Winter weather makes it tough for Megan Gilley to breathe easy. "Stuffed-up nose. Respiratory problems."
To help soothe the situation, Gilley headed to therapy - salt therapy. Also known as halo-therapy, the experience involves relaxing in a warm room coated with salt crystals while breathing in salt-infused air. Proponents say the particles help ease respiratory and skin conditions - everything from asthma and allergies to psoriasis.
Spa-Finder recently named the treatment a top trend. "We are seeing salt therapy all over the United States. You're going to see more and more salt spas pop up as time goes on," Sallie Fraenkel from Spa-Finder predicted.
Fraenkel says salt therapy first popped up overseas. "It has an ancient history and is rooted in eastern Europe. So, once upon a time, people in the Ukraine, for example, used to go below ground and breathe in salt caves to help all sorts of breathing disorders."
At modern above-ground spas like Aria, salt rooms often fill up fast, sometimes with people who just need some R&R. "It's very quiet in there. And we do have music piped into some very therapeutic, relaxing chairs," said Michelle Wilkos from Spa at Aria.
Gilley says her therapy sessions have been a mind- and sinus-clearing experience. "Just after 20 minutes, my sinuses feel better. I don't feel dry."
Dr. Leonard Bielory is with the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. He says it is possible for salt to provide some short-term relief. It's used in everything from I-V solutions to nasal washes. "When you add salt to any object or any type of tissue, what you do is pull fluid out of the tissue. So if you inhale salt, the theory is that you will take the mucus that is blocking the airway and make it more liquidy."
Bielory says it's important to remember that salt therapy is not a medical treatment. There are no clinical studies on it in the US and no standards for how modern-day spas are constructed. Still, Bielory believes it might help certain people.
"We need to define the population it would benefit and we need to know to define what type of environment they need to be in."
That's because, at certain concentrations, salt can actually irritate the airways. As far as skin conditions, the American Academy of Dermatology doesn't have a stance on salt spas. Experts advise patients to talk to their doctor and weigh the risks and benefits.
Gilley says she definitely feels the benefits, and her sessions are like a day at the beach, but without that sticky feeling. "I wouldn't say that you need to take a shower afterwards. Just freshen up, and you're good to go."
The cost for salt therapy varies, depending on location. Prices typically range from $30 to upwards of $100.
Keep in mind that salt therapy will not affect your sodium level. Breathing
in salty air is not the same as ingesting it.
