Salt Therapy – sharing a journey to better health.
Salt is one of nature’s greatest and versatile minerals and a prized commodity for millennia both for its healing ability and for the seasoning, preservation and curing properties in food and its use in cleansing and managing wounds and balancing electrolytes. Humans are approximately 0.4% salt and it is essential for health – too much and also too little salt intake can be detrimental to health. However, this natural presence of salt in all of us means that exposure in a therapeutic capacity is very well tolerated and noted to be beneficial.
There is a lot written on using Salt Therapy with multiple research articles presented and many concluding that health benefits are experienced by users but also identifying that further research is needed. As a health professional and an academic, research and understanding how and why things work is important to me. My own trial experiences and deep dive into references to Salt Therapy led me to convince my family that this was what was needed for my own health to progress and also for the health of my community. We live in a community blighted by the impacts of respiratory illness and allergies with some of the highest rates of asthma, respiratory related hospital admissions, chronic respiratory conditions in both children and adults, in the country. Many researchers have observed this and studies are easily located across Health New Zealand, Asthma Foundation, Allergy Foundation and multiple medical and allied health journals.
My story is not uncommon. As a child I grew up with asthma, significant allergies and frequent visits to general practitioners, emergency departments and I was frequently distressed by a chronic wheeze and sinusitis. Luckily for me I was also very sporty and no amount of angst would stop my participation in sports and in particular swimming. To keep me active and well, antibiotics and steroids plus inhalers both preventer and reliever were accompanied by nasal sprays, sinus rinses and in spring and summer by antihistamines and in equal measure by seasonal misery. As an adult I experienced several bouts of pneumonia, the worst requiring ten days hospitalisation the mildest two or three night stays all resulting in my lung function continuing to deteriorate and my reliance on medication and a crisis response approach by both me and doctors.
In 2018 after another stay in hospital for pneumonia, a CT scan, specialist referrals and the usual steroid, antibiotic and increased inhaler cocktail, I discovered dry salt therapy – quite by accident. Casually looking at Grab One deals one afternoon; I saw Salt Therapy being offered in Auckland. Curiosity and the statements that it could improve respiratory function, relieve persistent coughing (of which I was struggling post hospitalisation of many months) and help with allergies were bold and my curiosity and the nurse in me were very interested. The lights came on and I started a journey to changing my life (and that of others), quite literally.
All the information is out there about Salt Therapy and as a health professional I would encourage anyone looking at trying something new to improve their health to do their research, and this also includes what treatments are offered by general practitioners and other members of the health workforce.
The purpose of writing this is not to offer a summary of available research on Salt Therapy, as this is all readily available on the internet, but more about sharing my journey and that of a few of those who have joined me so far. After attending the Auckland based Salt Therapy facility for several sessions, I was pleased to see (and pleasantly surprised) that my cough had nearly gone, the cough was certainly not as productive and I was sleeping and breathing easier – particularly through my often blocked up nose. I convinced my husband, in excellent health but for the occasional bout of beer-related snoring that he should experience Salt Therapy. He duly attending each of the clinics offering Salt Therapy based in Auckland for some research and comparison and returned stating he could understand and ‘got’ what I was talking about. Both of us were open to the use of complimentary therapies in conjunction with what was offered by general practitioners but agreed that this Salt Therapy made perfect sense for me with the properties of salt being antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and having the effect of thinning mucus and minimising the immune response. That set our family on a journey to source what we would need to offer this service to the community and a long story short with some investment from us, other family members and a lot of hard work we opened Mind, Body and Salt offering Halotherapy or Dry Salt Therapy to the community in June 2019. At this time, we were phoned by a customer who had seen an article written about how we had transformed a once-brothel into a health and wellness centre with a small mention of Salt Therapy. This customer was drawn to inquire about Salt Therapy as she had a lifetime of chronic respiratory illness – bronchiectasis and was exhausted by her persistent cough, infections and ill health. This client now calls the Salt Therapy room her “happy place”. With good reason, the room is low lit, calm with gentle relaxing music and after forty minutes relaxing in a recliner clients emerge feeling relaxed and breathing easier. At the same time we two ‘regulars’ were joined by several other people who had much the same history and symptoms and all equally having a negative impact on our health and wellbeing. More than just impacting us as individuals, we were a worry to our families and loved ones, often kept awake due to coughing and our poor health, keeping us company at doctor or emergency department visits and generally leading to a sense of helplessness and fear being felt by the whole family.
My results since commencing regular Salt Therapy in 2019 are gratifying and I am happy to report that my use of steroids and antibiotics is practically zero over the past four years (I had steroids during chemotherapy treatment) and even with two cases of COVID I did not require any other treatment. I no longer use antihistamines or nasal sprays to breathe through my nose and a recent CT scan shows that the nasal polyps I was diagnosed with in 2018 prior to nasal surgery no longer exist. I am in no way ‘cured’ of anything and I still see my general practitioner six monthly and take my preventative inhaler twice daily. In the same way medication only offers management of asthma symptoms or allergy symptoms. Salt Therapy is not a cure but does a wonderful job of managing the symptoms I once had. Now my symptoms are controlled naturally and easily without the need for a cocktail of medications any longer. I breathe easier, breathe through my nose, can exercise without reliance on inhalers and sleep better, no longer have a productive cough or snore nearly so bad (reportedly).
Ask me or any of our clients if they thought they would survive lockdowns or COVID infections and they are likely to tell you that before Salt Therapy they would have probably been hospitalised with significant complications and their families worried they would likely have died. Clients and customers come and go but for the ones that have kept me company of this journey so far and are committed attendees continue to experience the benefits of regular Salt Therapy. All of us report less reliance on a crisis response to respiratory conditions, no hospitalisations, significantly less treatment with antibiotics and steroids and overall health and wellbeing has improved due to better sleep, less coughing and a feeling of relaxation and confidence in respiratory health. Family members express their gratitude regularly for they are the ones who see the results most.
That journey is ongoing with my husband now working full time at Mind Body and Salt and enjoying sharing my experience and that of our VIP (Vastly Improved Pulmonary) clients. The investment of time, energy and money both by us, our family members and friends has resulted in many members of our community experiencing better health and for that we are so grateful. As a nurse, it is the most gratifying aspect of my career.
We want everyone who has ongoing similar experiences to us to benefit as well. Salt Therapy is safe, effective and suitable for virtually everyone – it’s worth giving it a go, just as we did over five years ago. My ongoing requirements now for Salt Therapy after getting my respiratory system back to good health which took about six weeks of regular 3 weekly sessions, is about one session every 2 or 3 weeks.
My general practitioner is a good testament to my health improvements as at last visit she noted that now she hardly ever sees me!
The savings made on medications, doctor visits and over the counter treatments more than covers what customers would have spent on Salt Therapy. That accessibility in health factor that I teach about – if clients or customers cannot afford Salt Therapy then we are happy give this gift of health complimentary or for koha. Read the research, we have links on our web page www.mindbodyandsalt.co.nz and experience the health benefits. If the stories resonate with your own health journey or that of a family member or friend come and try the Mind Body and Salt Therapy experience.
Our Values (Whanonga pono)
These values are the Directors own personal values that we wish to extend in our business dealings both within our team, clients and wider business community. Our expectations are that the team will acknowledge their own personal values but also those of Mind, Body & Salt.
- Whanau – acknowledging the essence of family and the importance of whanau and friends to our own health and sense of wellbeing
- Tika – to do the right thing and doing it when not being observed, being courageous, acting with integrity and honesty, seeking to be fair and just and advocating for those with need.
- Aroha – to act with good intent, to be compassionate, sympathetic and benevolent. To follow one’s heart to the right decision.
- Hauora – being well, an absence of disease or sense of illness. Holistic wellness incorporating not just the physical or Taha tinana whereby our physical bodies are not the only measure of health but is fundamentally linked to other health dimensions. For example Taha hinengaro or mental health, acknowledges that our thoughts and feelings contribute to our sense of wellness. Taha wairua or spiritual wellbeing recognises the significance of our spiritual essence and how this impacts on our life force. Taha whanau or an understanding that whanau or connections to people contribute to our sense of health and wellbeing.
- Ora – life, vitality and health, to be healed or to be in a state of wellness.
Our Nana
Our Nana used to swear by the benefits of salt – treating sore throats and minor wounds or just to breathe in the salt air was good for the soul. Nana was a believer in the benefits of salt – the sea or the sea air could cure nearly anything that troubled us and she was usually right – her natural, pragmatic approach invariably worked or at least it helped. Nana lived by the sea her whole life and believed in a natural approach to health and wellness and that a salt environment supported well being.
People who frequent salt rooms and those who seek alternatives to a growing reliance on antibiotics and a move away from what nature provides probably would agree with Nana. The remedies used by Nana were what is referred to as wet salt therapies and can be found in saline nasal rinses, throat gargles, contact lens solutions etc. Even swimming in the ocean could be considered wet salt therapy.