The benefits of an Epsom salt bath

You come home after a long day and your feet feel really tired. Elevating your feet can help, but you get an effective and versatile treatment when you sit down and take a proper foot bath. After all, the bath has other advantages.

Epsom salts have been used for hundreds of years to relieve all kinds of pain and skin problems. It is one of the simplest and most natural forms of treatment.

What is Epsom salt?

Despite the name, Epsom salts are not the same ones you use in cooking. Epsom salt is also known as bitter salt, which is a very descriptive name. Epsom salt consists of 100% magnesium sulfate (magnesium, sulfur and oxygen). The name "Epsom" comes from England, where these salts are found in natural sources.

Epsom salt uses

Magnesium relaxes muscles and reduces muscle pain. That is why Eprom salt is an excellent bath salt. It works just as well in full-body baths as in foot baths. In the latter, the effect is aimed at relaxing tired or sore legs from training, reducing swelling and neutralizing odors. For a foot bath, dissolve 1 dl of Epsom salt in a bowl of hot water. Let it absorb and let the water cool down. Tip: add a drop of essential oil to the bath water and increase the beneficial effect of the bath.

In addition to baths, Epsom salt is used for skin care, exfoliation, and hair and scalp care. Epsom salt is known for its softening and moisturizing effect on the skin, as well as its bruise-relieving effect.

Special applications

Epsom salt is not an all-powerful magic product, but for such a simple and natural product, it has relatively many benefits. In addition to the above, it is often recommended as a supportive treatment for various inflammatory diseases, as Epsom salt tends to relieve symptoms significantly in many cases. Good results have also been obtained in improving sleep quality and managing stress.

Inflammations

It has been claimed that an Epsom salt bath can reduce the overall inflammatory state of the body. Random studies have shown that the use of magnesium can facilitate e.g. heart symptoms and may have positive effects in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. It is therefore easy to understand that externally used Epsom salt can have effects in supporting the treatment of skin-related inflammations.

Fibromyalgia

It is not entirely clear what causes this disorder. However, its symptoms are very clear; widespread pain, sleep disturbances, fatigue and memory problems. A warm Epsom salt bath can relieve pain, and its muscle-relaxing and stress-relieving effect promotes better sleep.

General skin health

Epsom salt moisturizes the skin and makes it soft. Improving the moisture balance of the skin is helpful in treating eczema and psoriasis, for example. The exfoliating properties of Epsom salt help in the treatment of peeling skin caused by psoriasis and relieves skin itching.

Detoxification

Detoxification means removing toxins or harmful substances from the body. An Epsom salt bath can literally "detox" your body by pulling harmful substances to the surface, as magnesium tends to do. It cleans the skin by removing many different harmful substances from it. The skin is the body's largest organ, and its load of harmful substances can be quite heavy at worst.

Something else worth trying

Epsom salt baths are believed to be beneficial in the treatment of a myriad of ailments, large and small. Although there is no scientific evidence for this, users have found that salt helps with a wide variety of problems. Positive experiences have been heard, for example, as support for the treatment of arthritis, in the treatment of pain and redness caused by sunburn, in the treatment of ingrown toenails and constipation.