The hotter the foot bath water, the better? The truth is——

Review expert: Wang Xuejiang, professor of pathophysiology and doctoral supervisor at Capital Medical University

Recently, Beijing has experienced rain and cooling weather. Many people have taken out their foot soaking buckets and foot soaking "ingredients bags" to use foot soaking to keep out the cold and warm their bodies.

Foot soaking, also known as foot bath, like acupuncture, massage, external patches, etc., utilizes the principle of "internal disease treatment externally, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis", and is one of the commonly used external treatment methods in traditional Chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "the foot is the root of the six meridians". Six of the twelve meridians of the human body pass through the soles of the feet. Various organs of the human body, including the internal organs, have corresponding reflex areas in the feet. There are more than 60 meridian points distributed in the feet.

Persisting in soaking your feet in hot water can not only promote blood circulation, dredge meridians, stimulate the acupuncture points, visceral reflex areas and meridians of the feet, relieve fatigue and dispel cold, but also improve the body's immunity, enhance disease resistance, prevent diseases and health care, and is also beneficial for eliminating fatigue and improving sleep.

However, if the foot soaking method is incorrect, it will not only be of no benefit to the body, but will cause a certain degree of damage.

The hotter the foot bath water, the better?

In our understanding, the water for foot soaking must be hot. If it is not hot or scalding, it is not considered foot soaking. However, this is wrong. If the water temperature for foot soaking is too high, it may cause:

Skin damage: Water temperature that is too high will damage the sebum film on the surface of the foot skin, causing the stratum corneum to become dry and even causing chapped feet. For children, due to their delicate skin, soaking their feet in water that is too high can easily burn their feet and cause damage to the skin and mucous membranes.

Insufficient blood supply to the heart and brain: Soaking your feet in water that is too hot will cause the capillaries in the feet and legs to dilate, increasing the blood flow in the feet. More blood in the body will flow to the lower limbs, leading to insufficient effective circulating blood volume throughout the body and insufficient blood supply to the heart and brain. In severe cases, it may also induce cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Aggravation of existing diseases: For diabetic patients, overheated foot baths may cause skin ulcers on the feet and diabetic foot.

Some people may say, "I don't feel the water is hot, I don't feel it." Even if you don't feel the water is hot, soaking in it for a long time may cause low-temperature burns (boiling a frog in warm water), resulting in redness, swelling, peeling or blisters on the feet. In severe cases, it may cause tissue necrosis.

The water temperature for foot soaking also varies from person to person. The best water temperature for adults' foot soaking is around 38℃~43℃. Children are extremely sensitive to temperature, and the elderly are insensitive to temperature. The best water temperature for both of them is around 35℃~40℃.

The longer the foot soak time, the better?

Holding a footbath basin, watching short videos on your phone, soaking for 40 minutes or even an hour, adding some hot water when the water gets cold, is this your normal operation? However, this operation... is not right at all!

If you soak your feet for too long, the blood vessels in your extremities will continue to dilate. If the blood supply is poor, it can easily lead to worsening symptoms of limb ischemia and skin injuries on the feet. Excessive sweating and cerebral ischemia may also cause dizziness, palpitations and other problems.

So, when we soak our feet, don’t be addicted to mobile phones and TV. If you are worried about not remembering the time, set an alarm to remind yourself. About 30 minutes will be enough!

Add more ingredients to the foot bath water?

Soaking your feet in plain water is too bland, you need to add more ingredients! Many people think that adding some medicine bags when soaking their feet will get twice the result with half the effort. They buy a variety of foot bath bags, which can remove dampness, nourish yin, warm the uterus, and nourish the kidneys...all thrown in! Who does this, I won't say~

Although the medicine bag does have a health-preserving effect, it should be used under the guidance of a doctor. If used improperly, it can cause skin allergies . For example, tea leaves. Soaking your feet in tea water is not only not antibacterial, but it is prone to infection. The antibacterial components in tea leaves are relatively weak, and the foot-soaking water is not completely sterile. Moreover, during the 10-15 minutes of foot soaking, bacteria may enter from damaged areas such as athlete's foot, thereby increasing the risk of infection.

Some people also choose to soak their feet in ginger water. Hot water + ginger doubles the power to drive away the cold! Soaking feet in ginger water can indeed warm the meridians, improve microcirculation, and relieve the symptoms of cold hands and feet. However, people with yin deficiency and hyperactivity of fire are not suitable for soaking feet in ginger water to avoid aggravating the condition of excessive sweating of hands and feet.

Soak your feet to warm up before bed?

After soaking my feet in the hot water, I immediately went to bed and fell asleep. How happy I was! Although it was happy, it was not right.

The best time to soak your feet is around nine o'clock in the evening. Chinese medicine believes that the kidney meridian's qi and blood are relatively weak at this time. Soaking your feet at this time will increase body heat, dilate blood vessels, and help activate blood circulation, thereby promoting blood circulation in the body and allowing the body to relax.

However, it should be noted that you cannot go to bed immediately after soaking your feet ! This may cause the blood vessels in the feet to dilate, and the local temperature may be too high, causing the body to feel hot and inducing symptoms of sleep disturbance.

Right after soaking your feet, you need to rub the soles of your feet while they are still warm, and wait until the heat from your entire body is released before going to bed.

Foot bath

It is indeed a good way to keep warm.

But you also need to soak your feet correctly

Only then can we truly achieve the purpose of health preservation