Researchers have discovered that the health benefits of a Red Sea holiday can go beyond rest, relaxation and recreation.
While the typical tourist chooses to come to the Red Sea based on its triple "s" combo of sun, sea, and sand, an increasing number of both Egyptian and foreign holiday makers are coming in search of better health.
Several forward thinking doctors have been researching the specific health effects of the natural resources of certain areas of Egypt for close to a decade, and their results have put specific locations of Egypt on the map of the burgeoning climactic therapy map. It seems that the small town of Safaga, for one, on Egypt's Red Sea coast, is in the healing zone.
What is climatic therapy? It is officially defined as a treatment combining the natural elements of a specific geographic location. Researchers have looked into the specific effects of factors like altitude, atmospheric pressure, humidity, percentages of airborne particulate matter, ionic ratios, soil composition, temperature, and strength of ultraviolet rays on various health conditions from respiration difficulties to rheumatism. And they've found that climate, and geography, make a difference that can be measured. Climatic therapy is particularly popular in Germany, with a website devoted to German resorts offering climatic therapy boasting close to 100 listings.
Sun, Sea, Sand…and Spas
The term climatic therapy may be relatively new, but the idea of pilgrims searching for healing rays or waters certainly is not. For at least a millennium, people from all corners of the earth have been "taking the waters" at various ancient spas with their natural springs and mineral pools and mud baths.
Medical tourism or travel medicine is an established industry, and in fact, climatic therapy falls under this category. The black mud of the Dead Sea is currently enjoying a revival of its reputation for alleviating the pain of arthritis. Specially rigged cruise ships and resorts providing top notch kidney dialysis and professional medical services to kidney-impaired tourists are proving popular; and the first of this kind of center in Egypt recently opened in Sharm el Sheikh, operated by the Egyptian Medical Services company.
Similarly, the spa industry in general is gaining momentum, and every resort is anxious to offer unique spa packages complete with "alternative" approaches ranging from aromatherapy to Ayruveda. At the Steinenberger Golf Resort in the Red Sea town of El Gouna, there is talk of expanding their already deluxe spa facilities to offer a complete week long package for the tag-along spouses of golf fanatics, including day trips to a deserted island for hot sand treatments. Down the path, the Three Corners Rihana Resort in El Gouna offers colour and light therapy, painting healing colours or beaming finely-tuned coloured laser lights on a patient's trouble spots. At the Menaville Resort in the climatically blessed town of Safaga itself, clients of the Czech Republic based Karlovy Vary spa can shape their muscles via an electric myostimulator, neutralize their pain with ultrasound, and stimulate their circulation via an underwater jet massage.
But because of Menaville's location, the management is able to offer their guests something even more enticing, something that can make even the most reluctant traveler rethink their vacation plans: a cure for psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The Menaville Story A bold claim? Perhaps.
Legend has it that the Pharoaonic ruler Queen Hatshepsut herself suffered from psoriasis, and that she used to travel from Luxor to Safaga for treatment. But more important are the studies that back it up. Menaville was the first major resort to open in Safaga, and as a result has a prime location with a large sandy beach along Safaga's sheltered bay. As the guests began to flow in, many of them noticed an appreciable improvement in their rheumatoid arthritis, a condition causing painful inflammation of the joints, or psoriasis, a skin affliction characterized by irritating patches of inflamed and flaking skin. Management took an interest, and alerted the Ministry of Scientific Research, who delegated the National Research Center to research the phenomenon. In 1993, two separate but simultaneous studies were conducted on the climatic effects of Safaga on both psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The initial field survey revealed that the incidence of both conditions in the Safaga area were well below international averages. For psoriasis, it was .014% compared to an international average of 1%, and for Psoriasis, it was .008% compared to an international average of 1-3%. Over a hundred rheumatoid arthritis patients were selected to participate in that study, and the psoriasis study included 80 cases.
In both studies, after an evaluation to determine baseline disease conditions, patients spent four weeks in Safaga under medical supervision undergoing climatic therapy. For cases of rheumatism, treatment consists of being covered by local grey sand warmed by the sun twice daily, followed by gentle walking. For psoriasis, the therapy involves exposure to sun and immersion in seawater twice daily.
The results, announced to an international audience in 1994, were dramatic. Of the rheumatism cases, 14% showed complete remission by the end of the 4 weeks, while close to 60% showed dramatic improvement. The rest showed moderate to marked improvement, with only 6% showing slight or no improvement. Of the control group who were placed in an area in Egypt with similar weather, but who did not undergo sand sessions or have the benefit of other possible contributing factors present in Safaga, there were no cases of total remission, and only 5% showed dramatic improvement. After six months, follow-up studies with the patients confirmed the positive results, with improvement persisting in 45% percent of the patients, as opposed to just 25% in the control group.
For the psoriasis study, the positive results were even greater, with more than 50% of the patients undergoing treatment experiencing a total clearing up of their condition that was sustained in the 3 month followup. A full 27% showed sustained excellent improvement with very little deterioration observed at follow up.
Skeptics may point to the obvious: modern medicine already recognizes the age old folk wisdom that encourages arthritis sufferers to seek dry heat and avoid cold and damp; and it doesn't get much drier or hotter than the sands of Egypt. It is also known that ultraviolet light and mineral salts added to water both alleviate psoriasis, so it is no surprise that a controlled regime of sunlight cured. But there are contributing factors in the environment of Safaga that magnify the results.
The secret of Safaga
For one thing, there's something in those grey sands. Analysis shows that the sand collected from the tidal areas contains three radioactive elements in trace amounts: uranium, thorium, and potassium 40. Ancient volcanic craters at the bottom of the Red Sea point at the source of these elements. High salt and mineral concentrations found in the sand have also been found to play a role in its therapeutic qualities. But anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the sand only works in Safaga. According to Dr. Medhat Abdel Hakim, director of the climatic therapy clinic at Menaville, a center in Aswan once collected some of the special Safaga sands to use it to treat patients there, but the results didn't measure up.
Similarly, the Red Sea, already characterized by a high salt content, is up to 35% more saline than the global average in the gulf of Safaga, which affects the equilibrium of the skin via the altered flow of ions. This may in turn allow certain gasses or other chemical components to penetrate into the body that may contribute to a healing effect.
Other factors present in Safaga that are thought to contribute to the healing climate effects include the nearby mountains that act as a natural barrier to harsh winds, cutting down on dust levels, which means that more
ultraviolet light penetrates through the atmosphere. In addition, the level of ultraviolet light is intensified by the calm, clear waters found in the bays of Safaga and also by the wide expanses of reflective sand on the beaches.
But, as Menaville General Manager Faisal Negm was quick to point out, the psychological factor of creating the right social atmosphere for relaxation and healing cannot be discounted. For the psoriasis patient in particular, psychological status is known to be an influencing condition. "We have clients that have been horribly limited socially because of their illness. When they come here, they find a welcoming community with people who understand their condition. As they get better, more of their personality comes out, and they feel a happiness here that keeps them coming back," he explained.
Where the environment takes care of business
Repeat business is always a bonus in the competitive travel industry. Offering the tourist a good time on the shores of the Red Sea and cultural excursions to local historical monuments is usually only good for a one time sale. But offering long term relief for a painful condition that affects the quality of their lives on a daily basis is a pretty good incentive for a return visit, and it's one that climatotherapy clinics like the one at Menaville are banking on.
Dr. Medhat reports that his clinic has upwards of a thousand patients a year. Of those, many are Egyptians who may or may not choose to stay at the resort as well as visit the clinic for treatment, but international patients, in particular from Germany, are on the rise, particularly second or third time patients. According to Tarek Adhan, Managing Director Mena for Resorts and Hotels, the Kuwaiti ministry of health regularly sends Kuwaiti citizens to Safaga for treatment.
The Dead Sea is Safaga's closest competitor, but it has a drawback of being the lowest point on earth, and people with certain physical conditions such as arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, tuberculosis, kidney or liver disease, hemorrhea, or nerve diseases may suffer negative effects at 400 meters below sea level.
The water of the Dead Sea also contains higher levels of Bromine, a substance that causes skin sensitivity and allergic outbreaks in some people. With proper marketing and worldwide recognition, the Red Sea may be able to cash in on the already popular Dead Sea medical tourism market because of these differences.
Tarek Adham has a different approach, "I'd like to see the tourism industry in this area start thinking about the environment as an ally, something that can contribute to your profits," he said. "Most people in the industry seem to think that the environment is something you have to be careful not to hurt because of laws and regulations, a burden to take care of and protect. But there are direct benefits from working in harmony with the natural elements of an area, it is not just a responsibility to endure, the environment will also take care of you."
By: Diana Boeke
