THALASSOTHERAPY

'Thalassotherapy' (from the Greek word 'thalassos', meaning "sea") is the medical use of seawater. The properties of seawater are believed to have beneficial effects upon the pores of the skin. Thalassotherapy was developed in seaside towns in Brittany, France during the 19th century.[1]
Trace elements of magnesium, potassium, calcium sulphates and sodium, found in seawater, are believed to be absorbed through the skin.
The therapy is applied in various forms, as either showers of warmed seawater, application of marine mud or of algae paste, or the inhalation of sea fog. Spas make hot seawater and provide mud- and seaweed wrapping services.
Popular with actresses such as Joan Collins and Jennifer Lopez [2], thalassotherapy is believed to ameliorate the effects of hypertension, arteriosclerosis, asthma, bronchitis, muscle atrophy, scabies, arthritis, etc.
Basic indications for the need of thalassotherapy are: arthrosis, inflammatory rheumatism; traumatism; cellulitis and obesity; gerontology; asthenia; vascular prostheses; the prostheses of the respiratory tract; gynecology; heart; sport medicine; the disturbance of the function of the thyroid gland; and also the problems, connected with the back, by cancer, by recovery, by teeth and by gums, by migraine. Basic contra-evidence for the thalassotherapy: patients with the pathologic heart diseases; suffering shortness of breath; infectious diseases; allergy to iodine; the disorder of the functions of the thyroid gland; skin diseases, with exception of psoriasis.
Several Maltese hotels nowadays provide thalassotherapy services.

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External links

External links

★ Thalassotherapy United Kingdom

★ New ager: thalassotherapy