Last, but not least, we will talk about the hot foot bath and hot sitz bath.
The materials used in this simple remedy will depend upon your patient’s size and his physical condition. You will need a container for hot and cold water to place the feet in. If the patient is a child, an ordinary bucket will do. But if he is an adult with big feet, then you will have to look around for something bigger. A plastic garbage bin is often just the thing, and it would be well to set one aside for this purpose. This is one of the simplest and easiest remedies to carry out and a very effective one, too, if done properly. The secret lies in the heat of the water.
In a head cold, for instance, the head is all congested, you are sneezing your head off, and are generally miserable. You will have no problem in believing that your head is congested! What better way to relieve this congestion than to draw it down to the feet! It seems that every time the body is weary, exhausted, injured, or infected, a spontaneous congestion takes place. To equalize circulation again and stimulate it into doing its restorative work with all haste, there is no better booster than good, clean, healing water. Fill the bucket or bin with enough hot water to reach just below the knee. The water should be comfortably hot. Beside this place a bucket of cold water. The contrasting of the hot and cold will enable you to raise the temperature of the hot one to quite a degree without burning and will give a powerful stimulant to the circulation and nervous system. (It will warm the “cockles” of your heart!) Rest the feet in the hot water for a few minutes, then take them out and place in the cold for a shorter period, just enough to feel the cold penetrating. While the patient is doing this, add more boiling water to the hot bucket. This will be noticed by the patient when he puts his feet back in, but he will be able to bear it because of the effect of the cold. For the first few minutes when the reaction takes place, he will feel his whole body tingle. Continue treatment until the congestion has been relieved, the sneezing arrested, and the patient feels warm all over. Finish with a quick cold bath or shower, and dry the feet well.
Another method that can be used to relieve congestion in the head or chest, regardless of what the cause might be, is to use a cold cloth covering the area of congestion and heating an opposite area. For instance, in mumps, where there is congestion in the glands around the neck, place a cool cloth here and wrap the legs up in a warm blanket after placing hot water bottles between the legs and at the feet. Wrap well and be careful not to have the bottles too hot. The object is to create a warming effect. This can also be done to relieve the chest congestion in bronchitis or asthma. This will draw the blood that is congesting around the head or chest into the large blood vessels of the legs where it is warmed. As it circulates back through the body, it brings warmth and healing. It quiets the nerves and promotes good sleep.
When one part of the body is suffering, it is good to enlist the help of another part that is strong and healthy. A lady suffering from a very painful arm, too sore for us to touch, was relieved by massage of the feet. The body is full of reflex areas which respond to stimuli because all the nerves in the body are in touch with each other. When one suffers, the others are in sympathy with it. Knowing this, we can help the ones in sympathy to do something constructive. Thus, though it may at first seem strange, hot foot baths or heating pads to the legs can help head and chest complaints.
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