Facts About the Dead Sea & Its Minerals:
The Dead Sea is a land locked lake located in
the Middle East, bordering Jordan from the West and Palestine and
Israel from the East. The Dead Sea is known from several facts being
the lowest point on earth as well as for the high salinity of its
waters. What makes the Dead Sea unique is that its waters are 7 times
more salty than any other lake or sea (33% salt concentration in the
water). Moreover, there exist some rare beautifying elements in its
minerals which are poorly present in other naturally occurring
substances.
Benefits of the
Dead Sea Minerals:
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Magnesium:
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Promotes healing of
skin tissue and provides skin surface with anti-allergic
element. Essential for cell metabolism.
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Bromide: |
Soothes skin,
relaxes body muscles, and tranquilizes nerves.
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Iodine:
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Important for the
correct functioning of thyroid glad and is an important factor
in the body's metabolic exchanges.
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Sulfur: |
A natural
disinfectant (constituent of certain vitamins).
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Potassium: |
A moisture
regulator maintains neutral environment in the skin.
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Calcium:
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A building block
for corrective tissue under the skin surface.
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Sodium: |
Relieves stiffness
and muscle cramps and maintains neutral environment in the skin.
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Zinc: |
A key factor in
enzymatic regulation of cell proliferation.
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Balneotherapy in dermatology.
Matz H, Orion E, Wolf R.
Dermatology Unit,
Kaplan
Medical
Center,
Rechovot,
Israel.
Balneotherapy and spa therapy emerged as an important treatment
modality in the 1800s, first in
Europe and then in the
United States.
Balneotherapy involves immersion of the patient in mineral water
baths or pools. Today, water therapy is being practiced in many
countries. Examples of unique and special places for balneotherapy
are the
Dead Sea in
Israel, the Kangal hot
spring in
Turkey, and the Blue
Lagoon in
Iceland. Bathing in
water with a high salt concentration is safe, effective, and
pleasant for healing and recovery. This approach needs no chemicals
or potentially harmful drugs. There are almost no side effects
during and after treatment, and there is a very low risk to the
patient's general health and well-being. Mineral waters and muds are
commonly used for the treatment of various dermatologic conditions.
The major dermatologic diseases that are frequently treated by
balneotherapy with a high rate of success are psoriasis and atopic
dermatitis. The mechanisms by which broad spectrums of diseases are
alleviated by spa therapy have not been fully elucidated. They
probably incorporate chemical, thermal, mechanical, and
immunomodulatory effects. The major importance of balneotherapy and
spa therapy both individually and as complements to other therapies
lies in their potential effectiveness after standard medical
treatments have failed to give comfort to these patients.
Bathing in a magnesium-rich
Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier
function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces inflammation in
atopic dry skin.
Proksch E, Nissen HP, Bremgartner M, Urquhart C.
From the Department of Dermatology,
University of
Kiel,
Kiel,
Germany.
Abstract Magnesium salts, the prevalent minerals in
Dead Sea water, are known to exhibit
favorable effects in inflammatory diseases. We examined the efficacy
of bathing atopic subjects in a salt rich in magnesium chloride from
deep layers of the
Dead Sea (Mavena(R) Dermaline Mg(46)
Dead Sea salt, Mavena AG,
Belp,
Switzerland).
Volunteers with atopic dry skin submerged one forearm for 15 min in
a bath solution containing 5%
Dead Sea salt. The second arm was submerged
in tap water as control. Before the study and at weeks 1-6,
transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin hydration, skin roughness,
and skin redness were determined. We found one subgroup with a
normal and one subgroup with an elevated TEWL before the study.
Bathing in the
Dead Sea salt solution significantly improved
skin barrier function compared with the tap water-treated control
forearm in the subgroup with elevated basal TEWL. Skin hydration was
enhanced on the forearm treated with the
Dead Sea salt in each group, which means the
treatment moisturized the skin. Skin roughness and redness of the
skin as a marker for inflammation were significantly reduced after
bathing in the salt solution. This demonstrates that bathing in the
salt solution was well tolerated, improved skin barrier function,
enhanced stratum corneum hydration, and reduced skin roughness and
inflammation. We suggest that the favorable effects of bathing in
the
Dead Sea salt solution are most likely
related to the high magnesium content. Magnesium salts are known to
bind water, influence epidermal proliferation and differentiation,
and enhance permeability barrier repair.
