This simple and time tested hydrotherapy technique is great for bedtime, especially for kids that are dealing with congestion, stuffy nose or fever. It’s not just for children either! This treatment should be done at the first signs of congestion in throat, lungs, sinuses, ears or fever. It can also be helpful for headaches too. It has been known to help shorten the duration of fevers, flus and colds.

The action of the treatment is to calm the nervous system, decongest the head and chest areas, and stimulate immune function to boost healing and repair.

Things You Need

• One pair of cotton socks

• One pair of wool socks, Polar fleece will work here too, you are mainly looking for something insulating, it can help to have these in a size bit larger than your normal socks. (You can uses adult sized wool socks on your little ones too.)

• Water

How to Do It

• First of it all- It is beneficial to start this off with nice warm feet.  To do this- soak your feet in warm water for 5-10 minutes. You can take a nice warm shower or bath too.

• Wet the cotton socks in cold water and wring them out thoroughly. You don’t want the socks to be dripping water but you also don’t want to make them too dry. They should still be wet to the touch.

• Put the wet socks on feet.

• Put the dry wool sock on over the top.

• Now off to bed! Bundle up and keep the socks on all night as you sleep. When you wake up the cotton socks should be warm and almost fully dry.

• This technique works best when used on the first day of the illness and used for a few nights in a row.

Why and How it Works

This simple treatment not only helps to stimulate immune function is also calms the nervous system while decongesting the head and chest. This activity helps to increase blood, Qi and lymph circulation while increasing lymphatic drainage.

• Increases circulation hence boosts the immune system

• Non-invasive simple care for all ages.

• Helps improve sleep

This article was originally published by Lenore Cangeloso and has been republished here with her permission.

Care Consideration: Just a reminder that the above information is not a substitute for medical care and is not a substitute for medical advice or recommendations  from a healthcare provider.  This information is not intended to treat, mitigate or cure any disease.  That said, we encourage you to connect with an Acupuncturist in your community to learn more about this and other Traditional Chinese Medicine options.  If you’ve got questions about Chinese herbal medicine or getting started with an Acupuncturist, feel free to connect with us on hello@mydaolabs.com.