Salt Lamp Dangers You Should Be Aware Of
In the past few years, salt lamps have blown in popularity due to the many health claims it made. In fact, advocates of these salt lamps claim they can help you sleep, boost your mood, soothe allergies, and clean the air in your home. However, there are questions whether there are any merits in these claims. This article will explore the dangers of salt lamps you should be aware of.
What are Salt Lamps?
Salt lamps or Himalayan Pink Salt (HPS) lamps are large chunks of Himalayan salt with a light bulb inside. They are carved from pure Himalayan salt crystals. They emit a pink warming glow when lit. The salt in the lamps come from the Himalayas – stretching about 1,500 miles across Nepal, Bhutan, India, and Pakistan. True Himalayan salt comes from the Punjab region of Pakistan in the western side of the Himalayan Mountains. Salt sourced from these areas are believed to be millions of years old. Although salt lamps are quite similar to table salt, the small amounts of salt in it give it the pink color.
Why Do People Use Them?
Many people buy salt lamps because they enjoy the ambiance created by the pink light or the way they look in their home. On the other hand, other people find their supposed health benefits enticing.
How Do Salt Lamps Work?
They are believed to be beneficial to the overall health because they are “natural ionizers”. This means they change the circulating air electrical charge. Ions carry a charge as they have an unbalanced number of electrons or protons. When there is an alteration in the atmosphere, they are naturally produced in the air. For example, heat, natural radioactivity, storms, waves, and waterfalls all produce air ions. Also, they can be artificially created by commercially produced air ionizers.
Salt lamps are said to produce ions by attracting the water particles that evaporated as a salt solution when the lamp is heated. However, this theory hasn’t been tested yet. It is currently unclear whether salt lamps produce enough ions or any at all.
Do the Health Claims of Salt Lamps Stack Up?
Himalayan salt lamps make three main health claims.
They Improve Air Quality
Often, it is claimed salt lamps improve your home’s air quality. They are specifically advertised as being beneficial for people with asthma, allergies, or diseases affecting the respiratory function like cystic fibrosis. However, no evidence currently suggests that using salt lamps can improve your home’s air quality and remove potential pathogens. The claim that it may be beneficial to people with respiratory conditions is partly based on the practice of halotherapy. This therapy is said to benefit people with chronic respiratory conditions as they can spend time in salt caves because of the presence of salt in the air. Yet, it isn’t clear whether it is effective or safe for people with respiratory conditions. Additionally, tests on air ionizers have not been shown yet to improve respiratory functions or benefit people with asthma.
They Can Boost Your Mood
This is another frequently made claim about salt lamps. Studies in animals have shown that exposure to a high level of negative ions in the air can improve the level of serotonin. Yet, studies in humans investigating the claims regarding air ionization’s psychological effects found no consistent effects on feelings of wellbeing or mood. However, it was found that people with depressive symptoms reported improvements in their mood when exposed to high levels of negative ions. Nevertheless, the researchers found that the link was not dose-related. This means the dose people receive couldn’t explain the mood improvements. So they questioned whether the link was casual. Furthermore, it is quite unlikely that Himalayan salt lamps could expose people to the high number of negative ions that were used in these studies.
They Can Help You Sleep
Currently, there have been no studies that have examined the effects of salt lamps on sleep. However, a review of air ionization effects on sleep and relaxation did not find any beneficial effect evidence. So, even if Salt lamps affect the air environment it is not clear if this would affect sleep patterns. It is possible using the dim light from a salt lamp may help promote sleepiness if used to replace the bright electric lights. This is because studies have shown that bright light before bed can delay the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. However, this is not specific to Himalayan salt lamps, and this theory is yet to be tested.
Possible Danger of Salt Lamps
The following dangers are inherent with the use of salt lamps you should be aware of before buying one.
Salt is Corrosive
Salt lamps are poor choices for placement in high humidity environments, such as the bathroom. Salt is a hygroscopic substance which means it absorbs water. So as the salt lamp sweats, water that is salt-laden collects around the base. This corrodes the surface upon which the salt lamp is resting. You should never deploy a salt lamp without a base, especially in the basement, kitchen, or bathroom.
Salt Lamps are Heavy
The weight of salt lamps ranges from 5 pounds to more than 50 pounds. Generally, the heavier a salt lamp is the more expensive it is. The larger crystals disperse more negative ions and more light and are more expensive to ship – the reason for the extra cost. Salt lamps can be asymmetric because they are hand-sewn. If yours has a poorly carved base or is top-heavy, it can easily fall. The larger a salt lamp the more dangerous it can do to your child or pet who may upset the surface on which the salt lamp is sitting inadvertently.
Electrical/Fire Hazards
Most salt lamps come from parts of the world where safe electrical practices may not be enforced. Many of these lamps come to the market with a lamp holder and an electrical cord loosely installed in a hole in the crystal’s base. Apart from the fact that the air inside the salt lamp is filled with corrosive salt that can be damaging to electrical parts, this arrangement makes changing the lamp quite difficult. You risk breaking the bulb as you have to pry the holder out of the salt lamp. Substandard lamp holders can also cause fire hazards. Fire and electrical dangers are casual and related in nature. Not only does salt melting on an exposed lamp holder cause damage to the lamp holder and cord but can also cause it to spark with the risk of fire. Recently, over 80,000 salt lamps were recalled by the United States Consumers Safety Commission (CPSC) because of overheating.
Salt Lamps can Break
Salt lamps color ranges from white to deep red; the color of pure salt is white and minerals impart the reddish hues – mostly iron. Minerals also reinforce the salt crystals besides imparting color. The crystals can shatter and are brittle without the minerals. Often, white salt lamps are advertised as those with the purest vibrations but you need to know they are the most fragile.
Dangers for Young Children
If you place the salt lamp at a height that is easily accessible by your children, it can pose a danger to them. They might not lick it but you never really know what your children might get up to when you are not there. For instance, too much salt intake may lead to gastric problems and in certain rare cases, it can even lead to seizures in young children. Because of their weights, salt lamps can also be a falling hazard.
Dangers for Your Pets
Your pet’s life could be in danger if you have a salt lamp in your home. This is especially true for dogs and cats because it can cause salt poisoning. These pets are curious creatures and may lick off the salt. Although salt isn’t deadly for them, the recommended daily intake is 16.7 mg. If they exceed this recommended daily intake, they may accumulate too much fluid, vomit, have diarrhea and seizures, or even fall into a coma and die.
Feng Shui
You shouldn’t worry about this “risk” unless you are a believer of Feng Shui. For esoteric, salt is believed to be a great cleansing agent which removes any negative energy or bad vibes in a room. Feng Shui practitioners, however, have misgivings on these salt lamps as they don’t possess salt’s cleansing power. They even claim salt lamps soak up positive energy which is why people feel “tired” after staying in a place where a Himalayan salt lamp is turned on as opposed to being “sleepy” and “relaxed”. Also, Feng Shui practitioners believe salt lamps are drying which makes people feel lethargic and despondent. Feng Shui practitioners will find the Quan Yin Schumann Frequency Generators a healthy alternative to salt lamps.
Other Common Myths and Misconceptions
Though these are not exactly dangers, there are several ‘dangerous’ myths and misconceptions surrounding the use of salt lamps you should be aware of.
Lowering Blood Pressure
Himalayan salt may be good for the overall health but it does not substitute any of your prescribed medications, especially if they are for blood pressure. Currently, no scientific literature has proven Himalayan salt can lower blood pressure. In fact, too much salt intake can cause a rise in blood pressure.
Bone Strengthening Ability
There is also no scientific study that proves Himalayan salt can strengthen the bones. If you ever come across any blog claiming such benefit, know that it is a myth.
Blood Circulation & Acid Reflux
Similarly, Himalayan salt has not been found to be a treatment to improve blood circulation or an effective cure for acid reflux. Although pink Himalayan salt has its positive effects on your overall health, you should take the more outlandish claims with a grain of salt.
Alternative to Salt Lamps
Orgonium is a healthy alternative to these harmful salt lamps. It produces negative ions and energies to counteract the positive ions present in the air. Orgone devices transform Deadly Orgone Energy into Positive Orgone Energy by the action of organic and inorganic components while feeding this back out. While the organic materials absorb and attract the Deadly Orgone Energy, the suspended metals change its polarization and then shoot it back out by a repulsion action because of their differing polarities. The effects of Orgone Generators include better sleep and vivid dreams, improved mental clarity, and a sense of well being among others.
Installing a Geoclense Orgone Generator will help transform the Positive unhealthy Ions in your home to only Negative healthy Ions. You can also use Orgone Schumann Domes, although they are not as powerful as the Geoclense Orgone Generator. The Geoclense is more effective because it can magnify itself once connected to your Earth stake and electrical wiring to cover the entire property. Whereas, the Orgone Schumann Domes will only cover an area of 40 – 80 meters.
