How does salt therapy help breathing?

Salt particles draw water by osmotic action, reducing mucus viscosity, improving mucociliary clearance and decreasing mucosal swelling.

Who can benefit from salt therapy?

It may help mild colds, allergies and as an adjunct in chronic respiratory diseases (COPD, cystic fibrosis) and for prevention of infections.

When should salt therapy be avoided or used with caution?

Avoid or consult a doctor for severe untreated high blood pressure, acute infection with fever, severe COPD (GOLD IV), active TB, hemoptysis, severe heart or kidney disease, during chemotherapy, or with open wounds.

How often and how long should salt therapy be used?

For effect, use regularly—typically 2-6 hours daily (often overnight). Microscopic particles (2-5 microns) reach deep into the lungs for best results.

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Salt Therapy: How It Helps Breathing

Salt therapy is a globally recognized, natural method to support the respiratory system. It was known even in ancient Greece – Hippocrates, the father of medicine, recommended inhaling salty water vapor for those with breathing difficulties. It can have beneficial effects for respiratory complaints and allergies. Its effect develops more slowly than that of drugs, but a major advantage is that it is natural and no significant side effects are known.

What is salt therapy?

Salt therapy is nothing more than inhaling air vapor rich in salt, i.e. saline inhalation. Salt particles that reach the lungs adhere to the airway walls and exert their beneficial effects there in a natural way. The beneficial effect of the air in salt mines and caves has been known and used in European medicine since the 1800s. Many people travel to the salt mines of Transylvania, Poland or Slovakia to inhale salty vapor. A seaside holiday is also recommended for respiratory complaints and certain skin conditions because of the high salt content of the air. You don't have to miss out on the benefits of salt therapy even if there is no natural or built salt room in your area. Today you can already buy various salt therapy devices for home use.

Salt therapy room in a natural salt cave. You need to stay a long time in the “good air” – Turda, Romania

A salt cave in your home?

Yes! Today you no longer need to travel or spend a lot to enjoy the beneficial air of salt caves. You can also produce it at home with the SaltDome salt therapy device.

How does salt therapy work?

In the lungs, the salt particles attract water by osmotic action. As a result, mucus viscosity can decrease, meaning it becomes less sticky. Its clearance can become easier and the lung's self-cleaning can improve. Deposited pollutants and pathogens can also be expelled with the mucus.¹

Mucosal swelling may decrease as well, which can relieve congestion and make breathing easier. Research suggests that salt therapy can positively influence mucociliary clearance and lung function in patients with chronic respiratory disease.¹

Watch my video about salt therapy and its applications.

Who is salt therapy recommended for?

Because of its mucolytic and anti-inflammatory effects, salt therapy can help relieve symptoms on its own in mild cases of colds or allergies. When used for prevention, it can reduce the frequency of infections or flare-ups.²

For acute and chronic illnesses, use it as a complement to medical treatment! It can support medical therapy and help the recovery process.

Support for upper airway allergies

If you've been to the seaside, you may have noticed that hay fever raging at home often eases significantly within 2–3 days at the beach. All this happens almost imperceptibly!

Adjunct therapy for lung diseases

Salt therapy can be used as a complementary treatment alongside medical therapy for many respiratory diseases such as COPD, cystic fibrosis, colds, and influenza.

A 2022 review study reports that salt therapy may have beneficial effects for patients with chronic respiratory diseases.¹

Conditions in which salt therapy may be beneficial:

COPD, cystic fibrosis, acute bronchitis (alongside medical treatment)
Chronic sinus and frontal sinus inflammation
Hay fever, allergic rhinitis, respiratory allergies
Colds, influenza and other respiratory viral infections
Smokers' cough, breathlessness
Snoring
Eczema, psoriasis, neurodermatitis

When NOT to use salt therapy?

Salt therapy is a natural method and is safe for most people. However, caution is advised in some cases, or starting salt air therapy is recommended only with the treating physician's agreement:

Severe, untreated high blood pressure
Acute respiratory infection, fever
Severe COPD (GOLD IV) or respiratory failure (due to higher humidity)
Active tuberculosis
Coughing up blood
Severe heart or kidney disease
During chemotherapy
Open wounds

My advice: If you have severe chronic heart, kidney or lung disease, talk to your doctor before starting salt therapy!

What about blood pressure?

Many worry that inhaling salty air will raise blood pressure. It is important to know that the amount of salt inhaled during salt therapy is minimal and it does not enter the body through the digestive tract, but acts on the airway walls. The amount of salt inhaled, even after hours, is in micrograms — negligible when diluted in your roughly 5 liters of blood.

Also consider that millions of people live near coastlines breathing such salty air continuously, yet this alone does not cause high blood pressure or other diseases.

When can you expect beneficial effects?

Salt particles reach different depths in the lungs depending on their size. Only salt particles smaller than 5 micrometers can penetrate deep enough into the lungs to have a meaningful effect.

You can expect the best effect if you spend several hours a day in the salt vapor. In most cases this is best achieved at night while sleeping. During the day you usually come and go and do not stay in one place. If you are not in the saline vapor, you will not experience the effect.

Which device do I recommend?

I consider the SaltDome ultrasonic salt therapy device the most effective. The microscopic salt particles (2–5 microns) produced by ultrasonic nebulization can reach deep into your lungs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often can salt therapy be used?

For a beneficial effect, it is worth inhaling the salty air continuously and regularly. The ideal method is 2–6 hours a day in the saline air.

Is salt therapy safe for children?

Salt therapy can be used for young children as well. Again, think of people living near the sea — from newborns to the elderly they breathe such air all day without problems.

Studies have examined its effects in children and found favorable results.

Salt therapy or steroids?

Salt therapy acts much more slowly than steroid nasal sprays. Salt therapy does not replace drug treatment but can complement it.

Sources

Barber D, et al. (2022). Halotherapy for Chronic Respiratory Disorders. Alt Ther Health Med, 28(3):52-56. PubMed
The use of halotherapy for children. Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult, (2):31-5. PubMed
Bar-Yoseph R, et al. (2017). Halotherapy as asthma treatment in children. Pediatric Pulmonology, 52(5):580-587. PubMed
Lazarescu H, et al. (2021). Halotherapy in the Management of Asthma. Children, 8(11):1022. PMC: 8623171
Rashleigh R, et al. (2014). Halotherapy for COPD. Int J COPD, 9:239-246. PubMed

Important note: This article is for informational purposes and does not replace medical advice. Salt therapy is intended to complement medical treatment. Individual results may vary. In certain conditions (e.g. severe high blood pressure, active infection, severe lung disease, chemotherapy) salt therapy is recommended only after medical consideration. Always consult a doctor for your complaints.

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