Respiratory diseases in children are common. Recently, pediatricians have stated that the number of chronic respiratory ailments in babies has also increased. Among the many recommendations for such children, the name "speleo camera" is often heard. Is it useful to visit the salt room and is it possible to cure respiratory diseases with its help, says the famous children's doctor Yevgeny Komarovsky.
A bit of history
The procedures associated with inhaling clean air in the salt room are called halotherapy. This method was widely used in the late 80s of the last century. However, the properties of salt to disinfect the air were known even in Ancient Greece, where there are quite a few natural salt caves.
This method was first tried in Europe by the Poles, who tried to build a hospital simulating the climatic conditions of salt mines.
The first artificial chamber, in which one could breathe salt aerosol, appeared in Perm in 1982. The USSR Ministry of Health officially adopted and approved the methodology in 1990. Nowadays speleo chambers can be found in almost any decent sanatorium, in some clinics and health centers.
Operating principle
In speleological chambers, they try to create conditions as close as possible to the natural climate of salt caves and mines. Dry aerosol of salt, according to experts, dilutes bronchial secretions, along with which allergens, toxins, and bacteria leave the human body. The ciliated epithelium recovers faster, which is why respiratory ailments such as bronchial asthma, bronchitis, allergic respiratory diseases and some others can be cured faster.
The fact is that dry sprayed salt has a high penetrating ability, and even in small quantities, microscopic salt particles penetrate deeply into the respiratory organs and tissues. Salt on the walls and ceiling contributes to a completely allergen-free space.
Usually a person is in a speleo chamber for 10-15 minutes. The duration of the average course is about two weeks. Such procedures can be prescribed for children not only for diseases of the respiratory system, but also after a strong emotional shock that the child suffered, with some skin problems, and also during the recovery period after surgery.
Officially, contraindications to such treatment are pulmonary tuberculosis, acute respiratory viral infections or influenza in the acute period, as well as children under 3 years of age.
Komarovsky on the effectiveness of the speleo camera
Parents who have long been struggling with chronic respiratory ailments in children or with childhood allergies are ready for any procedure that promises relief. Halotherapy is no exception.
At the same time, rarely any of the adults pays attention to what the room itself is. Now a lot of non-accredited "health resorts" have appeared, which are sometimes made right in apartments, covering the walls and ceilings with layers of salt. Such places cannot be considered speleochambers. Without a device that produces sodium chloride aerosol, there can be no talk of any effect.
As for cameras with accreditation and aerosol, Evgeny Komarovsky believes that they are very helpful, but only to their owners, who have built a profitable business on this. The cost of one session on average in Russia is from 500 rubles.
According to the doctor, the salt chamber does not in any way affect the immune system and does not have a preventive effect. Alternatively, a walk in the fresh air can be considered equivalent in effect. Only you don’t have to pay someone for it.
Serious respiratory diseases, according to Komarovsky, are not treated with salt chambers. But children with allergies really breathe easier in it. But, unfortunately, it is impossible to live life without leaving the salt room. Outside the chamber, the child again finds itself in an environment with a mass of allergens around, and the effect disappears.
It is up to parents to decide whether to spend money on halotherapy or to save money and buy a humidifier for the room for their child, which will help create excellent conditions for the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases.
For the benefits of the salt cave, see the program of Dr. Komarovsky.
You can learn more about halotherapy by watching the following program.
