Question: I have allergies and want to get a Himalayan salt lamp to use as an air purifier. Do these lamps work?

Answer: In short, the lamps, carved from large salt crystal rocks, are beautiful, but there’s no reliable evidence that they provide any health benefits. Himalayan salt lamps are touted as natural generators that emit healthy negatively charged oxygen ions. The fresh air you feel after a storm or at the beach is due to a high concentration of ionized oxygen that has been created in the atmosphere. Negative ions attract mold, dust, pollen and other irritants and have been shown to improve mood.

Salt lamps are touted as being able to replicate the same kind of clean air, but it has not been shown that salt lamps actually ionize oxygen.

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