SPELEOTHERAPY DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA ON THE WORLD CONTEXT AND PERSPECTIVES FOR USE OF SOME SALT MINES AND KARST CAVES FOR SPELEOTHERAPEUTIC AND BALNEOCLIMATIC TOURISM PURPOSES

Abstract

Speleotherapy (ST) is a relatively new method of complementary medicine, although, as is well known ancient tribes appreciated isolation in underwater caves, salt or karst caves, or possessing various ores and was officially recognized in the years 1950-1960 in Germany (K.Spannagel, 1961) and Poland (M. Skulimowski, 1965). Professor Mieczyslaw Skulimowski has granted of speleotherapy in Wieliczka Salt Mine, the name of subterraneotherapy, soon to be also called the Skulimowski method. Number of speleotherapeutic centers and speleotherapy symposiums has increased considerably (H.Trimmel, 1994). Speleotherapy in the underground now is an effective therapeutic method for the treatment of obstructive respiratory tract diseases, especially of patients with bronchial asthma (BA), the upward and effective practice in Central and Eastern Europe, but also in the West: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary etc. In the World, known about 60 underground salt and other mines, carst caves used for ST or are under experimental study to evaluate the possibility to be used for speleotherapy, including: Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Ukraine, Romania and other countries. In salt mines with 9-24 °C temperature operating 15 speleotherapy centers, 34 in karst caves with 9-18 °C, and 4 centers in thermal caves with temperatures higher than 24 C (Iu. Simionca et al., 2005). In the last twenty years ST occupies an important place in salt mines mines and carst caves with different parameters: Wieliczka, Poland; Solotvino / Slatina, Ukraine; Bad Bleiberg, Austria; Klutert Hohl, Germany; Zlate Hory and Cisarska Cave, Czech Republic; Bystrianska Jaskyna, Slovakia; Tapolca Seehohle, Hungary; Unirea Salt Mine Slanic Prahova, Romania and will occupy a significant place the Turda Salt Mine, Cacica, Tg. Ocna, and Praid salt mines from Romania (Iu.Simionca et al., 2006, 2009). Is of scientific and practical interest formation in world of new directions in the treatment of the most common and severe allergic diseases asthma, namely the use of underground environmental factors in order to reduce human outcome of the action of environmental allergy. In this context, the use of salt mines and caves as natural therapeutic factors also known as speleotherapy, is a special scientific interest, a perspective direction in the areas of health and environment. Today speleotherapy is known as the therapy of patients with various diseases in the underground salt mines and caves possessing natural therapeutic factors (Iu.Simionca et al., 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009). Analysis of the speleotherapy domain status allowed to establish that use saline or cave underground natural environmental factors which own curative properties for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with certain diseases, often