They say that if you descend into a mine for four hours for ten days in a row and breathe air saturated with sodium ions there, then bronchial asthma and other diseases of the respiratory tract recede. And if such a procedure is carried out once a year for 3 years, then these diseases go away for good. These are the unique medicinal properties of the Slanic Prahova salt mine, the largest in Europe.
The mine is 208 meters deep and consists of 14 trapezoidal halls 54 meters high.
Instead of turning this mine into a first-class hospital and treating half of Europe in it, they are content with old and primitive equipment that remains from the days when salt was mined in the mine (1936-1970). Descent into the mine is carried out on an antediluvian elevator, which can hardly accommodate eight to ten people. Shaking and creaking (which is pretty frightening), he lowers visitors into the bowels of the earth.
The mine has a constant temperature of 12 degrees and an incomparable specific smell is felt, apparently due to the presence of the very sodium ions. In one of the halls there is an interesting museum of salt sculptures (the author is the sculptor Justin Nastaz). Bust of the Dacian leader Decebalus - the leader of the resistance to the Roman legions Trajan.
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The polished walls of the shaft are similar to marble. Here you can have a snack with your own food. We have not seen any "official" cafe or buffet in the mine. There are a lot of children among the patients.
Speleotherapy is a method of treating diseases of the respiratory system, through a long stay in the microclimate of natural karst caves, salt mines, traversed mine workings of salt, metal and potash mines.
Speleon - translated from Greek means a cave.
The essence of the method lies in the effect on the human body of natural healing factors characteristic of the microclimate of caves and due to the geophysical location and chemical composition of the rock of this massif. All underground speleological hospitals, being in different climatic and geographical zones and having different microclimate parameters (temperature - from 12 to 24 degrees Celsius, relative humidity from 10 to 100%, aerosol concentration from 0.1 to 20 mg / m-3, its respirable fraction from 50% to 95%, air ionization from 500 to 20,000 ions per cm-3, etc.) have the same treatment efficiency.
Caves can be completely different: grottoes, mines, natural formations in the rock mass and in the layers of edible rock salt, but regardless of the rock, there is an increase in the immune-hormonal status of the human body. From this it follows: speleotherapy involves the cure of diseases through strengthening the protective properties of the body, i.e. not the disease itself is treated, but the cause of its occurrence.
How is the treatment in the salt caves?
Before going to the caves and after visiting them, doctors conduct a thorough examination of the patients. First of all, the pulse and blood pressure, respiratory rate, vital capacity of the lungs are measured, then the results obtained are compared with the previous ones. In caves (adits), patients, covered with warm blankets, lie or sit quietly. The time spent in a particular cave is different and depends on the depth of the cave, pressure, temperature and concentration of salts in the air.
Indications for treatment in salt caves
Treatment in salt caves is useful for patients with respiratory diseases and asthma. It is believed that during one treatment course in the salt caves, all bacteria in the nasopharynx cavity are destroyed and the condition of patients with bronchial asthma improves. In the salt caves, they treat bronchial asthma, chronic catarrhal inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, emphysema, and chronic pneumonia. It is possible to treat diseases of the cardiovascular system and blood vessels, metabolic disorders and diseases of the digestive tract. It is also possible to treat rheumatic diseases, diseases of the joints and the spine.
Why is staying in salt caves useful?
There are practically no allergens in the cave. When pathogens, pollen or other substances that cause allergies enter the cave, they settle on its walls. In addition, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air of the cave is slightly increased, which makes breathing easier for patients with asthma. With an increased concentration of carbon dioxide, the respiration center of the medulla oblongata and chemoreceptors in the walls of blood vessels are activated, the exchange of gases in the lungs and the oxygenation of arterial blood improve. Due to the specific air pressure, temperature and relative humidity, the condition of patients with respiratory diseases is improved.
Treatment in the microclimate of salt caves is contraindicated for patients suffering from various phobias, especially claustrophobia. Also, treatment is contraindicated in patients with certain forms of heart failure, angina pectoris, acute infectious diseases and epilepsy.
Where to get medical treatment in the salt caves?
When choosing a resort for patients with bronchial asthma, it is necessary to take into account not only the climatic zone in which the resort is located, but also the season, taking into account the contrast of meteorological conditions and the time of flowering.
The effectiveness of treatment is influenced by the season, as well as the form of bronchial asthma. The greatest effect is obtained by resort treatment of atopic form in autumn - 96.7%, and the smallest in summer - 86.8%, with infectious-allergic form, treatment is most effective in summer - 88.3%, and least effective in spring - 79.1%. With the mixed form, the greatest effect occurs in autumn - 92.6%, and the smallest in spring - 76%.
It is inexpedient to refer patients with bronchial asthma living in sharply continental zones to southern resorts in the fall, since their return to their place of permanent residence is fraught with exacerbation due to contrasting climatic conditions and a reduced ability to readaptation. Also, short courses of spa treatment, which are so popular today, are inappropriate.