JERUSALEM — Derech Hamelach, a network of 14 salt-room treatment centres throughout Israel, recently launched its newest facility, a speleotherapy (salt room therapy) clinic and research and development centre on the campus of Hadassah Ein Kerem’s Jerusalem BioPark.

The new treatment centre, Israel’s largest speleotherapy clinic, will be operated by Breathewell Ltd., the proprietors of another clinic in Modi’in.

In the nine years since Derech Hamelach opened the doors of its first salt room in Haifa, 13 additional facilities have been launched across the country, including treatment centres in Ra’anana, Petah Tikva, Be’er Sheva, Akko and Eilat.  

As a result of the speleotherapy treatments, thousands of patients have found relief from respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sinusitis and chronic ear infections.  

“We are delighted to be opening our newest branch at the Jerusalem BioPark on the campus of Hadassah Ein Kerem, a world-renowned research institution and the top research hospital in Israel,” said Jonathan Kestenbaum, co-founder and managing partner of Breathewell Ltd. and chairman of Derech Hamelach.

“Our hope is that our proximity to and affiliation with Hadassah will lead to major advances in the research, and ultimately the treatment, of respiratory diseases.”

Speleotherapy is a natural respiratory remedy whereby dry salt aerosol is passively inhaled in a specially constructed salt room, or “speleochamber.”  The therapy – popular in Russia and eastern Europe –  involves breathing in microscopic salt particles that act as a natural disinfectant, accelerating mucus clearance and improving lung function while killing harmful bacteria and soothing the respiratory system.

Though speleotherapy is currently seen as a treatment for “sick people,” Derech Hamelach hopes that its salt rooms will begin to attract individuals without respiratory conditions who see regular treatments as a quick and effortless way to keep their lungs healthy and strengthen their immune systems –  keys for healthy living.