Has anyone tried this? A friend of mine sent me a link to it, saying that it was shown on daytime TV, and one woman who used it for about 10 minutes a day was able to reduce her inhaler usage as her asthma symptoms were much improved.
I've just ordered one as I'm at the end of my tether. Recently added Salmeterol doesn't seem to be working for me at all. Yesterday I got my lowest PF reading ever, and my chest is still constantly tight, and not seeing my doc again for another week.
There is some debate about salt pipes.
Basically it is salt which would losen up secretions in the lungs!
Through using nebulised saline I would be cautious as nebbed normal saline makes you cough and is used to help bring up gunk in your lungs.
It can also cause bronchospasms, though I am not saying that the salt pipe will do the same but be careful.
Whatever you do , please don't reduce or stop any treatment without consulting your GP.
Complementary medicines can have their place but you must consult a GP and also remember some medicines can be just as harmfull or have side effects , interactions with main stream medicines.
A correctly certified class IIa salt inhaler is actually a medical device, with clinical trials, risk assessment, technical file etc..
Whatever you do, do NOT buy a pipe from Sims Saltpipes. I had safety concerns about a pipe I ordered from them. The pipe was low quality, with clay chipping off on the inside of the pipe, so bits of it would be breathed in if used. So far for credible certification. Contacted them. They agreed to issue a refund if I sent back the pipe. I sent it back, paid for postage myself. They acknowledged receipt of the pipe, said the refund would follow shortly. The money never came. I contacted them numerous times. They either did not reply or (when pressed on the phone) said now was not a good time, that they had financial difficulties, that the refund would follow. The refund never came. They are liars and thieves and do not genuinely care about our health. Do no trust them; all they are in for is a quick buck, taking advantage of those in need of help.
Kitandra,
We cannot see you on this forum and cannot tell how poorly you are etc, this said however if you are as poorly as you say ie - lowest ever peak flow reading and constantly tight chested you are in need of specialist medical help!
Please go to A and E, call an emergency doctor or dial 999.
It can be worrying for people on the forum to read that people are acutely unwell as we cannot see you!
That said I do hope you get sorted soon, please get help and get better soon
Lv KitKat Xx
Just to clarify an important point that both Kate and Kat have made - please, PLEASE see your GP/asthma nurse/consultant BEFORE you use the salt pipes. They are not suitable for everyone and may even cause more harm than good.
Thanks for your concerns everyone. I did ring my doctor today, just after I posted this thread, and got an appointment for tomorrow. I will discuss the salitair with him before I use it. I also discussed the acupuncture that I'm having for asthma with him before I went ahead.
glad your getting sorted kitanda. Take care and let us know about the salt pipe thing! Lv kat Xx
Excellent - and if your doctor okays the salt pipes, do please let us know how you get on with them.
I've read good reviews on the salt pipes for asthma, will be interested to see how you get on. I've had good results using a sinus rinse system, that works in a similar way.
If the GP doesn't sound to enthusiastic to your suggestion, don't worry, I suggested trying a humidifier, and got some strange reply, but went ahead and done it with results for me to prove it works, but do bear in mind what works for one person may not for another, so if you do try a salt pipe, keep taking your medication, and stop using the salt pipe if you get worse, both are important points to remember.
Hi there Woody,
I also use a sinus flush thingy - the netipot - and it's worked wonders for the mucis that gathers there even if I don't get a cold. I find I can sometimes head off an asthma attack if I breathe slowly and deeply through my nose, which I can't do if it's blocked, so have found my netipot invaluable.
Regarding the Salitair, it should arrive tomorrow, but at the moment I'm not going to use it. I want to get my asthma under control first.
I'm all for complimentary therapy (different to alternative therapy) and would never stop taking prescribed medicines in favour of something like the Salitair. But if it works in conjunction to make it so that I don't have to use my preventer so much, that's great.
I'm seeing my doc again in 2 days so will mention it then.
Salt inhalers are actually class IIa medical devices that conform to the MDD/93/42/EEC. The only UK manufacturer being simssaltpipes.co.uk.
Salitair however have NO certifcation and use class I, therefore they cannot make medical claims on websites,boxes,advertising etc. They are not allowed to sell the salt along side the inhaler! Plastic pipes are also not certified due to bio compatibility and like for like equivalence 10.4 annex MDD .
DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST.
Whatever you do, do NOT buy a pipe from Sims Saltpipes. I had safety concerns about a pipe I ordered from them. The pipe was low quality, with clay chipping off on the inside of the pipe, so bits of it would be breathed in if used. So far for credible certification. Contacted them. They agreed to issue a refund if I sent back the pipe. I sent it back, paid for postage myself. They acknowledged receipt of the pipe, said the refund would follow shortly. The money never came. I contacted them numerous times. They either did not reply or (when pressed on the phone) said now was not a good time, that they had financial difficulties, that the refund would follow. The refund never came. They are liars and thieves and do not genuinely care about our health. Do no trust them; all they are in for is a quick buck, taking advantage of those in need of help. Notice the capslock typing in their post here. No respect whatsoever.
Again, as a moderator, I am duty-bound to point out:
If your GP recommends NOT doing something, under NO circumstances should you ignore this advice and go and do it anyway! They don't spend years of training so that they can be ignored. If you disagree with the decision (and GPs are human and can make mistakes), get a second opinion from - for example - another GP at the same surgery BEFORE proceeding.
That is all 
Most GPs have tunnel vision and only work to guidelines. If salt therapy was explained correctly to a GP there are no reasons what soever why they wouldn't tell their patient to try the therapy. Of course the inhaler must come from a reputable manufacturer with the correct class IIa certification in place..
Please, please be careful.
Saline given by inhalation can cause bronchospasm (tightening of the airways) in a few people. Some on these boards do use saline nebs to loose mucus and to help them expectorate, but they are not commonly used in asthma management due to their potential to cause bronchoconstriction.
There are usually good reasons behind the caution advised when trying any kind of unregulated therapies.
If you’re looking for in home Salt Therapy, I recommend checking out the Salin Plus Salt Therapy Device.
Here’s a link to their website: /salin-plus.com/
Whatever you do, do NOT buy a pipe from Sims Saltpipes. I had safety concerns about a pipe I ordered from them. The pipe was low quality, with clay chipping off on the inside of the pipe, so bits of it would be breathed in if used. So far for credible certification. Contacted them. They agreed to issue a refund if I sent back the pipe. I sent it back, paid for postage myself. They acknowledged receipt of the pipe, said the refund would follow shortly. The money never came. I contacted them numerous times. They either did not reply or (when pressed on the phone) said now was not a good time, that they had financial difficulties, that the refund would follow. The refund never came. They are liars and thieves and do not genuinely care about our health. Do no trust them; all they are in for is a quick buck, taking advantage of those in need of help.
Salt Pipes?!
Salt lamps
Salt therapy 
Dry powder inhalers irritation 
