Salt therapy for COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

August 31, 2019
COPD is a condition or disease which makes it hard to breathe. COPD is described as a blockage to the airflow in and out of the lungs. This particular disease is caused due to damaged lungs for many years which usually results from smoking and chemical exposure. COPD is also caused as a result of breathing dust, chemical fumes and polluted air. However, there are two types of COPD.

1. Chronic Bronchitis - This will cause the air channels to the lungs to get inflamed, form mucus around the bronchial tubes and makes it hard to breathe.

2. Emphysema - A healthy person will have tiny air sacs in the lungs which will act like a balloon as he/she breathes in and out. When he/she is affected with emphysema, these air sacs will get affected and lose its stretch as a result of which very less amount of air is sucked in. Eventually, this will cause shortness of breathe 

Causes for COPD

Smoking - The predominant cause of COPD is smoking. In India, almost 85% of COPD cases are due to smoking.

Chemical exposure - Many people get affected with COPD due to the chemical exposure in their workplaces such as coal mining, cotton textile industry and gold mining and certain chemicals like isocyanates and fumes in the welding industry. People who work in these industries are observed with the development of airflow obstruction. Note that even non-smokers have had this problem. 

Air pollution - Many studies have reported that people who live in large or metropolitan cities have a higher rate of COPD. 

COPD will only get worse over the years and its associated damaged can't be reversed or rejuvenated. However, any further damage can be controlled with preventive measures. And reportedly, Salt therapy is found to be an effective way to control the COPD. Salt therapy caters much-needed relief and eases the breathing.

How does Salt therapy control COPD?

Salt therapy is clinically proven to mitigate the respiratory problems and aids in flushing out the toxins and dust in the lungs. The minute dry salt crystals which are purged into the air during the salt therapy will help to cleanse the respiratory system. And the salt used in salt therapy has the following properties:

1. Removes toxins and pathogens 
2. Anti-inflammatory
3. Antibacterial
4. Reduces IgE level
5. Alleviate the excess mucus and facilitate the mucociliary transport

These minute salt crystals will get absorbed deep into the lungs and those salt particles will treat the damaged tissues. Some cases show that the symptoms are subsided when salt therapy is taken a course for a year. Many people who are suffering from the COPD tend to have traditional medications, oxygen treatment and even lung transplants may not be sufficient. But many COPD patients experienced positive result after the salt therapy sessions over time. 

The main reason why most of the people find salt therapy as an effective treatment for COPD is that the salt thins the mucus formed as a result of smoking or chemical exposure. In addition to it, the dry salt crystals used in salt therapy have innumerable healing properties that cleanse out the entire respiratory system and expedite the elimination of toxins and pathogens in the lungs. By thinning and loosening the mucus, the salt therapy will eventually reduce the coughing frequency. Its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties aids in flushing the toxins and pathogens.