great importance is the impact of HT on the long-term outcome of respiratory diseases, regarding which little evidence currently exists.
In sum, we do not yet possess a well-defined, accepted list of counterindications, though obviously practitioners need to exercise caution in treating patients with exacerbations and with serious complications, e.g., heart conditions.
Clinical Studies
The literature on speleotherapy and halotherapy now includes approximately 75 articles, mainly reports of clinical trials. While many of these--particularly on speleotherapy--lack validity because of gaps in experimental design and inexplicable failures to report crucial details, in recent years Russian and East European researchers have employed increasingly sophisticated and scientifically rigorous trial protocols and reporting techniques. Still, further improvements in this area would contribute significantly to gaining acceptance of HT outside of Russia and Eastern Europe as well as to its optimal implementation in clinical practice.
Three sample clinical studies can give a sense of HT's performance.
1. 124 patients aged 16-62 with various chronic lung diseases in prolonged exacerbation (87-bronchial asthma; 26-chronic bronchitis; 6-bronchiectasis; 5-cystic fibrosis) were treated in a halochamber, with the addition of music and a slide show (Chervinskaya and Zilber, 1995). They received 12-25 daily sessions of one hour each. 15 control patients were given 10 daily sessions of music with slide show in an ordinary room. Patients in both groups received various unspecified amounts of corticosteroids and bronchodilators during the halotherapy. All patients reported feeling better after HT. The authors noted:
The clinical state of 85% pts with mild and moderate BA, 75% with severe BA, 98% with chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis improved after HT. The pts were examined 6 and 12 months after the first HT course. No aggravations of the disease were seen from the 3rd to the 12th month. The average duration of remission was 7.6-0.9 [sic: probably 9.0] m. Most of the pts (60%) used no medication and sought no medical advice.
The article went on to detail the results of lung tests, which showed significant improvement in bronchial patency, with no bronchospasmolytic effect. The more marked the bronchial obstruction, the better the results of HT. 80% of the placebo patients reported feeling better and sleeping normally, but there were no significant changes in lung auscultation or flow-volume loop parameters. Still, 20% had improved functional values.
2. Researchers in Perm reported on a trial that used a "speleochamber" lined with silvinite (35.8% potassium chloride; 63.2% sodium chloride; 0.6% magnesium chloride; 1.8% calcium sulfate; and 3.8% residual minerals--carbonate-clay material) (Krasnostein et al., 1999). 75 patients with mild or moderate asthma, ranging from 18 to 55 years old, were treated for a total of 12 hours over the course of 14 days, in addition to antiinflammatory drugs. No mention is made of controls, although there was a control chamber for comparing levels of aerosol particles and radioactivity.
In the speleochamber, gamma emissions averaged 16.0 microrem/hr; in the control chamber, 13.0 microrem/hr. In the speleochamber there were on average 38 beta particles per square cm per minute; in the control chamber, 0. In the speleochamber radon activity averaged 56 Becquerels/m�; in the control chamber, 40. The researchers noted that the total dose of radiation was far lower than permitted levels.
66 patients (88%) had a favorable outcome, including a decline in dyspnea, improvement in immunological parameters, and better functioning in breathing tests. 5 patients withdrew from the trial-- 2 because of increased nasal blockages; 3 because of increased occurrence of dyspnea. 5 patients showed no benefit from therapy. Many patients reported varying degrees of discomfort during treatment as the lungs drained. However, specific side effects-- headache, rise in blood pressure, tickle in the throat--occurred in only 26.6%, and only during the first 2 or 3 days.
Successfully treated patients remained free of asthma symptoms for 1- 4 months.
3. Researchers tested 188 patients with asthma, bronchitis, and mucoviscidosis [cystic fibrosis], with 49 matched controls on placebo (Chervinskaya, A.V. et al., 2002). 104 of the treatment group received 12-20 60-minute sessions of halochamber therapy; 84 received 12-20 15-minute sessions of halotherapy from a desktop inhalation device. No differences in results between these two HT methods were found. 85% of the treatment group achieved positive results, while only 15% of the control group did. In one third of the treatment group, the viscosity of the mucus increased up to the 7th day, and many patients experienced increased coughing up of mucus as their lungs drained, but by the end of the treatment their condition improved.
The researchers conducted extensive bronchoscopic, mucosal, cytological, bacteriological, and immunological tests that showed favorable dynamics in all studied indicators of the defensive system of the respiratory tract. An especially pronounced effect showed up in the disappearance of pathogenic microorganisms in the respiratory tracts of the patients who benefitted from treatment, whereas there was no change in controls.
The Way Forward
The Russians and East Europeans deserve credit for their research efforts thus far. They are clearly far ahead of their colleagues elsewhere in the world in this leading approach to the treatment of respiratory diseases. But much more needs to be done. Here are some of the issues and tests that deserve attention:
comparative tests of HT and competing drugs can provide much insight; comparative tests of speleotherapy, halotherapy with halite, and halotherapy with silvinite can provide insight into their relative mechanisms and merits; priority targets for testing should include tuberculosis, other respiratory infections, and rhinosinusitis; we need to conduct more thorough research on the organism-wide effects of these modalities, including possible benefits and side effects as well as the potential for treating non-respiratory diseases; we need to examine the role of radiation in speleotherapy and silvinite halotherapy, including levels compared to other interventions (e.g., the amount of K-40 in a banana), mechanisms of action, special benefits, and side effects; testing HT in combination with other therapies can lead to synergies and superior results; studying the effects of different dosing regimes can lead to optimal outcomes; and investigation of HT's effects on long-term outcomes is a major desideratum. In regard to these last two items, it appears that the Russians have not attempted to use HT in modalities outside of the clinic. Achieving a 1-4 month remission in asthma, for example, as a result of a course of clinical HT (Krasnoshtein et al., 1999) does not seem particularly valuable. In contrast, modest daily dosing with a handheld inhaler might provide reliable freedom from exacerbations and superior long-term disease outcomes. This approach also might overcome the objection of some Western observers--that HT might simply provide short-term symptomatic relief. These critics seem implicitly to accept the notion that HT is best delivered in a clinical setting.
Providing low-dose aerosol salt via another modality--a compact nebuliser, for example, in the bedroom of an asthmatic child--might similarly prove more effective than clinical treatment. Used for prophylaxis by healthy people, such a microclimate optimization approach could compete with air purifiers, not to speak of air fresheners, which often cause more respiratory problems than they fix.
In general, HT's excellent performance in the clinic against chronic bronchitis suggests that a differentiated approach might prove optimal. For instance, clinical treatment might work better than self-dosing for chronic bronchitis, whereas asthma might be better treated with a personal inhaler. Similarly, severe cases might yield better to silvinite HT (more "medicine" than with halite), while mild cases would require only the sodium chloride in halite. In the treatment of Respiratory Syncytial Virus in infants, a desktop nebuliser would obviously be more appropriate than a handheld inhaler. Sometimes HT could be used as a mainline therapy; other times, as an adjuvant. So research and testing can lead to a variegated set of treatment options.
Conclusions
Halotherapy has been shown in clinical trials of steadily increasing rigor to confer significant benefits in the treatment of asthma and chronic bronchitis. The failure of Western medical researchers to investigate it and of Western respiratory specialists to use it stems from various causes including unfamiliarity with the Russian- language literature, narrow focus on drugs, and general medical conservatism.
Halotherapy enjoys many advantages. Unlike certain other physical therapies, HT is inherently plausible and understandable by expert and layperson alike. Now that aerosol salt therapy has climbed out of the salt mines and gained momentum as a subject of scientific investigation and practical application, potential critics have a much harder time dismissing it. Halotherapy appears to be an excellent microbicide and mucokinetic/expectorant. HT is rather inexpensive--cheaper than speleotherapy and much cheaper than some competing drugs. It has minimal side effects in the case of halite HT and quite minor ones in the case of silvinite HT. There are no reports of interactions with drugs or of the development of microbial resistance to HT. And its close-to-nature character appeals to patients.
HT's ability to perform as a mainline or adjuvant therapy in virtually all respiratory diseases makes it especially valuable. It also possesses untapped potential as a source of general prophylaxis and invigoration for healthy people.
*****
References
Borisenko, L.V. et al. (1994), "The Use of Halotherapy in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Acute Bronchitis of a Protracted and Recurrent Course," Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult, Jan-Feb; (1), 11-15 [Russian]
Chervinskaya, A.V. et al. (2002), "Effects of Haloaerosol Therapy on Defense Characteristics of the Respiratory Tract," Terapevticheskii Arkhiv 3, 48-52 [Russian]
Chervinskaya, Alina V. and Nora A. Zilber (1995), "Halotherapy for Treatment of Respiratory Diseases," Journal of Aerosol Medicine 8 (3), 221-232
Horvath, Tibor (1986), "Speleotherapy: A Special Kind of Climatotherapy, Its Role in Respiratory Rehabilitation," Int Rehabil Med 8, 90-92
Krasnoshtein, A.E. et al. (1999), "Above-ground Speleoclimatic Chambers and Experience in Their Use in Bronchial Asthma," Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult, May-June; 3, 25-28 [Russian]
Rassulova, M.A. et al. (2000), "The Use of the Microclimate of Artificial Sylvinite Speleoclimatic Chambers in Treating Patients with Chronic Obstructive Bronchitis," Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult, Jan-Feb; (1), 17-21 [Russian]
Rein, M.F. and G.Z. Mandell (1973), "Bacterial Killing by Bacteriostatic Saline Solutions: Potential for Diagnostic Error," New England Journal of Medicine 289(15), 794-795
My husband and I have both been using the saltpipe for our asthma and it prevents it effectively and safely better than anything else has.
I only have to use the albuterol inhaler when I have gotten lazy about regularly using the saltpipe, and even then, I need it very rarely compared to before. When I use the saltpipe regularly I don't need the inhaler at all. Same goes for my husband.
Farah
Posts: 208 | From New Mexico | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Just got mine and am impressed. I dont have breathing problems but think its an essential accompanyment to the salt/C protocol and needed in this polluted world we live in.
bpeck
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3235
posted
I've had one for quite a while. I got it after I had pneumonia after all my abx for Lyme.
I also bought one for my sister in law who had refractory pneumonia (picking that nasty up in a nursing home from a patient). It cured her in about 3 weeks after months on abx.
I think it's great...
It doesn't really look like a pipe.. more like an inhaler.. I don't think anyone would think it had anything to do with drugs.
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Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
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