The therapy originated in salt mines centuries ago, when it was noticed that workers suffered no respiratory conditions.
Today it's being used to treat asthma and a range of skin conditions.
Salt room therapy has been around since the sixteenth century. Back then, Polish miners dug out and spent time in special salt mines to clear their lungs after work.
More stories from Today TonightIn the 21st century it's a worldwide magnet for those with breathing problems desperate for a cure, and the mines are now a health resort.
In Poland and Estonia, Russia and Romania salt therapy is a registered part of the medical systems.
When Cheryl Borchert discovered a salt room had opened in Australia, she hoped she could be helped to breathe easy, having battled chronic bronchitis and pneumonia for years.
“I couldn't sleep laying down. I had eight or nine pillows behind me sitting up, and if I tried to lay down I was gasping for breath,” she said.
“It disappoints me to hear doctors give negative responses to it because I think they need to try it, or at least speak to some of their patients that have done it. I've told my doctor I do it, and he said if it helps, well that's good. I don't think he knows too much about it, but for me it works, and I'm not taking extra drugs.”
David Linsday saw the healing effects on his sick father in Dublin and quickly opened Salts of the Earth in Australia.
“My father had completely changed as a chronic sufferer of asthma, COPD and bronchitis. The difference after salt therapy, and the difference after three or four sessions, was just unbelievable,” Linsday said.
During sessions, machines grind up pharmaceutical salt to a fine dust that is then dispersed into the room and inhaled.
“What the salt then does is it naturally draws fluid to it, so therefore it helps relieve the inflammation of the airways. It then naturally breaks up all the congestion,” Linsday explained.
The therapy is also used to treat skin conditions like eczema.
Salt therapy has Therapeutic Goods of Australia approval, but Linsday is now pushing for a Medicare rebate.
Boris Carli turned to salt room therapy to help his six-year-old daughter with her asthma.
“We were very surprised after about eight or ten sessions it pretty much eliminated her condition completely, so she's fit as a fiddle now,” he said.Salt therapy rooms are popping up in tune with their popularity. Linsday has now opted to expand, using a franchise model to cope with demand.
But Dr Charles Mitchell of the Asthma Foundation has reservations.
About two million Australians suffer with asthma, most are children. Dr Marshal Plit of St Vincent’s warns parents to maintain their children's mainstream medication when dealing with respiratory conditions.
Contact details- Asthma Foundation - www.asthmafoundation.org.au
- Salts of the Earth - www.saltsoftheearth.com.au
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