I usually remind my patients that asthma is not just wheezing, but having to live knowing each breath. I understand this since I have been walking with a lot of people who are afraid of their chest tightening up at night or the sudden burst during the pollen season. What impressed me the most, though, was the fact that relief could be found in a very deep place underneath the earth.
At the moment when I first entered a salt mine underground, I did not notice how quiet and cool the air was, and how there were no irritants at all. Being a doctor, I am conditioned to seek controlled trials and data, but I cannot overlook what I have witnessed: patients breathing easier, coughing less, getting a reprieve that could not always be given by the power of medication.
Why Asthma Leads Us Underground
Once I consider asthma, my thoughts tend to go to how the patients report their world to be smaller than others, capped by the weight of each breath. I have witnessed the relief that inhalers provide, but I have also witnessed the disappointment that occurs when another attack recurs.
That is why some of us started to peep under the ground, to some places where the air is not full of allergens, smoke, or any other sudden changes in temperature. I once took a patient down into a salt mine underground, and I could see how his breathing became smoother, not so much through medicine, but through the mere air that appeared to be of a different nature, uniform, pure, and soothing to the inflamed breathing.
I am a doctor, and I do not substitute science with stories, but I cannot help but notice what I have seen. Asthma compels us to find relief in whatever quarter we may have it, and with this urge occasionally leads us to the underground, where the earth itself appears to hold out a hand.
How Salt Mines Calm the Asthmatic Breath
I usually request my patients to listen to their lungs’ reaction in various settings. I understand why this is important in the sense that asthma is a disease that is sensitive to the drugs used as well as the air that we inhale. The difference was not hard to perceive when I first entered a salt mine underground; the air seemed cleaner, colder, and much more consistent.
One of the patients near me started to breathe in a more regular rhythm; his or her wheeze was also becoming less intense as though their lungs were not so overloaded. I suppose that it occurs due to the reduced number of allergens, constant humidity, and fine particles of salt that line up irritated airways, which are typical of the microclimate of the underground.
But I do warn, it is not a treatment, it is an encouraging environment that allows the asthmatic lung a rest from day triggers. I, as a doctor, cannot deny having seen that salt mines can replace inhalers, but they can soothe the breath in a way that medicine is unable to achieve.
What Asthma Patients Discover Below Ground
I have frequently taken patients down into underground salt mines, and there, what they find astonishes even themselves. I understand this because most of them come in with a lot of anxiety and anticipate no more than another effort at getting relief. However, as the hours evolve, they start perceiving a silent repositioning, breathing is becoming less stressful, the chest is not tightening as fast, and the air appears to be drawn in more easily.
One patient informed me that she did not know that you can feel silence in the lungs, and I knew what they meant. The underground environment is dust-free and free of pollen, and sudden changes provide asthmatic lungs with an exceptional opportunity to rest. I cannot say that all the patients will experience it, but as a doctor, I cannot disregard these recurrent experiences. What asthma patients find down below is never magic, but how the body is responding to air that carries less of a burden, and that finding is worth investigation.
Medicine and Mystery
I can talk about asthma, and most of the time, base my arguments on science, lung function tests, medication schedules, and clinical guidelines. I do that because medicine is evidence-based and not narrative-based. However, the moment I enter an underground salt mine with my patients, I am torn between medicine and mystery.
I can see their wheezing settle, their breathing deepening, and their anxiety dropping, without administration of any new drug. I am not sure whether it is the purity of the air, the humidity thereof, or the tiny atoms of salt. I cannot yet describe all the details, and to me, that is a challenge as a doctor.
Nevertheless, I keep in mind that medicine usually comes before it is explained. What is being seen as mysterious today may be the accepted treatment tomorrow. To the victims of asthma, the underground salt mine is located at this point, somewhere between science and mystery, and in a way, all about seeking the breath.
Rethinking Asthma Beyond Inhalers
Inhalers are the center of my practice whenever it comes to the treatment of asthma, and it is right because they save lives. I believe in them since they bring medicine into areas where it is required. However, I also meet patients who do not cope, despite the most optimal treatment plans.
That is why I started reconsidering asthma outside inhalers. I recall once taking a patient down into an underground salt mine and using it, rather than substituting a medication. Their breathing became less of a struggle, not that the medicine was more powerful, but that the atmosphere was even reassuring.
The calm air, the fact that there were no allergens, and the fact that there was no noise all contributed. As a doctor, I will not recommend dropping inhalers, but I would question us as to whether we can broaden our conception of care. Occasionally, it is not only about the medicine that controls asthma, but also about the place and the manner in which we breathe.
Conclusion
When I consider my patients with asthma, I understand that the healing process does not always run in a straight line with medicine. I say this because I have seen the lungs open more freely in the depths of an underground salt mine than in the sterile air of a clinic. But I also keep myself in mind that this path has to be taken with care, science, and hope hand in hand. I think the earth has secrets that we are just starting to unlock, and in the case of asthma, the salt mine under the ground could be one of its most amazing endowments.
The material was prepared with the assistance and informative support by Olha Lemko, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor at the Medical Faculty of Uzhgorod National University, who has valuable experience in the scientific substantiation of speleotherapy and its practical use for treatment of patients with bronchopulmonary diseases in the conditions of Solotvino salt mines (Transcarpathia, Ukraine).
The material was prepared with the assistance and informative support by Olha Lemko, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor at the Medical Faculty of Uzhgorod National University, who has valuable experience in the scientific substantiation of speleotherapy and its practical use for treatment of patients with bronchopulmonary diseases in the conditions of Solotvino salt mines (Transcarpathia, Ukraine).
FAQs
Why would someone with asthma go into an underground salt mine?
Due to the presence of stable air in the microclimate underground, a decrease in allergens, and the existence of small particles of salt, which can be useful in calming down irritated lungs.
Can salt mines replace inhalers for asthma?
No, because as a doctor, we remind patients that inhalers are still necessary. Salt mines are not a substitute for medical treatment but an addition; that is, a supplement.
What makes the air in an underground salt mine different?
It is clean, cool, consistent, and may be devoid of pollutants, pollen, and sudden alterations in humidity or temperature.
Are underground salt mines safe for everyone with asthma?
Generally, the answer is yes, but patients who have severe, unstable asthma or other medical conditions are advised to consult their doctor first.
Do underground salt mines work for both children and adults with asthma?
Yes, but children can do it faster as lungs are very sensitive to environmental changes.
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