How long is the best time to soak your feet in Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine is a type of medicine. The medicines we usually take are divided into two types: Chinese and Western medicine. Chinese medicine is generally the kind of Chinese herbal medicine that is dried and decocted at home, while Western medicine is the artificial synthetic medicine in the form of pills. Compared with Western medicine, the treatment time of Chinese medicine is longer, but it has basically no side effects. We can use Chinese medicine to soak our feet, but there is a time limit for soaking feet. So how long is it appropriate to soak your feet with Chinese medicine?

The feet are an important part of our body after the heart, and are distributed with a large number of capillaries. In winter, due to the stimulation of cold, the blood vessels in the feet contract, blood circulation is disrupted, and a variety of diseases can be easily induced. Soaking your feet in hot water can transfer heat throughout the body, invigorate blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

There are three benefits of foot bathing

1. Promote blood circulation: Feet have been regarded as the second heart of the human body since ancient times. From the perspective of health preservation theory, the feet are farthest from the human heart and bear the heaviest burden. Therefore, this place is most likely to cause poor blood circulation. Foot soaking is an excellent method, especially for those who often feel cold hands and feet.

2. Stimulate the acupuncture points, reflex areas, and meridians of the feet: Many people have had foot massages. When the masseur presses on our feet, we will feel pain, soreness, and swelling. This situation basically means that there is a problem with the internal organs in our corresponding reflex areas. So, after we have a foot massage, we will feel relaxed all over.

At the same time, there are 6 main meridians on the human foot, including the end points of the three yang meridians (bladder meridian, stomach meridian, and gallbladder meridian) and the starting points of the three yin meridians (spleen meridian, liver meridian, and kidney meridian). Therefore, soaking your feet is equivalent to stimulating these six main meridians.

3. Eliminate diseases and strengthen the body: If there is a lot of cold and dampness in the body, soaking your feet can speed up the expulsion of cold. Many people who have soaked their feet have had this experience: when soaking their feet, they feel their knees are very cold, which means that the cold and dampness in the body are being forced out of the body by the hot water and Chinese medicine for the foot bath. Therefore, if you catch a cold, sometimes you don’t need to take medicine. Just soak your feet and sweat to dispel the cold in your body. There are also many people with high blood pressure. If they soak their feet for a long time, the blood circulation in the extremities of the body will be improved, and thus their blood pressure will gradually drop.

The best time for foot soaking: 30 to 45 minutes is appropriate, and you can soak your feet once a day or every other day.

The best water temperature for foot soaking: The water temperature for foot soaking is generally maintained at 38℃ ~ 43℃. When bathing your feet, the water should usually be above the ankles and the feet should be rubbed frequently.

It is recommended to soak your feet at 9 pm to nourish the kidneys: the reason for choosing this time period to nourish the kidneys is that this is the time when the qi and blood of the kidney meridian are relatively weak. When soaking your feet at this time, the body heat increases, the blood vessels in the body will expand, which is beneficial to blood circulation in the body.

Office workers can soak their feet in the morning to be energetic: The method of washing feet in the morning is very simple, the water temperature should be controlled at around 40℃, which should be comfortable and not hot, and soak for about 5 to 10 minutes. Use the index, middle and ring fingers of both hands to massage the Yongquan acupoints on both feet for about 1 minute each, and then massage the spaces between the toes for about half a minute.

There are three types of people who are not suitable for foot soaking: pregnant women, children and people with hot constitution.