The History of Halotherapy and Saltrooms

Centuries ago, European monks noticed something interesting: when they treated respiratory ailments in natural salt caverns, their patients got better faster. The monks produced salt dust by grinding salt rocks against each other, which the patients then inhaled.

Dr. Felix Bochkowsky, the state authority for occupational health in Polish industry in the 1840s, saw the same thing was true with miners: while metal and coal miners battled relentless, deadly respiratory ailments, workers in salt mines were healthier than average people, let alone other miners.

In 1843, Dr. Bochkowsky published a book about the health benefits of salt dust. His successor, Mstislav Poljakowski, followed by establishing the first salt clinic near Krakow, Poland, which is still in operation today.

During World War II, salt mines in Germany were used as bomb shelters. During bombings, people often had to remain in the mines for extended periods of time, breathing in the salt dust. Upon leaving, many asthmatics were able to breathe much easier.

By the 1950s, scientific studies (primarily in the USSR) were proving how effective salt therapy is in treating respiratory ailments. Manmade, above-ground Saltrooms provided a controlled environment, and Halotherapy (from “halo”, Greek for salt) became a new option for respiratory treatment.

The first Halotherapy salt chambers opened in the 1960s in Eastern Europe. They were destination health sanatoriums and respiratory hospitals, paid for by the socialized medical system of those countries. As Halotherapy grew more popular in the 1980s and 1990s, health and beauty resorts throughout Europe and Scandinavia began to install Saltrooms and offer Halotherapy as one of their restorative treatments.

Halotherapy is finally coming to North America. Be the first in YOUR area to add a Saltroom to your spa, hotel, alternative medicine center, or build a stand-alone Halotherapy center. Contact us today to get started!

Saltroom by Polar Health
email | info@saltroom.com
phone | 509-998-4810