The science of salt
By Patricia Nugent
Your throbbing head feels like a bowling ball, your ears feel as if they’re stuffed with cotton, your nose is a faucet and you have haven’t taken a decent breath in days. Welcome to cold and flu season.
Rather than gulp down pharmaceutical relief and dive under the covers, recently people have discovered the healing benefits of salt therapy.
We caught up with Debbie Greenhouse, owner of The Himalayan Cave, A Salt Therapy Spa in Mentor to find out more.
Q: How did you become interested in salt therapy?
A: I was getting shots monthly to control my asthma. When my insurance stopped covering them, I was distraught. I told my husband I probably wouldn’t live another 10 years.
Then one morning on Good Morning America, they did a segment on salt therapy and how it helped respiratory issues. I started researching and found out it’s actually not a new treatment, but one that dates back to 12th century eastern Europe. People would visit natural salt caves to heal their ailments, including chronic respiratory issues and skin conditions, allergies, asthma, colds, flu, anxiety and depression.
So, I decided to give salt therapy a try. I found a place in Youngstown that offered it. My husband and I went. Before I went into the chamber I could blow an inch on my breathing monitor. After I came out I could blow four inches and felt much better. We talked about buying one for our home. Then as we waited there and saw people coming out and raving about how it made them feel, we thought it would be great to bring salt therapy to our area.
Q: Tell us about what it was like to build your cave?
A: We hired a firm of workmen from Poland to build it, and it took about a month. They imported salt from Pakistan and constructed the cave, which is 10 feet tall. It looks very much like the natural caves in Europe, carved from salt rather than earth, with glowing floors and walls of salt, and stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
A machine called a halo generator grinds Himalayan salt into super fine micro particles and wafts them into the air. We wanted to heighten the spa experience for our customers, so we have them sit back in zero gravity chairs, snuggled in blankets, and give them a warm ball of salt to hold or rub on their necks while in there for a 45-minute treatment.
In addition to the salt cave, we reconfigured a separate Scandinavian sauna into a salt booth, with pale wood slats, upper and lower wood benches and a glass wall. Perfect for individuals, or small groups of people, using the same halo generator, salty air is wafted into the chamber.
Q: What is the science behind salt therapy?
A: Salt molecules are comprised of a positive sodium ion and a negative chloride ion bound together that break down when exposed to heat and moisture. When you breathe in the salty air of the therapy room, salt molecules enter the moist airways of your lungs and stimulate the respiratory and skin systems.
I had such amazing results with the sessions, I also wanted people to keep the feel-good benefits going at home too. In addition to the cave and booth, I set up a shop in the front of our spa with salt lamps and sculptures, as well as edible gourmet Himalayan salts.
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The Himalayan Cave, A Salt Therapy Spa is conveniently located within an industrial plaza at 9130 Tyler Boulevard in Mentor. Packages and gift certificates are available. Reiki services, massages and facials are also available within a suite at the spa. Hours are Tuesday-Friday, 11:45 a.m.-7:00 p.m.; and Saturday, 9:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information, visit TheHimalayanCave.com or call 440-290-0999.