Chinese people since ancient times attach great importance to foot health care, the most common method is to wash feet in hot water. The human soles of the feet of the heart part of the point is very much, and most of the meridian points connected to the five organs, hot water to wash the feet not only on the human body viscera have many benefits, but also effective prevention of foot ringworm and other foot disorders. As the saying goes: “people have feet, as if the tree has roots; tree old roots first exhaustion, people old feet first decline”. Hot water to wash feet, has become an important element of health care in Chinese medicine. There are medical know-how cloud: “spring foot washing, rising sun solid off; summer foot washing, summer dampness can be removed; fall foot washing, lungs moist lungs; winter foot washing, Dantian warm burning”. We do not doubt the benefits of hot water foot washing, but today we want to talk about the dangers of hot water foot washing and who can not use hot water foot washing. Because the benefits of hot water foot washing are generally recognized, “a pot of soup before bedtime” has become the daily routine of many older people, to understand the dangers of foot washing becomes more necessary and important. Foot washing is dangerous, this is by no means alarmist, I have listened to patients in the process of outpatient clinic told me the process of foot lesions, because the feet are cold, so hot water foot soak, but after soaking the feet of the skin quickly turn black, the patient described as wearing black socks, which in fact, is the manifestation of necrosis of the skin of the foot, and the final result is likely to be amputation. Why such a tragedy? It also starts with the blood supply to the lower extremities. Under normal circumstances, the blood supply of the lower extremities is normal, hot water foot washing will play a health role. Hot water foot washing improves the metabolic rate of the foot tissue, the metabolic rate of the increase in local tissue oxygen consumption increases, once the lower limbs are in an ischemic state, resulting in increased ischemia, the difference between the tissue oxygen demand and the blood supply of oxygen increases ultimately lead to necrosis of the foot tissue, that is, blackened. What diseases can lead to lower limb ischemia? For the elderly, the most common is diabetic vascular disease, with the continued increase in the incidence of diabetes, diabetic vascular disease is also more and more; atherosclerosis occlusive disease is also very common, atherosclerosis occlusive disease is easy to involve the arteries of the lower limbs, resulting in lower limbs in the ischemic state; there is also thromboembolic vasculitis can lead to ischemia of the lower limbs, but the incidence of this disease has been a significant downward trend in recent years, although there are also older patients, but their susceptibility to ischemia. The incidence of this disease has been declining significantly in recent years, although there are also older patients, but its prone group is young adults. How do I know if I have ischemia of the lower limbs? This is done by a vascular surgeon, who will perform the appropriate tests according to your presentation. Current medical technology is able to accurately evaluate the state of the blood supply to the lower limbs. It is recommended that you visit a vascular surgeon to determine the blood supply to your lower extremities in the following cases: diabetes; hypertension; hyperlipidemia; coronary artery disease. It is recommended that you see a vascular surgeon as soon as possible if you have: cold legs; numbness; leg pain when walking; leg pain when not walking; or a broken skin on the foot that has not healed over time. If your vascular surgeon tells you that you have ischemia in your lower limbs, hot water foot baths are inappropriate and sometimes dangerous for you. At this time, protecting the ischemic limbs from damage becomes the main contradiction. There are different degrees of ischemia, the more severe ischemia can tolerate lower temperatures, in general, as long as there is ischemia in the lower limbs need to pay attention to the foot washing water temperature can not be too high. Human foot skin temperature is generally 34-35 ℃, the principle of lower limb ischemia is that the temperature of the foot wash water can not exceed the temperature of the foot skin, ischemia patients foot skin temperature will be lower than normal thirty-four or thirty-five degrees, so the lower limb ischemia of the elderly friends can only enjoy not more than 34 ℃ of the lukewarm footbath, and 34 ℃ of the temperature of the skin in terms of the feeling of the sense of our skin is no longer any feeling of heat. You should not take hot water foot baths for the sake of instant pain. A simple hot water foot bath may lead to loss of limbs, and the risk is not worth taking. It is not worth the risk. Always remember to seek the help of a vascular surgeon when you are unsure of what to do yourself. We hope that more seniors can enjoy the comfort of a hot bath, that none of them will suffer foot injuries as a result of hot water foot washing, and that the elderly will be healthy and happy.