Andrew Zinnes, fatigued and frustrated by his ongoing breathing difficulties, traveled to Wieliczka, Poland to a salt mine clinic that has been operating since 1964. Below is his very entertaining and well-written account of the experience, which appeared in
Men's Journal on April 23, 2009. Andrew was so delighted with the results of salt cave therapy that he eventually found us here in Los Angeles, saving him another trip down the mine shaft!
Deep Cure for Asthma
When all else fails, two weeks in a Polish salt mine can help you breathe again.
By Andrew Zinnes (photo credit: courtesy of Wieliczka Salt Mine)The Last Straw
Superman had kryptonite. Samson got a haircut. Me? Dust mites. Those little scourges have made me asthmatic for the past 10 years — irritating my breathing, leading to countless sinus infections, and causing two episodes wherein I passed out from coughing. They limit the amount of exercise I can do at the gym and make me think twice about playing a game of pickup soccer. But worst of all, they curb the amount of time I can run around the house with my young daughter.
I’m not alone in my suffering. According to the Mayo Clinic, asthmatics are one of the fastest-growing medical demographics in the U.S., with roughly 20 million people afflicted in 2008.
Irritants are all around us. Everything from cold air to cat dander can send an asthmatic’s immune system into overdrive, producing histamines (natural chemicals your body uses to fight off outside intruders — instigating the itch in your lungs) and causing your bronchial tubes to swell and constrict.
Antihistamines, antibiotics, and two sinus surgeries provided me some relief, but nothing stuck. Finally, after I woke my wife up at three in the morning with a coughing fit one night — again — we had both had enough. The next day, after some Google searching, she told me that she had found my next vacation: two weeks 440 feet below the ground in an old salt mine in Wieliczka, Poland.
The Science
In 1958, Polish professor Mieczyslaw Skulimowski realized that our lungs and sinuses respond well to the cool, damp air in salt mines, also rich with sodium, magnesium, and selenium. He opened the first mine treatment center at Wieliczka in 1964, and it has been going strong ever since. Magnesium, it was discovered, prevents the spasms that provoke asthma attacks by keeping the smooth-muscle lining of the lung from contracting. Selenium is an antioxidant that studies have shown breaks down leukotrienes, compounds that irritate sinuses and lungs (similar to what the asthma drug Singulair does). And salt is a natural antibacterial agent, which can help prevent sinus and chest infections from spreading.
“After one treatment, patients report needing less medicine,” said Dr. Jolanta Czerwik, one of the physicians at the Wieliczka mine. “After two trips, research shows a 70 percent improvement, and after a third, asthma generally goes into remission.” When I asked her how it works she told me that “the body can only heal so much, so fast. It gives your immune system a chance to catch up. Afterward your body is trained to deal with your natural surroundings.”
My allergist back home, Dr. Robert Eitches, was also encouraging. “Being in a pollutant-free environment for a long period of time generally would be good for the lungs and sinuses,” he said.
I was desperate, so that was all the convincing I needed. The next thing I knew I was being herded into a cagelike elevator and shot into an 800-year-old mine.
The Treatment
My new subterranean digs felt a lot like a luxury spa, making my 14-day treatment downright pleasant. One room featured a relaxing pool with a waterfall fountain, and one of the dining rooms, the Jan-Haluszka Chamber, was adorned with three huge crystal chandeliers and had hosted several foreign dignitaries including former president George W. Bush.
But on my first day I quickly learned that getting well inside the mine is very similar to training for a marathon. “The air is the answer, so we must get as much of it through you as possible,” my instructor Marzena Boron insisted. For six and a half hours, the other eight patients and I were shuttled from yoga class, where we learned stretches that caused us to use our diaphragms rather than our chest muscles to breathe, increasing breathing efficiency; to treadmill-jogging; and then aerobics, which pumped gallons of the special air through our lungs in seconds.
The treatment seemed to be working. My postnasal drip disappeared, I never felt like coughing or sneezing, and while my lungs remained somewhat raspy, I never had problems with exercises that would have killed me aboveground. But I was most impressed with the results of my peak flow test, which measures how many liters of air I push through my lungs per minute. For my height and age, I was told that 545 is a good number (at home I typically score between 250 and 275). My average inside the mine, taken over the two weeks, was 355. Once I even broke 400.
For the first few weeks after returning to smoggy Los Angeles, I felt great, and my doctor noticed a 20 percent increase in my breathing capacity. If it lasts, I’m seriously considering going back next year for round two, if just to keep from waking my wife at 3 a.m.
Stats and Info
WHAT: The Wieliczka mine is one of only a handful in the world treating lung, ear, nose, and throat conditions. In 1978 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
WHERE: Ten miles south of Krakow, Poland
HOW MUCH: A typical 17-day treatment costs $550, not including meals or accommodations. Starting at $1,700, the facility will provide four meals a day and lodging at one of the area hotels (kopalnia.pl).
This article originally appeared in the May 2009 issue of Men’s Journal.
A recent article on The Kid's Doctor website, written by Dr. Sue Hubbard, links the use of acetaminophen (Tylenol) with the rise in asthma in recent years. It's not the first study to point out this connection, which shows that the use of Tylenol during pregnancy increased the risk of children developing asthma and wheezing. Here is the entire article:
