Do you have sore or swollen feet? Maybe you have done a long walk, you have worn too high or uncomfortable shoes, you have worn socks or tight socks, you have circulation problems or you have practiced high impact exercises for this area of the body, among many other possibilities, since there are many Causes of discomfort in the feet and ankles. If you suffer any of these problems, relaxing and taking care of your feet will benefit all your health, help you improve the problem in question and allow you to perform all your routine activities normally.
We bring you this article about salt water for your feet, its benefits and how to prepare and use it. A practical way to relax at the end of a long day, have good hygiene in this area and improve your health.
Properties of salt water for the feet
Podiatrists, who are the medical specialists related to foot care, argue that it is essential to take care of this part of the body to prevent a variety of diseases. For its part, foot reflexology, whose origin is in Traditional Chinese Medicine, establishes that all our internal organs are reflected in the feet, something that has also been corroborated in Western medicine. For all this, it is really important to take care of them, because some conditions that may appear in this part of the body can affect other parts or even the whole organism.
The combination of water with sea salt for the feet, using both warm and cold water, has great beneficial properties.
- Antiseptic
- Analgesic
- Relaxing
- Pain relieving
- Anti-inflammatory
- Scrub
- Circulatory
- Moisturizing
- Healing
Benefits of salt water for the feet
Thanks to the mentioned properties, these are the benefits of salt water for the feet:
Relieves pain, tiredness and muscle cramps
Hot water helps generate endorphins, which contribute to physical and mental relaxation, thereby reducing body aches and improving mood. Thus, water with sea salt, and especially if it is warm or warm, allows the muscles to relax easily.
Therefore, salt water for the feet not only eliminates accumulated muscle fatigue, but also relieves pain, stress and muscle cramps, proving very beneficial for people with medical conditions such as arthritis.
Improves circulation and deflates the feet and ankles
Hot water causes blood vessels to dilate and cold water contracts them. Therefore, to deflate the feet and ankles, it is best to use cold water, but the combination of cold and warm water (in two separate holes) is really effective for cases where there is a lot of swelling. By combining the temperatures, the circulation is activated and, added to the salt properties, it favors the disinflammation of the feet and ankles, showing immediate relief in problems of heaviness of legs and edema in the feet and ankles, among others.
Softens calluses on the feet
Salt has exfoliating properties, so combining it with water and massaging the feet with it favors the removal of dead cells. This is ideal for softening the calluses present on the feet. To obtain a better exfoliation, combine it with the use of a pumice stone.
Prevents and heals nails and other wounds
Soaking your feet in warm salt water helps prevent the appearance of problems in the surrounding nails and skin, such as fingernails and whites. On the one hand, warm water softens the skin making it easy to exfoliate it well and also the nails making it much easier to cut them properly. This added to the fact that salt is antiseptic, can prevent problems of this type and, if they appear, this easy and homemade treatment helps keep the area clean and promotes healing.
Help treat fish eyes on the feet
Fish eyes are plantar warts that are distinguished from other types by having a black dot in the center. This treatment with salt water does not serve to cure this problem by itself, but it will keep the area well clean and disinfected and will soften the skin, preparing it to make it easier to scrape and apply the appropriate treatment, always prescribed by the podiatrist (or even applied by this specialist).
Prevents foot fungus
Proper hygiene, using antiseptic products such as salt and then drying your feet perfectly, is key to preventing foot fungus or the appearance of the well-known athlete’s foot. However, if this problem appears, salt water will help to improve the problem due to its antiseptic, exfoliating and skin softening properties, facilitating its elimination, but it will not be an effective treatment to eliminate them on its own. It must be treated properly and use salt water as a method of hygiene and to facilitate treatment.
Eliminates the bad smell of the feet
If you have bad smell problems on your feet, do not hesitate to use this home remedy as part of your usual hygiene ritual. The fact of adding salt to water, allows it to eliminate bacteria and hinder the appearance of fungi, so it reduces the bad smell and prevents it from reappearing.
It helps eliminate toxins
It is very likely that you have heard about the water with salt for the feet helps eliminate toxins and that you have thought that it is a good way to cleanse the body, lose weight, and so on. However this is not exactly so, nor so simple, and that is why we clarify it.
While it is not a treatment to cure systemic or generalized diseases throughout the body, but rather to treat conditions located on the feet, soaking your feet frequently in warm salt water can help eliminate toxins. It should be noted that it will not do so much or to notice a great improvement in a disease, but having it as a habit makes it easier to maintain a better balance in the body. On the one hand, the dilation of the pores and the high saturation of salt in the water favor the osmosis of the organism in this part of the body, which favors a rebalancing at the blood and lymphatic level and, therefore, cellular. On the other hand, the relaxation provided by this method favors the proper functioning of the lymphatic system, which, together with good habits such as drinking a lot of water,
How to prepare salt water for the feet
You can prepare a water bath with salt for your feet as follows:
Ingredients and material
- 2 containers of a size that allows you to dip both feet in the water at the same time.
- Warm and cold water.
- Sea salt
Treatment
- Fill a bowl with warm water and the other with cold water. Measure the water to calculate more accurately the amount of salt you will need. Warm water should have a temperature that is comfortable when in contact with the skin, since too hot it can burn you.
- Add the salt. Specifically, use a minimum concentration of 20 grams of salt per liter of water. This means that for 5 liters of water, in each container, you must add half a cup of salt (125 g). And for 10 liters, add 1 cup of salt (250 g).
- Stir the water so that the salt dissolves well.
- Dip the feet in the bowl with warm water and salt for 20 minutes.
- After that time, place your feet in the bowl with cold water and salt for 20 more minutes.
- Remove your feet and dry them well with a towel.
- Apply a massage with relaxing essential oils, such as lavender, or with a moisturizer for about 10 minutes.
How to prepare salt water and vinegar for the feet
Another great combination of natural foot care products is to include vinegar, either wine or apple. Vinegar has great properties for the skin, as well as the ability to help regulate the temperature and reduce inflammation. Thanks to the antiseptic and antifungal properties of this product, you can more effectively combat athlete’s foot or prevent it, but it will also help you if you have ankle swelling or heavy legs. For all this, it is a very good mixture for foot care. Take note of these simple guidelines for preparing salt water and vinegar to wash your feet:
Ingredients and material
- 2 villagers
- Cold water
- Warm water
- Salt
- Apple or wine vinegar
Preparation and treatment
- Fill the two villages, one with warm water and one with cold water.
- Add the salt with an amount as indicated in the previous section.
- Add half a glass of vinegar and stir.
- Put both feet in the bowl of warm water and let them soak for 20-30 minutes.
- Pass the feet of the temperate water to the cold water bowl directly and let another 20 or 30 minutes pass.
- Dry your feet completely with the help of a clean towel.
- Finish with a gentle massage with moisturizer and do not fit or wear socks until the skin has absorbed the cream well.
