Is it okay to soak your feet until you sweat all over?

Foot soaking has certain benefits for physical health. It can accelerate blood circulation. There are some acupoints on the soles of the feet. Soaking your feet frequently can make the body feel warmer, improve the phenomenon of cold body, and also has a certain effect on removing moisture from the body. Generally, it is enough to soak your feet until you sweat slightly, but some people may soak their feet until they sweat all over. Is it okay to soak your feet until you sweat all over? People may not know whether this is a good thing or not. Let's take a look at the detailed analysis below.

1. Is it good to soak your feet and sweat all over?

Elderly people: Not good

It is not suitable for the elderly to soak their feet and sweat all over their body. Because soaking your feet for too long will make the whole body sweat profusely, excessive water loss in the body will cause people to become faint and dizzy. Especially for some frail elderly people, they need to pay attention to their physical condition at all times when soaking their feet.

Cold and dampness blocking the meridians: Good

However, for people who suffer from insomnia due to invasion of evil cold and blockage of meridians by cold and dampness, soaking feet until the whole body sweats is beneficial, and the soaking time and heat can be increased.

Because after cold and dampness invade the body, they will slowly sink and accumulate in the legs. Over time, the meridians below the torso will be blocked by cold and dampness. When the leg meridians are blocked, the function of the entire meridian will also be affected. At this time, soaking your feet in hot water can open up the meridians, and the cold and dampness can be discharged from the body with sweat, and the insomnia will naturally improve.

2. How long is the appropriate foot soaking time?

Foot soaking mainly uses the water temperature to open up the meridians throughout the body. Generally speaking, it is best to soak your feet for 20 to 30 minutes, and it is best when the body sweats slightly. This can not only warm up the body, but also avoid collapse caused by excessive sweating. If the time is too long, it will easily increase the burden on the heart.

Specific approach

When you start soaking your feet, pour in a small amount of hot water until it covers the back of your feet. Be careful not to make the water too hot, about 40°C is appropriate. Afterwards, as the water temperature drops, gradually add hot water to maintain the water temperature until you see your feet turn red, feel heat all over your body, and sweat slightly.

3. What should you pay attention to when you sweat all over your body after soaking your feet?

1. Drink more water

After sweating a lot, you can drink a glass of warm water, or even put some iodized salt in the water to replenish the body's salt.

2. Keep warm

After soaking your feet and sweating all over, you should keep warm immediately, otherwise the pores of your skin will open and the cold evil will easily enter.

4. The sweaty parts of your feet indicate your health condition

1. Sweating in the lower body: physical weakness

This situation is mostly caused by kidney cold. Kidney cold is a manifestation of imbalance of yin and yang in traditional Chinese medicine. You may want to eat more walnuts, sesame seeds and other foods to help regulate it. At the same time, you should also strengthen physical exercise, quit smoking and drinking, combine work and rest, and adjust your mentality. For women, it is mostly due to body weakness and coldness. Some Chinese medicine practitioners suggest that you can regulate your body by replenishing qi and blood, or you can open up the body's meridians and sweat glands by soaking your feet for a long time.

2. Sweating on the upper body: Qi deficiency

It is usually due to qi deficiency that causes sweating in the upper body when soaking feet. Qi deficiency usually manifests itself as lack of energy, lack of physical strength and energy, and feeling tired after the slightest effort. If the qi deficiency is not too serious, it can be adjusted through diet.

5 What are the taboos of foot soaking

1. Avoid soaking for too long

The foot soaking time should not be too long, about 30 minutes is appropriate, and it can be done once a day or every other day. Many people like to soak in very hot water until the water is completely cold. Some people even like to soak for an hour or two. This is wrong. When soaking your feet, the body's blood circulation speeds up and the heart rate also increases. Soaking your feet for too long will increase the burden on the heart and cause symptoms such as panic and excessive sweating. Therefore, the elderly should be reminded that the foot soaking time should be shorter, with 20 minutes being the best.

2. Avoid soaking your feet when you are too full or too hungry

Soaking your feet when you are too full, too hungry or have eaten will speed up blood circulation throughout your body, making you more likely to feel dizzy and uncomfortable. It is not advisable to soak your feet within half an hour after a meal, as it will affect the blood supply to the stomach. After eating, the blood in the human body is concentrated in the digestive tract. If you soak your feet in hot water at this time, the blood that should flow to the digestive tract will be diverted to the lower limbs. Over time, it will affect digestion and absorption and lead to malnutrition. Experts recommend soaking your feet half an hour before going to bed, which is more conducive to detoxification of the liver during rest.

3. Children in their developmental period should avoid soaking their feet

For children in the developmental stage, if they frequently wash or soak their feet in hot water before the arch of the foot has taken shape, the plantar ligaments will become loose, which is not conducive to the growth and development of the child.

4. Patients with athlete’s foot should avoid soaking their feet

For patients with athlete's foot, especially when the condition is severe enough to cause blisters, soaking the feet in hot water may cause the wound to become infected.

5. Avoid soaking your feet if you have frostbitten feet

People with foot inflammation, frostbite or burns are not suitable for foot soaking. If your feet are frozen, you must never soak them in hot water. Frozen feet are caused by the invasion of cold wind, which makes the muscles and skin stiff and below the normal tolerance level of the body. If the foot is overheated at this time, the muscles and skin will find it difficult to adapt to the huge temperature difference, the condition will only worsen, and may even cause the foot muscles to separate from the bones.

6. People with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases should avoid soaking their feet

People with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and diabetes can easily aggravate their condition if they soak their feet in water that is too hot. Because the water temperature is too hot it will stimulate the nerves, cause blood vessels to dilate, speed up blood circulation, and increase the burden on the heart.

6 Tips

For different groups of people, adding some Chinese medicine when soaking their feet can make the medicinal effects be absorbed by the skin and act on the human body. Specifically: use mugwort to warm the body and dispel cold; it is recommended to use white vinegar for foot soaking for patients with hypertension; for people with poor blood circulation, use cinnamon twigs and safflower.