Have you ever been caught out in the rain and rushed to change out of your wet socks for fear of catching a cold?
Well, if done correctly, wearing a pair of wet socks could actually help relieve a cold - and more!
Wet sock therapy is a specific type of hydrotherapy called warming compress, in which a local warming double compress is applied to the feet.
This inexpensive at-home treatment can improve your health while you sleep and be beneficial to everyone, from athletes to children.
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How It Works
When you take your feet from hot to cold, the body automatically wants to correct itself and get warm again. It does this by increasing blood flow and circulation.
When you put the wet socks on, the vessels in your feet will become narrow as your feet start to cool down and squeeze infecting-fighting nutrients to all your systems, including the lymphatic system.
This improves your immune response and decreases congestion.
Overnight, the socks will dry, warming the feet again.
Benefits of wet sock therapy:
- Increases the circulation and decrease congestion in the upper respiratory passages, head, and throat
- Sedative effect
- Effective for pain relief
- Increases the healing response during acute infections
- Helps relieve:
-
- sore throat
- inflammation or infection of the throat
- neck pain
- insomnia during the cold or flu
- ear infections
- headaches
- migraines
- coughs
- bronchitis
- sinus infections
You'll need:
- Cotton Ankle socks
- Heavy wool socks/ski socks
- Bathtub or shower
What to do:
Step 1: Soak feet in warm water in a bathtub for 10-15 minutes. You can do this immediately after a warm bath or shower of 10-15 minutes duration. Dry feet and body.
Step 2: Get a pair of thin white cotton ankle socks, run them under cold water, wring them out, and put the wet socks on your feet.
Step 3: Put on a pair of heavy wool or ski socks on top of the wet socks and go directly to bed.
Step 4: Cover well and sleep tight with both pairs of socks on. The cotton socks should be dry the next morning.
Step 5: Remove socks and proceed with life as scheduled!
Contraindications
Use caution if you have the following conditions. Please consult your physician first.
- Diabetes
- Raynaud’s phenomenon or syndrome
- Arterial insufficiency
- Advanced intermittent claudication
You can also do this procedure over the chest or throat. Just use a white cotton t-shirt covered with a heavy fleece or sweater for the chest, or a thin towel or cloth covered with a scarf for the throat.
