Halotherapy - benefits and risks

Salt has been used for millennia in different parts of the world by different cultures because of its health benefits and therapeutic effect. Halotherapy is a dry salt therapy that is provided in environments, with special equipment called a halogenerator. In the last decades halotherapy has gained the trust of more and more people around the world and has been spreading quickly in many countries. The positive results from the therapy last for more than a year. The possibility to combine it with other physical therapy methods, as well as with pharmacological therapy, makes halotherapy a treatment of choice in mild and moderate forms of bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive bronchitis, post-pneumonia states and various other respiratory and skin diseases. The insignificant side effects, together with the conduction of this treatment in a cosy environment, have a beneficial effect on the psycho-emotional state of adult patients and children.The aim of the article is to reveal the benefits of halotherapy as an alternative method for treating pulmonary and skin diseases and some other conditions. Technology and application method are mentioned as well as main therapeutic factors, the positive effects, contraindications for its application and some side reactions that may occur during treatment