Historical origins
The history of foot baths is thousands of years old. The earliest documented record is the Jin Dynasty's "Emergency Prescriptions", which has a history of more than a thousand years.
Foot soaking is the key to health care. It can remove human blood waste and disease sediment, cleanse the human body, and resist various diseases. Foot soaking has a very good auxiliary effect in the treatment of many diseases. People often say: "Rich people take tonics, while poor people soak their feet." It can be seen that foot soaking is very useful.
Functional effects
The feet are also called the second heart of the human body. This is because scientific research has proven that there are reflection areas on the human feet corresponding to various organs. , and the distribution of meridians, when soaking your feet in warm water, you can stimulate these reflection areas, promote human blood circulation, regulate the endocrine system, enhance human organ function, and achieve health care effects in preventing and treating diseases. At the same time, thermal stimulation will accelerate the microcirculation of the feet and open the pores. On this basis, the magnetic lines combined with magnetic therapy can easily penetrate and act on important acupuncture points and organ projection areas of the feet, increasing the therapeutic effect of foot soaking. times. Of course, this combination of the two is much more effective than a single hot water foot bath. With the rapid development of magnetic therapy, magnetic therapy has been widely used in various departments in the medical field. For the application of foot bath,
Benefits of hot water foot bath
(1) Promote blood circulation. Feet have been said to be the second heart of the human body since ancient times. From the perspective of health theory, the feet are the farthest from the heart of the human body and carry the heaviest burden. Therefore, this place is most likely to cause poor blood circulation. Medical classics record: "People have feet, just like a tree has roots. A tree has dead roots." People get tired first and their feet deteriorate first. "Especially for those who often feel cold hands and feet, soaking their feet in hot water is an excellent way.
(2) Stimulate the acupuncture points, reflex areas and meridians of the feet. From a medical theory point of view, there are reflex zones, acupoints, and meridians for various organs of the human body on the feet. Many people have had foot massages. When the masseur puts pressure on our feet, we will feel pain, soreness, and swelling. This situation is basically The above can indicate that there is a problem with the corresponding organs in the reflection area. Therefore, when we have a foot massage, we will feel relaxed all over. At the same time, there are 6 main meridians on the human feet, including the ending 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). On the feet, therefore, soaking your feet in hot water also stimulates these six main meridians.
(3) It has a very good auxiliary effect in the treatment of many diseases. People often say that "rich people take tonics, while poor people soak their feet." This shows that foot soaking with traditional Chinese medicine has a great effect. Especially in modern society, with the extensive use of air conditioners and the fact that people generally like to eat cold food, there is a lot of cold and dampness in the body. Soaking feet with traditional Chinese medicine can accelerate the elimination of cold from the body.
Basic Principles
Foot Soaking
When you soak your feet in hot water, we will find that the blood vessels on the feet will expand and the skin of the feet will turn red. This is because Soaking feet in hot water accelerates blood circulation in the feet, causing more blood to flow to the peripheral blood vessels of the lower limbs, and relatively reducing blood flow to the brain, making people feel sleepy [3].
At the same time, because countless nerve endings on the soles of the feet are closely connected to the brain, the warm stimulation of the foot peripheral nerves when soaking in hot water can have an inhibitory effect on the cerebral cortex, making people feel comfortable and relaxed in the brain. Thereby speeding up falling asleep and making sleep deeper.
Foot bathing in all four seasons
“Soaking feet in spring helps to strengthen the Yang; soaking feet in summer removes dampness and relieves heat; soaking feet in autumn moistens the lungs and intestines; soaking feet in winter helps relieve the Dantian "Warm and burn." This is a statement mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine health books. It mainly shows that the health method of foot soaking is suitable for all seasons, but the health effects of each season are different.
It is beneficial to soak your feet in summer, and it is well-founded. The humidity in summer is just right. If the moisture is blocked in the spleen and stomach, you will have symptoms such as loss of appetite, feeling sleepy, lack of energy, and easy irritability. Soaking your feet in summer is helpful to remove heat-humidity, prevent heat colds, and make people energetic. Invigorate, increase appetite and promote sleep. Because the feet are an important part after the heart and are covered with a large number of capillaries, soaking the feet in warm water can better stimulate the meridians and stimulate the body's internal organs.
Common methods
Necessary conditions
First, adjust the temperature of the footbath water.
Generally speaking, the appropriate temperature for footbath water is 38 to 43 degrees, but it is best not to exceed 45 degrees.
Second, choose the right foot bath container.
Since it is a foot soak, the word "soak" must be reflected. "Soaking" here means that there needs to be more water, enough heat, and a long time. You can't just take a basin and put some water in it. That won't have any health-preserving effect. At most, it's just foot washing, not foot soaking.
Requirements for foot bath containers:
1. The texture should be harmless, safe, and have good thermal insulation properties.
2. Height. Generally, the height of the footbath should be more than 20 centimeters [under the ankle joint].
3. For structure, you can buy some microcomputer foot baths.
So choosing a correct footbath can often achieve twice the result with half the effort. It solves the complex structure and high cost of the existing footbath basin. Adding Chinese medicine footbath powder can achieve the purpose of health care and treatment.
The correct choice is to buy a relatively deep wooden barrel that can hold The kind that puts the entire calf in. Why choose wooden barrels? First, it is easier to keep warm, and second, it is close to nature.
Third, choose heating equipment.
The foot bath buckets sold on the market do not have heating equipment. In this way, when we are soaking our feet, we sometimes feel that the water is cold and have to heat the water inside. So before soaking our feet, we can Prepare more thermos bottles and fill them with hot water for later use.
Fourth, how to confirm the effect of foot soaking.
How do you say you have soaked your feet well? That means you feel better after soaking your feet until your back feels a little damp or your forehead sweats. Be careful not to sweat profusely. Because sweat is the liquid of the heart. Sweating too much can make you sad. It's OK as long as you sweat slightly, which means your meridians are connected up and down. This is also a way to prove whether your meridians are open.
Basic method
Hot water foot bath
That is, just use hot water to soak your feet without adding any additional items. The equipment used is the same as other foot baths. The way the feet work is the same. A single hot water foot bath can also accelerate blood circulation, ventilate blood, detoxify, and improve the body's metabolism. It also has a very good health care effect. Of course, if you have physical diseases, then a single hot water foot bath can cure the disease. It has no effect anymore. Be careful not to sweat profusely when soaking your feet in hot water, because the body will easily become weak due to excessive water loss. Just soak until your back is slightly sweaty and your forehead is slightly sweaty.
Foot soaking with traditional Chinese medicine
Foot soaking with traditional Chinese medicine is divided into two situations:
① Use the traditional Chinese medicine to soak the feet directly after boiling it.
That is, you use boiled Chinese medicinal water to soak your feet. The method of soaking your feet is similar to that of ordinary foot soaking. However, because Chinese medicinal foot soaks are formulated with prescriptions to treat some diseases, it is best to After consulting a Chinese medicine practitioner, let the Chinese medicine practitioner help prepare a good prescription, so that some diseases can be treated in a targeted manner.
② Use traditional Chinese medicine foot soaking tablets to soak your feet.
In fact, using traditional Chinese medicine foot soaking tablets to soak your feet has about the same effect as directly boiling Chinese medicine to soak your feet. However, the traditional Chinese medicine foot soaking tablets are very convenient to use. You only need to dissolve them in hot water.
Main functions
Helps sleep
Sleep trouble is a very painful thing. It not only makes you feel listless during the day, but also leads to a decline in physical condition. We recommend a way to soak your feet. , helps improve sleep quality.
Adding pebbles to rub feet can improve the effect of foot bath, promote the connection of human body's meridians, achieve the functions of communicating the heart and kidneys, soothing the liver and regulating qi, strengthening the spleen and replenishing qi, calming the mind and calming the mind, and better improving sleep. Adding pebbles to the footbath basin can have an effect similar to acupuncture
Everyone knows the benefits of footbath before going to bed, but if you add pebbles to the hot water for footbath, use pebbles to grind your feet while hot. Grinding your feet can have an effect similar to acupuncture and can promote sleep. I'm afraid you didn't know this.
Foot soaking and acupuncture points
Soaking your feet in hot water is like using moxa sticks to "warm and moxibustion" the acupuncture points on your feet. Adding pebbles to the foot bath basin will stimulate the uneven surface of the stones. The acupuncture points on the soles of the feet (Yongquan, Rangu, Taixi, etc.) or the reaction areas on the soles of the feet play a role similar to foot massage and acupuncture points, thereby improving the effect of foot bath. Therefore, to a certain extent, in the foot bath Adding pebbles to the foot can play the role of "acupuncture" and "moxibustion" in one, which is much better than simply soaking your feet in hot water.
There are no special requirements for the pebbles used for foot soaking. It is better to choose smooth and similar-sized pebbles. You can buy them in the building materials and decoration market.
In addition, the water used for foot soaking should be kept at about 45°C, the water depth should be at least higher than the ankle joint, and the feet should be stepped evenly on the pebbles and soaked for about 20 to 30 minutes. Patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, and the elderly should pay special attention to the control of water temperature and time when soaking their feet in hot water. If dizziness, headache, fatigue, palpitation, etc. occur, they should temporarily stop soaking their feet and lie down immediately. Rest in bed.
People with reduced skin sensation on their feet should pay attention to the temperature and water temperature when using pebbles to rub their feet to avoid chafing or scalding the skin. People with foot injuries (including joint pain, strains, sprains, etc.) and inflammation that have not yet recovered should not take a pebble hot water foot bath.
Foot soaking and diseases
Many people feel cold hands and feet in winter. This is actually due to poor blood circulation. Soaking feet in hot water can promote blood circulation. Relieving fatigue and improving sleep, it is no wonder that foot bathing in hot water has become a popular family health care method that continues to this day. In addition, in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, foot soaking is also beneficial to other systemic diseases, such as rheumatism, arthritis, colds and other common diseases. As long as you insist on foot soaking every day, it can play a health care role in alleviating symptoms.
As the saying goes: "To nourish a tree, you need to protect the roots, and to nourish a person, you need to protect your feet." The feet are the "second heart" of the human body, and protecting them requires science. Soaking your feet in hot water can not only promote blood circulation in the feet and reduce local muscle tension, but is also very helpful in eliminating fatigue and improving sleep. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the feet are the starting and ending points of the three yin meridians of the foot and the three yang meridians of the foot, and are closely related to all the organs and meridians of the body. Soaking the feet in hot water can adjust the functions of the organs and enhance physical fitness. For healthy people, it is usually enough to soak their feet in clean water or salt water or vinegar. It is not only simple but also convenient, and most importantly, it does not cost money.
There is an old saying in our country: "Washing feet with traditional Chinese medicine is better than taking tonics." If you soak your feet for 15 minutes a day, you can play a health care role. For example, immersing your feet in hot water of about 40 degrees Celsius, about 15 ~The headache will be significantly relieved after 20 minutes. This is because the blood vessels in the feet dilate and blood flows from the head to the feet, which can relatively reduce cerebral congestion and relieve headaches. For headaches caused by colds and fever, foot soaking in hot water can also help reduce fever. If you can continuously massage the Yongquan point with your hands and press the Taichong point on the instep behind the big toe while soaking your feet, it will also help lower blood pressure. Moreover, regular foot soaking and foot therapy with traditional Chinese medicine can be used in a wide range of applications, including systemic diseases such as rheumatism, spleen and stomach diseases, insomnia, headaches, colds, paraplegia, brain trauma, stroke, lumbar disc herniation, kidney disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses, and after serious illness. Rehabilitation treatment and more are included. Therefore, insisting on scientific foot therapy, especially in alleviating various occupational diseases that are prone to occur in modern urban people, can often achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Formula and efficacy
1. Tinea pedis, itchy, sweaty, stinky feet
Recipe: Phellodendron cypress, burnt keel, alum, sophora japonica, gallnut, turmeric , clove, sophora flavescens, rhubarb, kochia, and burnet.
Efficacy: clearing away heat and detoxifying, astringent and dehumidifying, suitable for itching and odor caused by tinea pedis and sweaty feet, killing insects and relieving itching.
2. Low back and leg pain in middle-aged and elderly people
Formula: Fangfeng, golden retriever root, salvia miltiorrhiza, astragalus root, and angelica root.
Effects: Benefit the liver and kidneys, replenish qi and blood, dispel rheumatism, and unblock meridians. It is suitable for middle-aged and elderly people with liver and kidney deficiency, insufficient qi and blood, and waist and leg pain.
3. Gynecological nourishing and nourishing yin
Recipe: Salvia miltiorrhiza, fried wild jujube kernels, fried malt, fried grain sprouts, cooked rehmannia glutinosa, whole angelica root, dogwood root, polygala root, Schisandra chinensis, Aconite, white peony root, wolfberry, dodder.
Efficacy: Nourishes blood and yin, regulates liver and kidneys, suitable for weak body, thin body, blood deficiency and infertility.
4. Soothe the liver, regulate qi, stomach and strengthen the spleen
Recipe: angelica, tangerine peel, green peel, amomum villosum, red yeast rice, clove, malt, citrus aurantium, gardenia, magnolia bark, Patchouli, woody aroma.
Efficacy: It is suitable for middle-aged and elderly people with indigestion caused by liver qi stagnation, disharmony between the spleen and stomach, swelling and pain in the flanks, and loose stools.
5. Relieve stress and relieve fatigue
Formula: cinnamon bark, Acanthopanax senticosus, licorice, ginseng leaves, Chuanxiong root, Polygonum multiflorum, Pleurotus chinensis and Cuscuta seeds.
Efficacy: dispel rheumatism, nourish liver and kidney, strengthen muscles and bones. It is suitable for people who exercise strenuously, work for a long time or do physical work, suffer from lack of sleep, and suffer from mental stress. Chronic fatigue syndrome such as difficulty concentrating, general fatigue, muscle aches, and loss of appetite.
6. Nourishes yin, strengthens yang, and prolongs life
Recipe: leek, morinda, eucommia, dangshen, astragalus, wolfberry, bullwhip, cistanche, rehmannia glutinosa, dodder, and ginger.
Efficacy: Warming the kidneys and nourishing yang, strengthening essence and aphrodisiac. It is suitable for low back pain, tibia weakness, premature ejaculation, and impotence caused by kidney yang deficiency.
7. Chronic bronchitis
Main symptoms: repeated chronic cough, expectoration, accompanied by asthma, etc. The cough worsens early and the phlegm is mostly white, thin or thick.
Recipe: loquat leaves, mulberry bark, fritillary fritillary, tangerine peel, pinellia, Houttuynia cordata, platycodon, perilla.
Efficacy: Mainly used to treat chronic bronchitis
8. Insomnia
Main symptoms: Inability to fall asleep normally or difficulty falling asleep after waking up. Common symptoms include dizziness, heartache, palpitations, forgetfulness, fatigue, and restlessness.
Recipe: Astragalus, Atractylodes, Pipi, Codonopsis, Angelica, Licorice, Cimicifuga, Bupleurum.
Efficacy: Tonifying the body and replenishing qi, soothing the liver and relieving stagnation. Treats insomnia.
9. Chronic gastric disease
Main symptoms: Chronic gastric disease generally includes chronic gastritis, gastric and duodenal ulcers and gastric neurosis. The main symptoms of chronic gastritis are epigastric pain with no obvious regularity, epigastric discomfort after eating, belching, nausea, etc. Gastric ulcers usually hurt 2 hours after eating. Duodenal gastric ulcers often hurt at night and are relieved after eating. Gastric neurosis is a functional disease of gastric nerves, characterized by sudden and severe gastric spasm pain.
Recipe: Patchouli, Perrin, egg shells, angelica root, tangerine peel, red yeast rice, Amomum villosum, cloves.
Efficacy: soothes the liver and regulates qi, harmonizes the stomach and relieves pain, and resolves stagnation and dampness. Used to treat indigestion, stomach distension and pain caused by disharmony between the spleen and stomach. Also suitable for chronic gastritis.
10. Hyperlipidemia
Recipe: Golden Cherry Seed, Cassia Seed, Polygoni Multiflori, Raw Coix Seed, Artemisia Cortex, Alisma, Raw Hawthorn, Bupleurum, Curcuma, and Wine rhubarb.
Efficacy: Nourishing yin and reducing fire, clearing stagnation and clearing meridians. Mainly used to treat hyperlipidemia.
11. Hypertension
Clears heat and replenishes qi, calms the liver and subdues yang, nourishes the liver and kidneys, lowers blood pressure and calms wind
Function: nourishes liver and kidneys, lowers blood pressure and calms wind. It is mainly used to treat dizziness, headache, irritability, waist and knee pain caused by essential hypertension.
Recipe: Cassia, apocynum, wormwood, locust, salvia, white peony root, Chinese root.
12. Diabetes
Warming yang and benefiting blood, activating blood circulation and dredging collaterals, clearing heat and detoxifying, dispelling wind and dehumidification
Function: Warming yang and dredging collaterals, activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis, dissipating heat, relieving pain and promoting muscle growth. Used for diabetes symptoms.
Recipe: Cinnamon twig, raw monkshood slices, salvia miltiorrhiza, honeysuckle vine, raw astragalus, frankincense, myrrh.
13. Obesity
Clear heat, remove dampness, reduce fat, lose weight and prolong life
Function: Diuretic and swelling, lower fat and lose weight, treat simple obesity. Hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis.
Recipe: Polygonatum, dry ginger, cinnamon, winter melon peel, Puwu, Sophora japonica.
14. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Warming yang and dispersing cold, dispelling wind and dredging collaterals, activating blood and relieving pain, strengthening muscles and bones
Warming yang and dispersing cold, dispelling wind and dredging collaterals , activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, suitable for rheumatic low back and leg pain
Functions: dispel wind and cold, activate blood circulation and unblock meridians, dehumidify and relieve pain, suitable for muscle and bone pain caused by wind and cold invasion and swelling and pain after soft tissue injury, chronic Back pain.
Recipe: Sophora flavescens, Atractylodes, Sichuan peppercorns, Phellodendron cypress, parsnips, Schizonepeta, licorice, angelica, peony bark.
15. Menopausal syndrome
Nourishes the liver and kidneys, calms the liver and reduces fire, nourishes yin and subdues yang, nourishes blood and calms the nerves
Nourishes the liver and kidneys, calms the liver and reduces fire. Treats menopausal syndrome.
Function: Clearing the heart, calming the liver, mainly treating menopausal syndrome; heat and sweating, upset and irritability, dry mouth, insomnia, palpitations and palpitations.
Recipe: Coptis chinensis, jujube kernel, Ophiopogon japonicus, white peony root, Bai Wei, salvia miltiorrhiza, dragon bone.
16. Neurasthenia
Nourishes the kidneys and liver, nourishes the mind and calms the mind, soothes the liver and strengthens the spleen, replenishes qi and nourishes the middle
Strengthens the spleen and nourishes the heart, nourishes the mind and calms the mind. It is suitable for insomnia, dreaminess, forgetfulness, fatigue and weakness caused by neurasthenia.
Function: Strengthen the spleen and nourish the heart, improve intelligence and calm the mind. It is suitable for symptoms such as insomnia, dreaminess, forgetfulness, fatigue and decreased brain function caused by neurasthenia.
17. Magic Ginger Therapy
Recipe: dried ginger, wild chrysanthemum, atractylodes, mugwort leaves, angelica, chuanxiong, cloves, cocklebur seeds, mint.
Efficacy: dispelling wind and cold, activating meridians and unblocking meridians, warming the body and dispersing cold, replenishing qi and nourishing blood. It has special effects on cold limbs caused by chilblains and poor blood circulation.
Precautions
When soaking your feet, you should pay attention to the following issues.
1. The time should not be too long, preferably 15-20 minutes. If the time is too long, the local blood circulation in the feet will be too fast for a long time, and more blood in the body will flow to the lower limbs, which will cause cardiovascular overload. Moreover, the climate in winter is inherently dry. If the skin is soaked in hot water for too long, it will also cause the skin to be too dry and prone to skin itching. Therefore, no matter what age group you are soaking your feet, it is best to use a certain amount of moisturizer after bathing. product to keep skin hydrated.
2. The water temperature should not be too high. Many people think that as long as the water temperature is within their tolerance, the higher the water temperature, the better. However, this is not the case. The best water temperature for foot bathing is below 50°C. It needs to be hot but not hot. To feel the water temperature, do not measure it with your hands. It is best to feel it with your feet. If the water temperature is too high, the blood vessels in the feet will easily expand excessively, and more blood in the body will flow to the lower limbs. On the contrary, it will easily cause insufficient blood supply to important organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys, which is detrimental to the body.
3. It is not advisable to soak your feet within half an hour after a meal. It will affect the blood supply to the stomach and cause malnutrition in the long run.
4. Do not sleep immediately after soaking your feet. It is best to rub the soles of your feet when they are hot, put on socks in time to keep warm, and wait until the body temperature slowly decreases before falling asleep.
5. 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 comfortably and flat, and it is best to let the water soak up to your calves. The suitable water temperature is around 40 degrees Celsius, and hot water should be added at any time to keep the temperature uniform.
The water should have a certain degree of heat, preferably 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. Only when your feet can tolerate it can it stimulate acupuncture points, cure diseases, maintain health, and strengthen the body.
The amount of water should not be too small, generally it should be enough to cover the ankle joint. The appropriate soaking time is 5 to 10 minutes each time.
Don’t read or watch TV when taking a foot bath, as this can easily achieve the effect of "drawing fire back to the original source".
If the foot bath bucket is not cleaned thoroughly or the bucket wall is not treated with antibacterial, bacteria on the feet will easily remain in the bucket wall, causing repeated infections of the feet. Therefore, it is very important to choose a good foot bath bucket. important.
In addition, if you add some medicines to the water when soaking your feet, the effect will be better. Here are several commonly used medicines and their effects.
A handful of torreya leaves can be boiled in water and washed externally to treat athlete's foot. [4]
11. 15 grams each of rhubarb, coptis, skullcap, cork cypress, and wild chrysanthemum. Decoction in water and soak the feet to cure boils in spring and summer.
Geranium boiled in water and soaked in feet can treat numbness and spasm of knee and ankle joints.
Ginkgo leaves boiled in water and washed on the feet can prevent and treat diarrhea in children.
Frequently using celery leaves boiled in water to soak your feet is beneficial to patients with high blood pressure and coronary heart disease.
Soaking feet with ginger in water can treat colds and nasal congestion.
There are taboos in safe foot soaking
First, the foot soaking time should not be too long, preferably 15-30 minutes. When soaking your feet, blood will flow to your lower limbs, which can easily lead to insufficient blood supply to the brain. If patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases or the elderly feel chest tightness or dizziness, they should temporarily stop soaking their feet and take a rest. Diabetic patients have poor peripheral sensory ability, so family members should test the water temperature first to prevent burns.
Second, it is not advisable to soak your feet within half an hour after a meal. It will affect the blood supply to the stomach and cause malnutrition in the long run. . After eating, most of the blood in the body flows to the digestive tract. If you soak your feet in hot water immediately after the meal, the blood that should have flowed to the digestive system will flow to the lower limbs instead. Over time, it will affect digestion and absorption and lead to nutritional deficiencies. Therefore, it is best to soak your feet half an hour after a meal.
Third, it is best to use a wooden basin for foot soaking with traditional Chinese medicine. The chemical components in metal basins such as copper basins are unstable and can easily react with the tannic acid in traditional Chinese medicine to produce iron tannate and other harmful substances, which greatly reduces the efficacy of the medicine.
Fourth, children should not soak their feet in overheated water for a long time. Because the arches of the feet begin to form in childhood, they must be protected from an early age. If children's feet are often washed with hot water, the ligaments on the soles of the feet will become loose, which is not conducive to the formation and maintenance of the arch of the foot and may easily lead to flat feet.
Fifth, women should not use traditional Chinese medicine to soak their feet during menstruation. Women's menstrual problems are more complicated. If you can't identify the cause, you will use traditional Chinese medicine to soak your feet. Not only will it not have a soothing effect, it may also aggravate symptoms such as dysmenorrhea. Therefore, if women want to use traditional Chinese medicine to soak their feet to treat menstrual health problems such as dysmenorrhea, it is best to consult a doctor and take appropriate medication according to their own conditions.
Elderly
First, the skin is one of the organs of the human body. It has functions such as barrier and absorption, secretion and excretion, temperature regulation, sensation, and breathing. Because it can absorb drugs by itself, if it uses hot water, it is more conducive to the effect of the drug on the human body.
Secondly, the feet are one of the gathering points of the human body’s meridians. Among the 12 main meridians of the human body, the three yang meridians of the foot end at the foot, and the three yin meridians of the foot start from the foot. There are more than 60 meridian acupuncture points distributed in the foot. By soaking in traditional Chinese medicine and stimulating these acupoints, the meridians can be regulated, Qi and blood can be dredged, and the functions of the organs can be adjusted, thus preventing and treating diseases. Therefore, some people say that "soaking your feet every day is equivalent to taking medicine."
Generally speaking, elderly people with chronic diseases are more suitable for traditional Chinese medicine foot baths. Such as hypertension, headache and dizziness, chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, stroke sequelae, chronic prostatitis, chronic vasculitis, menopausal syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic enteritis, neurosis, chilblains, chapped and other disease symptoms All can be relieved by this method of foot soaking.
When soaking your feet, you can add some traditional Chinese medicine preparations, such as red pine extract, sophora flavescens, schisandra chinensis, ginger, dangshen, astragalus, salvia, rhizome, cnidii, safflower, mint, etc. Pure Chinese medicine product. It is effective in removing athlete's foot, improving sleep, rheumatic joint pain, improving fatigue, improving blood circulation, dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, dry eyes, soreness of waist and knees, and constipation.
If you often have headaches and dizziness due to high blood pressure, you can add Prunella vulgaris, mulberry leaves, chrysanthemums, uncaria, etc.; if you have cold pain in your waist and legs, you can add Clematis, angelica, cassia twigs, Chuanxiong, etc. For chilblains, add Angelica sinensis, cinnamon twigs, ginger, ephedra, etc.; for chapped patients, add Bletilla striata, licorice, Digupi, Liujinu, etc.
Although traditional Chinese medicine foot bath is good, there are some points that must be paid attention to.
1． The medicine needs to be fried and then added to hot water. To prevent scalding the skin, the temperature should be 42-45 degrees Celsius and the time should be half an hour.
2. To keep the water temperature constant, it is advisable to use wooden barrels. The chemical composition in metal basins is unstable, therefore, its use is not recommended.
3． It is not advisable to take a foot bath immediately after a meal as it may affect digestion.
4. Not suitable for those who are allergic to drugs.
5. People with tinea pedis should use bathing equipment alone.
6. After all, the medicines absorbed through the skin by traditional Chinese medicine foot bath are limited and the absorption speed is slow, so it can only be used as an auxiliary treatment for diseases. People with serious illness must go to the hospital to avoid delaying the condition.
Benefits
1. Promote blood circulation. Chinese medicine foot soak is an excellent method.
Second, stimulate the acupuncture points, reflex zones and meridians of the feet. Soaking your feet also stimulates these six main meridians.
Principles of health maintenance
The meridian theory of Chinese medicine believes that the internal organs start from the three yin meridians of the foot (spleen, liver, kidney), and there are 66 acupoints below the ankle. According to traditional Chinese medicine, soaking feet in hot water is like using moxa sticks to moxibustion these acupoints. It has the effects of promoting blood circulation, warming the internal organs, keeping fit and preventing diseases. Modern medicine has determined that people feel most comfortable when the temperature of their feet is maintained at 28 to 33°C. The elderly have arteriosclerosis, which reduces the blood supply to their feet, and they are more sensitive to cold than young people. If the soles of their feet are cold and cold, the body's resistance will decrease and they will suffer from diseases. Therefore, always keep your feet warm and soak your feet in hot water every night to circulate blood throughout your body and benefit your physical and mental health.
The scientific basis for foot health comes from the following four principles:
(1) Holographic principle: The biological holographic theory points out that: in both feet of the human body, there are objective connections with various organs of the human body. The corresponding area is the reflection area. By stimulating these reflex zones, the physiological functions of various organs of the human body can be adjusted, thereby achieving the goals of disease treatment and self-care. There are 62 basic reflection areas in both feet, which are like a microcosm of the human body. They always pay attention to the health of various parts of the human body. Regularly stimulating the reflex zones through Chinese herbal foot baths can improve the absorption of drugs and speed up the delivery of drugs. Under the dual effects of the stimulation of the reflex zones and the drugs, it promotes the smooth flow of blood throughout the body, regulates the functions of various tissues and organs, and improves the internal organs. Pathological changes in organs and improve the body's immunity.
(2) Principle of meridians: As early as thousands of years ago, the "Huangdi Neijing" recorded: The Yin meridians gather under the feet and gather in the center of the feet. The so-called meridians all originate from the feet. The foot is the starting point of the three yin meridians and the end point of the three yang meridians. The acupuncture points of the six meridians of the foot, such as Jing, Ying, Shu, and Yuan, are all located in the foot. There are 66 acupuncture points on the feet on these meridians. These acupuncture points are very sensitive to various stimuli. The acupuncture points are closely connected with various organs of the body. Chinese herbal foot bath can promote the circulation of qi and blood and warm the organs. , so as to achieve the effect of treating internal diseases externally and treating upper diseases underneath.
(3) Principle of circulation: As we all know, our lower limbs are farthest from the heart, so the blood circulation is not very good, and the blood circulation of the internal organs is mostly small blood vessels, so the return of blood is Even worse. When using Chinese herbal foot baths, on the one hand, due to the warming effect and drug effect, blood circulation can be accelerated, so that the blood in the lower limbs and internal organs can also be added to the systemic circulation, so that toxins and waste in the human body can be excreted through metabolism. On the other hand, the capillaries and peripheral nerves in the feet are very rich. By stimulating these acupoints, the blood vessels in the feet will be expanded, blood circulation will be accelerated, and the nerve sensitivity will be enhanced to promote the entry of drug ions, so that the drug properties can be quickly transmitted through the meridians and effectively distributed throughout the body. , combined with the stimulating effect of the foot reflex zone, to simultaneously regulate the functions of the internal organs, thus playing a therapeutic and health-care role.
(4) Physical principle: During the Chinese herbal foot bath, physical factors such as thermal energy, water pressure, and drug ion movement work together to stimulate the feet to stimulate the body's own regulation. Promote the body's resistance function and enhance the body's immune function, thereby inhibiting or reducing the release of biologically active substances, achieving the effects of regulating organ metabolism and preventing and treating diseases. At the same time, under the action of biological negative ion energy, the nerve cells, brain glands and lymphocytes of the pituitary gland are activated to the maximum extent, thereby improving the ability of antibody substances to identify and kill bacteria and viruses, and promoting toxins in the body to travel with the sweat glands and urinary system. and other excretory organs to eliminate it from the body.