Salt baths for feet: benefits and harms, advice on preparation and use

The healing properties of salt have been known for a long time, therefore it is often used as the main ingredient in hand and foot baths. This simple and affordable remedy can have a beneficial effect on the beauty and health of your feet. How to properly prepare such a bath and what exactly is its use is knowledge that will be useful to everyone.

Salt foot baths are an effective and always available remedy for those who want to prolong the youth and beauty of the lower extremities. Such procedures perfectly help to relieve fatigue from the legs at the end of the working day and not only. The benefit of this remedy is also that it strengthens the nails and helps to get rid of the fungus, and is also recommended for use after a fracture. Such baths have a deodorizing, anti-inflammatory and antifungal effect on the feet, which is very important and relevant at any time of the year.

Most often, sea salt is used for such baths - it can be found in any pharmacy. If you wish, you can purchase salt with various additives in the form of beneficial herbs. They also use ordinary rock salt or just large, iodized salt.

Salt baths can relieve pain, tension and fatigue in the legs, as well as relieve excessive sweating of the lower extremities and help heal wounds. Many carry out such procedures regularly in order to prevent the occurrence of various kinds of infections and the development of arthritis. It also helps with edema, eliminating excess fluid in the body.

Salt can improve the functioning of blood vessels and the heart, strengthen the immune system and the nervous system.All this is due to the fact that salt, especially sea salt, contains such useful substances as iodine, magnesium, calcium, iron, silicon and zinc. Regular use of such baths helps to ensure that the joints receive the necessary useful elements.

Undoubtedly, any useful procedure can harm the body if the indications for use and contraindications are not taken into account. Saline foot treatments are strongly discouraged for those who suffer from high or low blood pressure or have heart problems. In case of oncological diseases, such a procedure is also contraindicated.

Also, such recreational activities are not recommended for those who suffer from diabetes mellitus, varicose veins, venous insufficiency of the legs, glaucoma, or have other diseases in which such procedures are prohibited. Do not get carried away with salt baths during pregnancy or breastfeeding. The same goes for women during their menstrual cycle.

Despite the fact that most of the procedures are prescribed as prevention and elimination of fungus, it is not always possible to use such baths. In the case of an advanced fungus or purulent-type skin diseases, such a salt procedure will only aggravate the situation.

Before arranging such a procedure for yourself, you need to understand its diversity. Salt baths are different and have different effects. For example, you can make a tonic, healing, cleansing or caring bath, or you can do others, for example, relaxing and prophylactic.

Having decided what kind of procedure is needed, you should take into account some rules that will help you do everything right and get the maximum benefit. First of all, remember that before starting the procedure, you need to thoroughly wash your feet, preferably with soap and a washcloth.

As a rule, hot water is collected in a basin of water, the required amount of salt is dissolved in it. After the salt has dissolved, it is worth diluting everything a little with cold water so that the water is at a comfortable temperature. Feet should be immersed in water up to the ankles. The procedure should not last more than fifteen minutes.

As soon as you are done, be sure to rinse your feet with warm water and wipe them off, however, in some recipes, on the contrary, you cannot rinse your feet. Such recommendations are not accidental, so be sure to consider all the tips.

Remember that you should not abuse this procedure either - you cannot do such baths every day. Do them two to three times a week, ideally in the evening, before bed.

As for the salt itself, be sure to choose the largest one, as it contains more minerals and beneficial properties. It is also important to take into account the temperature of the water while taking such a bath. Ideally, it is better to purchase a water thermometer in order to know exactly how many degrees are in the resulting solution. In order to relieve fatigue from the legs, the water should not be hotter than twenty-five degrees, but not colder. To take a relaxing bath, the water temperature should not exceed forty degrees, approximately thirty-seven or thirty-eight degrees will be optimal for the task.

To begin with, I would like to tell you a little more about the features and types of such procedures. In the event that the bath is done for prophylaxis, you can safely add extracts of various herbs. In order for the procedure to have a relaxing effect, extracts of mint, lavender and St. John's wort should be added.For the toning procedure, you need nettle or tea tree extract. For the procedure to bring maximum benefits and saturate the body with vitamins, you can add seaweed extract.

Salt baths at home are a great way to stop thinking about swelling. In order to get rid of excess fluid in the body and overcome the problem of puffiness, you need to make a concentrated solution and keep your feet in it for no more than ten minutes. In one liter of hot water, you need to dilute fifty to sixty grams of salt. In the event that you suffer from gout or just want to do the procedure as an antiseptic prophylaxis, one tablespoon of salt is enough for a liter of water.

For those who have joint problems and have recently experienced a fracture, the following recipe will help. In one liter of hot water, you need to dilute seventy grams of salt. You need to keep your legs in such a solution for a maximum of fifteen minutes - this helps to restore joint mobility, relieves pain and swelling, relieves inflammation and restores tone. The procedure must be performed before bedtime. The course lasts no more than ten days. By the way, you cannot wash your feet after such a procedure - you just need to dry them.

To get rid of excessive sweating of the feet, you can prepare a special bath. For a liter of water, you will need three tablespoons of salt and four tablespoons of oak bark. The water should be very hot, since all the ingredients will need to be infused for about twenty minutes, and only then start the procedure. Keep your feet in this water for no more than ten minutes.

Regular iodized salt will help get rid of cracks, calluses, warts and growths. Dilute two tablespoons of salt in a bowl of warm water. If there is a plantar wart, then before the procedure, you can generously lubricate it with iodine. After a week of such procedures, the problem will disappear.

For prevention and in order to relieve fatigue from the legs after a working day, we recommend making baths according to the following recipe. For two liters of water, you need three tablespoons of salt. You can choose any seafood, without any additives, since it will still be saturated with iodine. Then you need to add three to four drops of jasmine or rose essential oil - these oils help fight fatigue and relieve stress.

For a tonic bath, add a few drops of orange oil, and a few drops of peppermint oil will relieve stress, lift your spirits and help you sleep better at night. The procedure should last fifteen to twenty minutes, it will not only help you forget about fatigue, but will also cheer you up.

In the event that you want to cleanse your feet, you can use the following recipe. Take one and a half liters of hot water, you will also need soda, regular baking soda (literally one teaspoon), and two tablespoons of salt. Everything needs to be dissolved in water, and as soon as it cools slightly to a comfortable temperature, you can lower your feet there for exactly ten minutes.

Before going to bed, you can do another relaxing bath. To do this, you need a bowl of warm water, two tablespoons of salt (it is better to choose sea salt), two drops of lavender essential oil and two drops of chamomile oil. The water temperature should be thirty-five degrees. We hold our legs for exactly fifteen minutes, after which we dry them and apply our favorite cream. After such a procedure, you will forget about fatigue and insomnia.

Reviews about salt foot baths, see below.