If you've been staying up late watching infomercials about toxic feet. We have some important news today. You can go to sleep a little earlier and not stay up so late. Local doctors say these foot gimmicks don't work.
Local 12 Medical Reporter Liz Bonis has details in this morning's Medical Edge.
If you have a strong stomach, these are these pads you stick on to the bottom of your feet, so they turn to look like this! The companies that make these types of products say that the color change overnight is proof that you are losing toxins. They claim, because of this detox process, you can reduce everything from fatigue, to pain, to insomnia.
A new report from UC Berkeley, however, says not so fast. At the recommendation of podiatric medicine experts, we thought we'd ask Doctor Brian Ash, of West Chester, to help us put these to the test. He had one of his patients, who'd been treated for heel pain, Pam Thomakas, test them out. She strapped them on for a few days, tried to sleep on them, and said she didn't notice any difference in her feet or how she felt. She said the stickiness of them and the scent were her least favorite part.
As for Doctor Ash, he has a few concerns about these foot pads, also. And we had to ask, do these really clean out toxins from your feet?
Dr. Brian Ash, Podiatrist: "There's no medical evidence that it does, it might have a placebo effect, the other problem is that these are not FDA investigated or approved and you don't know what they are doing to you. So, if you are pregnant or if you have a medical condition, definitely do not use these products."
One other important point that Brian Ash brings up, if you are in pain, or having trouble sleeping, something else could be wrong. Using foot pads to try and repair a problem may only encourage you to put off medical care and that can make the problem worse. He sites an example of someone having a stress fracture in the foot, when it hurts and you let it go, it gets worse, instead of better.
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