[Health Guide] Foot bathing in summer can help get rid of these 9 minor ailments and reduce the risk of illness in winter

Editor’s Note:

Summer is here, and more and more people are wearing sandals barefoot. Without the protection of socks, feet and shoes are often in "close contact", and the hot and humid weather also brings various foot diseases. Soaking feet in hot water in summer can not only prevent foot diseases and remove summer heat, but also improve sleep quality and have certain benefits for cardiovascular health. Today, the editor will teach you how to soak your feet in summer!

5 things to note when soaking your feet in summer

Developing the habit of foot soaking has certain benefits for the body, but it also requires scientific methods. Foot soaking in summer should start from the following aspects:

1. The temperature should not be too high

If the water temperature is too high, it is not only harmful to patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but also easy to damage the sebum membrane on the surface of the foot skin, making the stratum corneum dry or even cracked. The water temperature should be between 40℃ and 45℃. You can try it with your hands first. For the sake of safety, diabetics can use a thermometer to measure.

2. Don’t take too long

It is best not to soak your feet for more than half an hour each time, because the blood circulation and heart rate of the human body will increase when soaking your feet, and soaking for too long will increase the burden on the heart. It is not advisable to soak your feet half an hour after a meal, otherwise it will affect digestion and absorption. It is recommended to soak your feet 1 hour after a meal.

3. Exfoliate

When the dead skin on your feet softens after soaking your feet, apply a scrub and massage with your fingers in circles to enhance the exfoliation effect. If you want a better scrub effect without wearing out your skin, you can wrap your feet with a hot towel first. The dead skin will soften after about 5 minutes.

4. Different herbs are used according to different people

When soaking your feet, adding some Chinese herbal medicine in appropriate amounts according to your own characteristics can achieve twice the result with half the effort, but it is best to add it under the guidance of a doctor.

5. Foot massage is essential

A little massage after soaking your feet is very beneficial to your health.

Pressing the Yongquan point for a few minutes (located in the depression on the front of the sole, 1/3 of the way between the 2nd and 3rd toes and the heel) can better promote blood circulation in the sole, improve sleep, and protect the kidneys.

People with high blood pressure can press the Yongquan point, Taichong point (located on the dorsum of the foot, in the depression before the junction of the first and second metatarsal bones) and Xingjian point (located on the dorsum of the foot, between the first and second toes, at the junction of the red and white flesh behind the edge of the web of the toes) when soaking their feet, which has a certain effect in regulating blood pressure.

A basin of water drives away 9 minor problems

1. Heatstroke prevention: Patchouli foot bath

Soaking your feet in summer is a good way to remove moisture and relieve summer heat.

Take 30 to 50 grams of Patchouli and put it in 2 liters of water. Boil it over high heat for about 40 minutes. Then simmer it over low heat until 1 liter of liquid remains. Take out the juice and add 2 liters of water to boil it down to 1 liter. Put the two portions of juice in a basin and soak your feet. The liquid should be soaked to the ankles. During the soaking process, massage your feet at the same time.

2. Athlete’s foot: Soup with Sophora flavescens

If people have athlete's foot, adding some Sophora flavescens when washing their feet will help.

Take 15g of Sophora flavescens, 10g of Sichuan pepper, 10g of green tea, and 50ml of aged vinegar, pour them into 2500ml of hot water, then add 50ml of aged vinegar, soak for two hours, and soak your feet in this juice for 30 minutes. Soak for a week, and generally, athlete's foot will be greatly relieved.

3. Cold: Soak your feet in salt water

Soaking your feet in salt water can promote blood circulation and remove the coldness from your feet, thus achieving the effect of treating colds.

Add about 50 grams of salt and 50-70 grams of ginger to the hot water. When soaking your feet, first place your feet on the hot steam, and then soak your feet in the water and rub them against each other after the water temperature drops. When the water is cold, add hot water 2-3 times, and soak until your whole body sweats slightly. When the water is still warm, dry your feet in time, cover yourself with a quilt, and have a good sleep.

4. Remove dampness: Soak your feet in ginger

As the saying goes: Summer is the season of humidity! Therefore, you must pay attention to removing humidity in summer, and you can choose to soak your feet in old ginger.

Take 30 grams each of old ginger, Achyranthes bidentata, Gentiana macrophylla, cinnamon bark, Angelica dahurica, and Cynanchum wilfordii, add them to water and boil them, then soak your feet in the water after it cools down. It has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, warming the meridians and dredging collaterals, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dispelling cold and relieving pain, and improving rheumatic joint pain.

5. Diarrhea: Soak your feet in mugwort leaves

In summer, the temperature is high and bacteria multiply. If you don't pay attention to your diet or eat too much cold food, you will easily get diarrhea. In addition to seeing a doctor, you can choose to soak your feet in mugwort to relieve the symptoms.

Take 50 to 100 grams of dried mugwort leaves, boil them with water first, add cold water or wait until the temperature is lowered before soaking your feet; or soak the mugwort leaves in hot water for 20 minutes, then heat it for soaking your feet.

6 Irritability: Gardenia Foot Bath

In summer, people are prone to repeated oral ulcers, dry mouth, short and red urine, irritability, excessive energy, etc. These are all manifestations of real fire, which can be relieved by soaking your feet in gardenia.

Take 30 grams each of raw gardenia, polygala, salvia miltiorrhiza and scutellaria, decoct them and soak your legs and feet for 20 minutes.

7. Insomnia: Pepper Foot Bath

Soaking feet in pepper water is also a favorite of Lu Guangxin, a master of traditional Chinese medicine. Mr. Lu believes that soaking feet in pepper water is better for promoting sleep than soaking feet in hot water.

Use a cotton cloth to wrap 50 grams of peppercorns, tie it tightly with a rope, add water and boil it, then use the water to soak your feet. The peppercorn bag can be reused, and you can replace it with a new one after about a week.

8. Heel pain: Soak your feet in vinegar

In summer, people like to wear sandals, flip-flops, etc., and often suffer from heel pain when walking too much. To eliminate heel pain, you can add some vinegar when soaking your feet.

Take 1000 ml of vinegar and heat it to boiling. When the temperature is appropriate, soak the affected feet for 20 to 30 minutes each time, 1 to 2 times a day. One course of treatment is 15 days. It helps to eliminate mold, athlete's foot, skin diseases, etc.

9. Conjunctivitis: Soak your feet in Phellodendron chinense

Summer is the peak season for conjunctivitis. In addition to effective drug treatment, medicated foot bath is also a good method.

Take 30 grams of Phellodendron chinense and 15 grams of Chrysanthemum. Add the two medicines into water and boil for 30 minutes. Remove the residue and pour the juice into a clean basin. Then add 2000 ml of hot water. While the medicine is steaming, fumigate and scrub the affected eyes, and then soak and wash your feet, once in the morning and evening, each time for 40 minutes.

Content sources: People's Daily WeChat, Life Times, Health Times