Salt and pep: The re-energising power of seawater

Our appreciation of the healing powers of seawater dates back thousands of years to when the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans discovered the medicinal properties of saltwater.

In the mid-1800s, a French medical student named Joseph la Bonnardière formed the concept of thalassotherapy – the therapeutic use of seawater – followed by the discovery by a French biologist in the early 1900s of the positive effects of seawater on human blood plasma. Over a century later, thalassotherapy remains internationally renowned for its therapeutic and restorative powers in strengthening the body’s immune system.

"The main reason for it is re-energising," says Dr Christian Jost, a French radiologist who designed Ireland's first treatment centre at the Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa in West Cork 20 years ago. "As the population is aging people want to maintain their wellbeing. There's nothing more natural than using sea water."

The water used in thalassotherapy centres is pumped from the sea at high tide and heated to 31 degrees, which enables the pores in our skin to open up and absorb the salty nutrients. The benefits of swimming in this hot water include pain relief for back aches, arthritis and rheumatism, and improved cardiac strength.

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To mark two decades of seawater treatments at the hotel, Inchydoney Island Lodge is offering visitors a two-night bed and breakfast deal with complimentary access to the centre’s thalassotherapy pool and thalasso spa treatments.

The “Happiness Comes in Waves” getaway, from €299 per person sharing, also includes a glass of bubbly on arrival, dinner at the hotel’s Gulfstream restaurant, and a West Cork seafood platter in Dunes bar. For more information visit inchydoneyisland.com