The Best Foot Soaks for Neuropathy and Diabetic Foot Pain
Peripheral neuropathy is a painful condition where the peripheral nerves of the feet and/or hands are damaged. It’s mostly caused by diabetes or chemotherapy treatments for cancers. The extent of nerve damage, as well as the symptoms intensity, vary from one person to the other. While some find relief in prescribed medications, others prefer turning to home remedies and alternative pain-management solutions.
Soaking your feet in a basin filled with warm water or in a foot spa can help calm down neuropathy symptoms. Foot soaks are also a great opportunity to add natural pain-relieving and soothing ingredients such as Epsom salts, essential oils for neuropathy, medicinal herbs, or Cannabidiol (CBD) products.
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Does Soaking your Feet Help with Neuropathy?
To be short, soaking your feet can help living with diabetic neuropathy foot pain, but it’s no treatment for it. In other words, foot soaks may relieve nerve pain but can not repair damaged nerves. As of today, science has not found any way to reverse diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Soaking your feet in Epsom salts or apple cider vinegar won’t reverse neuropathy, but it can definitely have a well-appreciated pain-relieving effect you’d be fond of!
Foot soaks can help relieve nerve pain
- Relieve pain
- Reduce stress
- Relax muscles
- Boost blood circulation
Can diabetics soak their feet?
If used wisely and reasonably, foot soak is no danger for people living with diabetes or neuropathy. However, don’t forget that feet affected by neuropathy and diabetes are very fragile and prone to numerous conditions. To avoid any injury:
- Always check the water temperature with a thermometer. The damaged nerves in your feet are not reliable enough for judging water temperature. You could burn your skin without noticing it.
- Dry your feet thoroughly but gently after the soak, especially in between your toes. Wet skin blisters easily and gets wounded and infected.
- Don’t over soak. Soaking your feet for more than 30 minutes and 3-4 times a week can weaken your skin and its protective barrier.
- Be careful what you’re putting in your foot bath. Some foot soak recipes for neuropathy you find online are too aggressive and might hurt you. Always ask for your doctor’s advice first.
The Best Foot Soaks for Neuropathy
Epsom salts foot baths & magnesium deficiency
Epsom, or magnesium sulphate, is popularly used to soothe muscle aches, reduce pain, relieve itching, decrease swelling, and boost magnesium levels. While it may seem perfect for neuropathy symptoms that are often increased by a magnesium deficiency, soaking your feet in Epsom salts has to be done carefully. Epsom salts foot baths could indeed dry out your skin and lead to more foot problems. Don’t abuse it, and always apply some moisturizing foot creams after the soak.
There’s no evidence that the body can absorb magnesium through the skin. If you have a magnesium deficiency and need to boost your magnesium levels, your doctor would probably recommend you to take magnesium supplements instead.
Village Naturals Therapy Chronic Pain Soak:
Village Naturals Therapy Chronic Pain Relief is a great therapeutic soak for pain caused by damaged nerves. It’s made with a mix of Epsom salts and sea salts, with a powerful blend of oils, essential oils, and plant extracts known for their pain-relief and soothing properties.
Main ingredients: Epsom salts, sea salts, Arnica, Ginger, Blueberry oil, Flaxseed oil, Rosemary essential oil.
Daily Remedy Calming Lavender Foot Soak
Daily Remedy Calming Lavender foot soak is another great Epsom salts foot bath recipe for diabetic foot pain caused by neuropathy. Its first ingredient is Dead Sea salts to which are added Epsom salts and a great blend of oils and essential oils including calming Lavender essential oil, soothing Aloe Vera extract, nourishing Argan and Jojoba oils, and purifying Tea Tree essential oil.
Main ingredients: Dead Sea salts, Epsom salts, Lavender essential oil, Aloe Vera extract, Tea Tree essential oil, Jojoba oil, Argan oil, Geranium oil, Vitamin E.
Better Bath Better Body Circulation Foot Soak
Better Bath Better Body’s Circulation Foot Soak is another great foot soak for neuropathy especially for diabetics who also suffer from peripheral artery disease causing poor circulation and diabetes swollen feet. The Epsom salts considerably help reduce swelling. The essential oils have been carefully selected to boost blood circulation, ease the pain, and purify the feet.
Main ingredients: Epsom salts, Coconut oil, Eucalyptus essential oil, Lavender essential oil, Cypress essential oil, Ginger oil, Vitamin C crystals, Vitamin E oil.
Apple cider vinegar foot soak for neuropathy
Apple cider vinegar is one of the most popular home remedies for neuropathy. According to the Earth Clinic, apple cider vinegar helps reduce nerve pain by alkalizing the body, removing toxins, and delivering a variety of vitamins and minerals to the body to restore nutrient deficiency that can increase nerve pain.
The best way to take apple cider vinegar for neuropathy is by drinking it or eating supplements. Soaking your feet in apple cider vinegar is also popular among nerve pain sufferers but there’s no evidence it works. You’ll have to try for yourself and see if it works! Caution: pure vinegar can damage your skin. For a foot soak, dilute one volume of apple cider vinegar into 3 volumes of water.
Essential oils foot soak recipe for damaged nerves
- Choose your desired combination of essential oils that work great for neuropathy
- Pour 1/3 cup of Epsom salt or Dead Sea salt into a small container
- Add 3 tablespoons of your favorite nourishing oil (coconut, argan, jojoba, or other)
- Add a few drops of your chosen essential oils
- Stir to mix all the ingredients
- Pour the mixture into a foot basin filled with warm water and stir until the salts dissolve
- Soak your feet for 20-30 minutes and towel dry.
Herbal neuropathy pain-relieving foot baths
Whether you believe in it or not, traditional Chinese medicine is a real deal and various scientific studies have reported the efficiency of herbal medicine foot baths for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Medicinal herbs can offer plenty of benefits for diabetics, including lowering blood sugar levels, relieving nerve pain, reducing swelling, and boosting blood circulation.
In the case of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, the most-used medicinal herbs and extracts and cayenne chili pepper, frankincense, myrrh, honeysuckle vine, camphor tree, turmeric, St John’s wort, nutmeg, and safflower.
Neuropathy is a serious condition. Soaking your feet can help relieve its symptoms but it can also cause some undesirable effects. Always ask for your doctor’s advice before soaking your feet.
