Omeath treatment clinic worth its salt
December 30, 2010Saltclinic has experienced phenomenal success since it opened for business in Omeath in mid-May of 2010, so much so that the directors will open a second clinic in Belfast early next year. Salt therapy is a new treatment in Ireland, which alleviates a whole host of respiratory problems and skin conditions including asthma, sinusitis, hay fever, cystic fibrosis, bronchitis, COPD, ear infections, colds & flu, coughs, eczema and psoriasis. It can also help smokers to clear their lungs of toxins.
But the benefits of the treatment are not limited to sufferers from these soul-destroying conditions. It has also been discovered that salt therapy is of tremendous benefit to the healthiest people in society - athletes and sportspeople - as it increases lung capacity and therefore improves stamina levels and recovery times. To this end, the hour-long treatments at Saltclinic have been availed of by Down footballers Ambrose Rogers and Dan Gordon, with the service currently being rolled out to many other club teams in the Louth / Down area. Director Roddy McQuaid is particularly delighted to be able to provide this service as he is a GAA man himself, having served the local club Cuchulainn Gaels as chairman for three years.
The effectiveness of salt therapy is clinically proven and the treatment is 100% drug free and natural, suitable for all age groups. The first, introductory session is offered free of charge, with reasonable rates then available thereafter for block bookings of one-hour sessions. Normally, five or ten sessions will be recommended, depending on the symptoms or conditions being treated.
So, how does salt therapy work? During treatment, a microclimate like in a natural salt cave is simulated. A saline dispensing unit, which is classified by the European Council as a Class 1 medical device, releases negatively-ionized dry aerosol micro particles of salt into the room. The temperature, humidity and salt concentration in the air are monitored. The surfaces of the treatments rooms are covered with natural salt which attracts water molecules, maintaining a stable hypoallergenic, hypobacterial environment throughout the session. A modern air exchange system ensures that after each treatment the air is completely extracted and replenished.
While the patient breathes normally, he/she inhales those micro particles which can enter the upper airways and the lungs. The salt has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. This helps to reduce the inflammation and bacteria growth, breaks and shifts mucus so that the patient can cough it up and get it out of his/her system. The airways get cleared and cleansed. With each subsequent session this process happens on a deeper level to gradually reduce and alleviate the symptoms.
Patients can remove themselves from the brouhaha of everyday life, relax into the tranquillity of the room and simply breathe in the goodness, achieving a total detoxification of their system. There are two treatment rooms at Saltclinic, Omeath - one for parents with children and one for adults. Young children must be accompanied by a parent, who will have free access to the treatment room. Additional children will only be charged half price.
The three directors of Saltclinic Ireland are Roddy McQuaid, Seamus McQuaid and Jana Stalghberg. The former notes: "We held our grand opening on May 14th and started business the following day. I came up with this idea as two of my sons were pretty bad with asthma and we saw amazing results after bringing them for treatment to a salt clinic in Maynooth. I thought it would be a good thing to bring to the North East. My kids have been off their inhalers since the therapy and are even playing football and it has completely changed our lives as a family. I knew it was an extremely effective treatment so we sourced the machinery and equipment in London and set the clinic up here in Omeath.
"Salt therapy basically means that we recreate the climate of a salt mine. These clinics are very popular in eastern Europe, where there is one in every town. They found that people who worked in salt caves never had any breathing problems or coughs, so it was clear that the salts were helping their respiratory systems. In a salt clinic, we recreate the conditions of these salt mines and we can control the temperature and humidity during the course of a one-hour session, where a patient will breathe about 1,000 times and the salts will get right down into the deepest part of their lungs and sinuses and clear everything out. After all the mucus is cleared out, it starts to work on the inflamed areas. The treatment has proven beneficial effects for people with respiratory problems and skin conditions."
Naturally, as the treatment is so effective, it has been very well received: "Business is going brilliantly," confirms Roddy. "We had a very successful summer season, with a lot of hay fever treatments, and we're now into the cold weather and business is still brisk - so good that we're opening the new clinic in Belfast next February.
"We're also getting more and more involved in the sports area. A lot of rugby league players use a salt clinic in London and it was because of this that Down captain Ambrose Rogers started to come here during the summer. He had some small respiratory problems but also wanted to look at the recovery-time benefits; after salt therapy, you can train longer and harder. Former Tyrone footballer Jody Gormley, who's now teaching at Abbey Grammar in Newry, is interested and is sending some of his students down. An athlete at peak performance can still get his lung capacity up by a few percent and this treatment is ideal for anyone who's looking for the 1% or 2% improvement in performance that's achieved when the lungs can absorb oxygen quicker. By getting more oxygen into the muscles, the body will work better. Even a 1% improvement in recovery time can make a massive difference over the course of 70 minutes."
With each salt room able to hold ten people, Saltclinic can accommodate groups, with discounts available when the room is hired at a group rate. You can contact Saltclinic Ireland at 042 9375689 or visit www.saltclinic.ie. Tweet
