I’ve been soaking , hoping to absorb those minerals. Did some research and find conflicting opinions as to helpful-not helpful.
So, what’s your take on an ES soak?
Love my Epsom Salt baths, have also converted husband, I think it helps the aches and pains.
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I use Epsom salts at least once a week. I do think it helps the edema my joints are prone to collecting, and also perhaps the my slow GI mobility (although that could also just be the hot water). It’s pretty economical, so seems to be no harm in trying.
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I don’t think you absorb any magnesium from a soak. But they do seem to ease aches and pains.
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There is a business in town that I go to “float”. It is a big tub (pod) full of water w/Epsom salts…nearly saturated so there is no way you can sink. Wonderfully relaxing. No light, no sound, body temp water. It feels like your skeleton is all that is there.
I doubt I am absorbing any but it sure does feel nice. I often go to sleep.
Susan
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Here’s an interestingly-written article, pretty much everything you need to know about Epsom Salts as therapy:
Thanks for the link. That’s a lot of detail. I did read it and even clicked on some of the links which were very interesting. I guess I will continue to try a soaking bath since it seems to be comforting and does help me get to sleep.
Hello all! I’ve been experimenting with Epsom salts also and find a good foot soak to be a nice way to relax at the end of the day. Seems like it was done much more frequently in the generations before us.
Good article. I do find a hot salt bath or foot soak does something beyond plain water but it might be that it just changes the feel of the water to be more silky or more flotational. More soothing. Or else as article says you soak longer because you want to get the full effect!
Went to a spa recently and was told to soak in the salts for 20 minutes minimum to get the full benefit.
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Love mine! I use dead sea salts by a company called MG12, since they’re higher in magnesium than regulr Epsom Salts. I follow up with magnesium oil and a sport balm on any particular sore spots.
Have you found that you have better sleep while using the magnesium-based salts? I’ve heard it has that effect on some people.
A soak certainly makes me sleepy. Don’t know if it’s the Epsom salts or the hot water
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I had always understood that the way and Epsom Salt soak works (in particular for hoof abscesses) is that it draws the moisture OUT of the hoof and into the Epsom salt solution by osmosis (attempting to equalize the concentration on two sides of a semipermeable membrane).
There is no way that osmosis would cause the Epsom Salt would move INTO the (human or equine) body.
The whole point of osmosis is that the WATER (small molecule) moves through a membrane that the salt (large molecule) can NOT move through.
I know. The science behind all this is confusing to me but it seems that mineral baths have been used by humans for a really long time.
Kinda interesting…used to take a ton of epsom salt baths. Nearly nightly. Just liked it. Moved, lost the tub. Started getting visual migraines. Doc said to start taking magnesium. As long as I do that, no weird visual migraines. Moved again. Should really start soaking in epsom salt and see if I can drop the supplement!
Lots of disagreements about absorbing it through the skin but I’ve decided to keep soaking. Feels good and comforting
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I expect that could be because at one time, the only way to get large quantities of really hot water was to go to a hot spring, and those are typically strong in dissolved minerals. I was a big fan of wild hot springs at one point and sat in a lot of stinky water!
I can see how spas built up around them all over Europe, and in 1750 or even 1850 it would be hard to parse out what was the effect of the minerals versus long hot daily soaks which weren’t feasible in most households.
