Written February 25th, 2017
To whom it may concern:
For the past five years, I have been a certified respiratory therapist, and have specialized in home care for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients since June of 2012.
I work in the patient’s home to perform chest physical therapy (CPT or Chest PT), which is an airway clearance technique that helps remove mucus from the lungs. CPT uses chest percussion (clapping on the chest and back) to loosen the thick, sticky mucus that CF produces in the lungs, so it can then be removed by coughing or huffing. I also listen to breath sounds and check for oxygen levels in the blood, both before and after therapy.
Cystic Fibrosis is a chronic, inherited condition that forms and accumulates mucus in the lungs, which causes the patient to cough a lot and have difficulty breathing. Unclogging the airways is the key to breathing better and getting more oxygen into the lungs.
One of my patients is an 18 year old young man. I have been caring for his health since October of 2012. I visit his house twice a day, morning and night, to do CPT. My therapy has helped keep him healthier in conjunction with respiratory medications, but CF is a very aggressive lung disease and can have many health complications. For the past few years, repeated lung infections and allergies leading to post-nasal drip have been the biggest complications for my patient.
My patient’s mother is always seeking natural, alternative methods to improve her son’s health. She discovered Halotherapy, a.k.a. Dry Salt Therapy, and wanted to give it a try due to the many health benefits it brings to the lungs. As a Respiratory Therapist, I know salt to be one of the most important healing minerals for patients with respiratory conditions (CF, COPD, Asthma, Bronchitis, etc…). Dry Salt Therapy allows for the natural properties to be more potent in absorption of moisture (mucus). Combined with its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, salt will absorb allergens, toxins and foreign substances in the lungs and can permeate the epidermis to also help with skin conditions. As it happens to be, one of the respiratory medications we use to treat CF is inhaled hypertonic saline. Hypertonic saline is a treatment using wet salt combined with a chemical solution to clear the airways. So, the concept of being inside a Salt Booth or Salt Room where my patient can be inhaling micronized particles of pure sodium chloride without any chemical solutions sounded like a wonderful idea.
At the beginning of February 2017, my patient got sick with a lung infection and post nasal drip. He was coughing all day and feeling very ill due to allergies and nasal congestion. After my patient experienced multiple Dry Salt Therapy sessions, I noticed an improvement in his breath sounds with stronger and cleaner air flow in his lungs. One month later and after repeated sessions, the family bought a Multi SALT Booth® for daily use in the comfort of their home. The morning after he was in the Multi SALT Booth®, his coughing had stopped, breath sounds improved by 70%, and his sinus drip was clear. I was very pleased to see him improve so quickly, since it typically takes weeks to achieve this result!
After about a week of Halotherapy, I started listening to a much stronger airflow combined with rhonchi, which is the sound of the movement of secretions in the airways. This was great news! The fact that I was able to hear those sounds was an indication that the tiny particles of salt inhaled by my patient were reaching all the way down into the lowest area of his lungs, breaking up and hydrating the thick secretions that were blocking his airways in order for the body to expel them. Now, his breath sounds are even all throughout the lungs and not just in the upper area. I immediately let the mother know my assessment and told her with certainty how I noticed the Multi SALT Booth® sessions increased fast recovery time. The entire family is beyond happy with the results and have made this a daily regimen, they wish they knew about Dry Salt Therapy sooner.
In the 5 years I have been treating my patient, his lower lobes have been the most affected area with very diminished and sometimes absent breath sounds. This means that the airflow in those sections of the lungs is very poor due to excessive build up of thick secretions that result in clogging the airways. I am so happy to report that 8 months later, my patient has an increased positive change in breath sounds on his lower lobes, reduction of related congestion in his nasal passages, and reduction of related congestion in his upper airways since he has been sitting in the Salt Booth every day. As a teenager, he is happily enjoying more physical activity and sleeping better with an improved quality of life. Needless to say, Mom is just thrilled beyond belief. I highly recommend anyone with CF or other respiratory conditions to consider Dry Salt Therapy to improve their lung function and quality of life.
Sincerely,
Ana Cruz Carrillo
Certified Respiratory Therapist
Leo Tonkin, with a decade of deep expertise in salt therapy, initiated SALT Chamber, a leading entity in the domain of salt therapy products and decor. As the inaugural Chairman of the Salt Therapy Association and Chair of the Respiratory Wellness Initiative from the Global Wellness Institute, he has played a pivotal role in broadening the accessibility and recognition of salt therapy globally. His commitment to developing advanced technology and educating the public on the benefits of salt therapy has solidified his position as a key figure in the industry, enhancing its credibility and trustworthiness.
