Recently, a news about “taking photos to wash your parents’ feet” caused heated discussion: before the Spring Festival, the party and government of Huoshaoping Township, Changyang County, Hubei Province, required officials and students to wash their parents’ feet by hand when they were at home, and also requested that photos be taken and handed in. Washing feet for parents is a reflection of filial piety itself. It is mandatory to take photos to meet people, which makes people feel that filial piety has “changed its taste”.
Although it is more formalistic than practical to take photos and hand in documents to wash your parents’ feet, it is beneficial to wash and soak your feet more in life. According to the meridian theory in traditional Chinese medicine, there are 33 acupoints on people’s feet, accounting for one tenth of the acupoints in the whole body. The corresponding projections of the body’s five viscera can be observed from the small soles of the feet. After experiencing foot washing and sleeping, the poet Su Dongpo sighed: “my master advised me to wash my feet and sleep, and I would not hear the bells and drums again when I got out of bed.” In life, we insist on washing and soaking our feet, and at the same time, through the stimulation of water and hand to foot massage, we can achieve the functions of relaxing meridians and activating collaterals, preventing and curing diseases and keeping fit.
four elements of healthy foot washing
1. Water temperature: when washing feet, the temperature of water is generally maintained at about 40 ℃ ~ 50 ℃, and the water volume is better to submerge the ankle. Immerse both feet in warm water for 5-10 minutes, and then massage the soles of the feet with your hands. The massage should be slow, consistent and appropriate. At first, the speed should be slow and the time should be short, and then gradually accelerate after adaptation.
2. Massage: according to the traditional Chinese medicine theory, all the internal organs of the human body have corresponding reflection areas on the feet, and massaging different reflection areas will play different health care roles. For example, we all know that there is a spring point on the foot. Massaging this point can nourish yin and kidney, and nourish the viscera. The elderly often massage the soles of their feet to prevent numbness, weakness and coldness. According to the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the big toe is the pathway of the liver and spleen. More activities of the big toe can relax the liver, strengthen the spleen and improve appetite; The fourth toe belongs to the gallbladder meridian, and massage can prevent constipation and rib pain; Little toe belongs to bladder meridian, which can correct the position of womb. Foot massage can be carried out after washing feet with hot water every night. The action should be gentle, consistent, light, important and appropriate. The speed is appropriate, and the time is not very long.
3. Addition: if some drugs are added to the hot water during foot bath, it can also prevent and cure athlete’s foot, foot odor, dry feet, excessive sweating, heel pain, frostbite, edema and numbness of lower limbs, lukewarm limbs, colds, rheumatoid arthritis and frequent urination at night.
4. After foot bath: try to avoid washing hands and feet with strong alkaline soap to avoid excessive fat removal and dry and cracked skin. After washing your feet, dry them with a towel, and then apply some non irritating grease or skin cream.
note: excessive water temperature will increase the risk. Under the condition that the blood supply of the lower limbs is normal, hot water foot washing improves the metabolic rate of the foot tissue, which can indeed play a certain health care role, such as alleviating fatigue, but the increase of the metabolic rate will also lead to an increase in local tissue oxygen consumption. If the lower limbs are already in the state of ischemia, it will aggravate the degree of ischemia, and the difference between tissue oxygen demand and blood oxygen supply can further increase. In serious cases, it can lead to foot tissue necrosis. In serious cases, the skin of the feet will turn black quickly after soaking the feet, and it is likely that amputation will be required at last. Therefore, it is appropriate to control the soaking time at about 15 minutes.
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