Is there any harm in soaking your feet for a long time

Many of my friends like to soak their feet. After washing, they soak their feet in a large basin of hot water. The warm water soaks their feet, which opens the pores on their feet, accelerates blood flow, and makes them feel very comfortable. Many people soak their feet for a long time. Some even keep adding hot water and soak for half an hour or even an hour. Everyone knows that soaking your feet has benefits, but will it be harmful to the body if you soak your feet for a long time?

Is it bad to soak your feet for a long time?

1. Soaking your feet in hot water can indeed relax your meridians and warm your whole body, but soaking your feet for too long will do more harm than good to your body.

2. Persistently soaking your feet in hot water can promote the circulation of qi and blood, dredge the meridians, relieve the cold, relieve cold hands and feet, dilate capillaries, and promote blood supply to the brain. If you add ginger slices, peppercorns, etc. to hot water, it will be more effective in dispelling wind and cold.

3. But hot water foot bath is not suitable for everyone. People with athlete's foot should not soak their feet in hot water when the condition is severe enough to cause blisters, as this can easily cause wound infection.

4. When soaking your feet, the local temperature increases, which can cause arteries to dilate, especially the blood vessels in the skin. After soaking in hot water, the skin will feel comfortable and cool. This is because the pores expand to dissipate heat. First of all, you should pay attention to not soaking your feet for too long, otherwise the local blood circulation of the feet will be too fast for a long time, which will cause relative ischemia in other parts of the body, and you may faint due to insufficient blood supply to the brain. Secondly, you should pay attention to not soaking your feet within half an hour after a meal, as it will affect the blood supply to the stomach, which will cause malnutrition in the long run.

What should you pay attention to when soaking your feet

The best time to soak your feet: one hour after a meal. Soaking your feet will affect the blood supply to the stomach, and in the long run it will cause malnutrition. After eating, most of the blood in the body flows to the digestive tract. If you soak your feet in hot water immediately after a meal, the blood that should flow to the digestive system will flow to the lower limbs instead. Over time, this will affect digestion and absorption and lead to nutritional deficiencies. So don’t soak your feet immediately after a meal. The best time to soak your feet is one hour after a meal.

The best foot soaking equipment: wooden bucket or wooden basin. A bucket or basin with a large bottom area allows your feet to lie flat and comfortably. You only need to soak your feet above the ankles. It is best to soak the water to the calves, so it is best to use a wooden bucket or basin with a large bottom area.

It is not advisable to use metal basins. It is best to use wooden basins when soaking your feet in Chinese medicine. The metal components in metal basins are easy to react with the tannic acid in traditional Chinese medicine to produce harmful substances such as tannic acid iron, thereby reducing the efficacy of the medicine. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use metal basins for foot soaking.

It is not advisable to use overheated water for children to soak their feet. Using hot water to wash children's feet frequently is not conducive to the formation of their arches and can easily lead to flat feet. Therefore, it is not advisable to use overheated water when soaking children's feet. The water temperature should be around 40°.

It is not advisable to soak your feet in Chinese medicine during menstruation. If a woman has dysmenorrhea and hopes to treat it with Chinese medicine foot bath, she should consult a doctor before bathing and follow the doctor's advice.

The amount of water should not be too little. It is best to use a deep wooden bucket or enamel basin with a large bottom area for foot soaking, so that your feet can be placed flat and comfortably, and it is best to let the water soak all the way to your calves.

You should not be indecisive when soaking your feet. Don’t read books or watch TV while soaking your feet, as this will easily achieve the effect of “guiding fire back to the origin”.

Pay attention to the hygiene and cleanliness of the soaking tub. If the foot bath tub is not cleaned thoroughly or the tub wall is not treated with antibacterial agents, bacteria on the feet will easily remain on the tub wall, causing repeated infections of the feet.

Don't go to bed immediately after soaking your feet. You can't go to bed immediately after soaking your feet. Rub the soles of your feet while they are still hot, put on socks to keep warm in time, and go to bed after the temperature of your whole body slowly decreases. This is the best way to achieve the best effect.

What are the warm water foot soaking methods?

First, the water should be hot enough but not scalding, about 40 degrees Celsius.

Salt soak: Add 2 tablespoons of salt to warm water. Salt has anti-inflammatory, bactericidal and laxative effects.

Ginger soak: Add a few pieces of flattened old ginger to warm water. Ginger has the effect of dispelling cold and removing dampness.

Wine soak: Add a bottle of rice wine or other alcoholic beverages to warm water to promote blood circulation.

Lemon soak: Add two slices of lemon to warm water to relieve gas, refresh the mind and prevent colds.

Vinegar soak: Add 3 tablespoons of white vinegar to warm water to neutralize the acid in the body and moisturize the skin.

Did you see it? These seemingly ordinary things actually have so many benefits when used for foot soaking. Why don’t you take action now!