The use of salt as a healing ingredient appears in some of the oldest medical scripts. The ancient Egyptians refer to the use of salt for the treatment of an infected chest wound. The belief was that salt would dry out and disinfect the wound. The ancient Egyptians had many salt formulations for making laxatives and anti-infection methods using salt. Salt-based remedies were also used for callous skin, epidemic diseases, to check bleeding, as an eye ointment, and to accelerate childbirth.
Both sea salt and rock salt were well known to the ancient Greeks who noted that eating salty food affected basic body functions such as digestion and excretion (urine and stools). This led to salt being used medically. The healing methods of Hippocrates (460 BC) especially made frequent use of salt. Salt-based remedies were thought to have expectorant powers. Salt-water was used externally against skin diseases and freckles. Hippocrates also mentions inhalation of steam from salt-water. We know today that the anti-inflammatory effects of inhaled salt provide relief from respiratory symptoms. Thus, 2000 years ago, Greek medicine had already discovered topical use of salt for skin lesions, drinking salty or mineralized waters for digestive troubles and inhaling salt for respiratory diseases!
The Greek doctor Galen from Pergamon (129–200 A.D made use of salt (sea salt, rock salt, salt foam) in recipes against many diseases: infectious wounds, skin diseases, callosities, digestive troubles. His list of salt-containing remedies also included emetics and laxatives.
The School of Salerno (11th -13th Century A.D.) mentions the use of Powdered and roasted salt was said to have a pain-killing effect and rock salt was considered to be a good remedy against fever.
The doctor and alchemist Paracelsus (1493–1541 A.D.) believed that Only salted food could be digested properly: "The human being must have salt, he cannot be without salt. Where there is no salt, nothing will remain, but everything will tend to rot." He recommended salt water for the treatment of wounds and for use against intestinal worms. A hip-bath in salt water was a superb remedy for skin diseases and itching: "This brine - he said - is better than all the health spas arising out of nature." He described the diuretic effect of salt consumption and prescribed salt preparations of different strengths that were used for instance against constipation.
The pharmacists of the 19th century recommended external application in cases of rash and swelling and, in ophthalmology, to drive off stains and stain-obscurations of the cornea.
In 1860, in eastern Bavaria, a sodium chloride solution was used as a compress against inflammation. Further west, inflammations of the belly button of children were washed with salt water. Warts were removed by spreading the juice of a snail that had been sprinkled with salt. Hot foot-baths containing salt and ashes were used to alleviate headaches. Burns were treated with brandy, vinegar or salt water.
Our journey through history has revealed that the antiseptic action of salt on the skin and mucous membranes has been known for a very long time. Scientific studies have now confirmed the effectiveness of salt therapy in several indications. The antiseptic and bactericidal qualities of dental salt (sea salt) help remove plaque, which is a cause of gingivitis and cavities. Salt is being increasingly used as support treatment for skin diseases. Chronically inflamed skin is treated with medical bath salt from the Dead Sea or table salt. The salt peels off dandruff, reduces inflammation, itching and pain, and helps regenerate the skin. Salt-baths are frequently used to treat psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, chronic eczema as well as arthritis.
Salt can be used as an additive especially in body care products (ointments, shampoos, gels, washes and body lotions). According to modern scientific research, salt does indeed have weak disinfectant properties when applied topically.
Salt is considered to be particularly useful in chronic skin diseases such as psoriasis.
Medicinal use tended to emphasize the positive aspects of salt, e.g. prevention of putrefaction, reduction of tissue swelling, treatment of diarrhea. Evidence was also available to ancient peoples of its relationship to fertility, particularly in domestic animals. The history of salt thus represents a unique example for studying the impact of a widely used dietary substance on different important aspects of man's life, including medical philosophy.
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