Have you ever been to a salt room? What, you may ask, is a salt room? True to its name, a salt room is a room encased with blocks of Himalayan salt. Not only are the floors and walls composed of salt, a ventilation system actively pumps salt into the air. This specially designed machine ensures that microscopic salt particles circulate throughout the air so that they can be deeply inhaled.

The skeptic might point out that too much salt can be bad for you. But while it is true that excessive salt in a diet can be deleterious to your health, salt rooms have proven to have beneficial effects on the health of both adults and children. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, as many as 50 million people are affected by nasal allergies. In addition, many suffer from psoriasis, rosacea, and eczema. Salt therapy is a gentle, natural solution that helps control the symptoms of these illnesses.

I have benefited many times from visiting a salt room. I occasionally suffer from bronchitis so, as soon as I feel I’m getting sick, I head to the salt room. This effectively reduces both the length of my illness and its severity. During a typical 45-minute session, clients must wear disposable booties or socks to walk on the deep layers of mineral-rich Dead Sea salt on the floor. With the lights dimmed and soft music playing in the background, I have always found my sessions relaxing and restorative. I enjoy my time spent there!

Salt is a natural anti-inflammatory mineral. It helps reduce swelling in the nasal passages, which gives relief to those who suffer from respiratory ailments, allergies, asthma, bronchitis, or sinusitis. Salt’s antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties also work to reduce skin swelling and itchiness—all without drying the skin. Also, breathing the salty air offers relief for many ailments by increasing lung capacity and improving blood circulation.

Here is a list of the ailments that can benefit from salt therapy:

• Asthma
• Allergies
• Chronic ENT illnesses (ear-nose-throat)
• Bronchitis
• Frequent colds
• Allergies to industrial and household pollutants
• Hay fever
• Smoker’s cough
• COPD
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Pharyngitis
• Sinusitis
• Rhinitis
• Tonsillitis
• Snoring
• Sleep Apnea

Although children’s lungs are not fully developed until the age of about nine, children as young as three months have responded quickly and effectively to halotherapy. If your child suffers from any of the ailments listed above, consider setting up an appointment for them. The children’s salt room has toys for them to play with as they breathe in the therapeutic, salted air.

As always, check with your family doctor before using any holistic healing treatment or supplements. Remember that our Lord is a God of healing, “Behold, I will bring … health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them an abundance of prosperity and security” (Jeremiah 33:6).