Are Detox Foot Baths a Hoax?

We've all seen the advertisements.  Soak your feet in an Ion / Detox Foot Bath and watch the water turn a bright shade of orange or brown as the nasty gunk leaves your body.   A reader writes:  "Are those Detox Foot Baths really helpful?  The spa I use is now pushing them at $45 for a 30 minute session and guarantees I'll be amazed, but I'm really dubious."

Read Our Response

Comments

[devils advocate]

Just wondering if the foot detox process doesn't work then why has there been less and less output from my detox session (having one twice a week for 3 mons)?
Of course there will be a slight discoloration to the water without feet in the water. But the result is very different with feet in the water. I have to laugh at the comment about Barbie being toxic. Well what is Barbie made of? Plastic, very toxic, no? Also if you use distilled or reverse osmosis water the results are different. Could it be that if you use unpurified water and you are not cleansing the array properly that maybe you are causing a corrosion of the unit through improper handling? You don't need too much salt. I agree that if you use too much you will corrode the array. But if you don't why is mine not corroded?

[Anon]

I used the ion spa but it seems like it doesn't work. I used it once a day. Maybe it had such a small effect that I didn't notice it, but then again spending this much money on something that is barely noticable and doesn't do anything for you is a problem.

[Gail]

I had my first detox soak this week. I found I have noticeable results. I went in with aching all over my body and very very fatigued. I didn't notice much change the first day except that I wasn't as tired as I had been. The next day I noticed that my joints which had been bothering me for months did not ache. I could lift my arms over my head without the ache in my shoulders. I can get out of chair without my hips and knees hurting. I have been able to stay up to 11:00pm where before I was going to bed between 8:00 and 8:30pm. I have more energy and less pain. I can hardly wait for my next soak. My water did not turn brown but orange and it was not immediate but took about 20-25 minutes. My spa recommends one treatment per month for 4-6 months. I do believe that it has made a difference in my over all well being.

[Tricia]

We have a subtle energetic body. Reverse osmosis may affect our subtle energies in a way we cannot detect. I can say that I honestly feel better the next day. As for the water, I doubt if it is the toxins that you see in the water, however I had a footbath right before I had a UTI and the water was white/flakey which it never was before, which I think indicated yeast, and the next day I had a UTI. Interesting.

[Paul]

My experience has been nearly identical to Gail who posted on March 13th. Bright orange water with none of the other colors that the 12 people around me had in their tub. One guy had black foam an inch thick on his. Subsequent complete vanishing of joint pain and significant more energy in the days that followed. Have also seen marked improvement in my ability to see at night which has been a challenge for the past 20 years. Is there a scientist out there with proper test equipment that can substantiate that the water ends up having more than just iron in it so that I can get the skeptics that surround me off my back and into the ion tubs?

[SpaFlyer]

To answer Paul's question: We are confident there are indeed experts who have the proper equipment. For that reason, the absence of resulting tests which reassure or prove the claims of ion bath proponents continues to give us great pause. We will continue to share the thumbs-up from proponents, but have yet to find one valid piece of scientific evidence, or a thumbs up from any scientific or medical professional who doesn't have a monetary interest interest in the device, indicating ion foot baths are anything more than a non-medical non-scientific feel-good device. We will be first in line to share valid test results from any official body, when and if that day ever comes. Wouldn't it be terrific if it does?

[Becky]

I've just read a "Hoax?" article. They kept saying "well maybe the water turns brown just from the metals in the mechanism", and "maybe people just feel good because of the natural soaking of the feet". Where's the data? Has anyone heard of CSI? If you want to prove whether something works or not, and you have samples of goo from different people's bath, take it and test it before you write the article questioning it or bashing it. I'm anxious to have my first one here in the near future. I hope the results are as good as many people say.

[Karyl]

Becky's comment is an example of "I want it to be true, so prove to me it isn't." I don't think legions of medical professionals, regulating agencies, and other science professionals should have to prove it DOESN'T work, until at least ONE -- JUST ONE -- of these so-called wellness providers or manufacturers proves that it DOES.

It's like a kid sticking out a tongue and saying "nah nah nah, you can't prove it doesn't work, you can't prove it doesn't work" without investing any pride or effort into proving it does.

These companies who tout these devices are claiming MEDICAL BENEFITS. Surely they have ONE test result to show the medical benefit -- by other than a "feel good testimonial by people who so desperately want to believe -- but they don't. How is this possible?

If people used some basic common sense and realized that if the peddlers of these foot baths provided an iota of scientific evidence that they actually work, sales would skyrocket. In the absence of this act of monetary self-interest, customers should be suspicous.

Becky says we should test the goo before we bash it. Well guess what? Someone DID test the goo, and guess what? They bashed it. Read about it here:

"With conflicting reports, we knew the proof was in the water. So we took samples from our footbath party to Silver State Lab to be analyzed. Tony Francis is a scientist with a Ph.D. "We did find a high amount of iron which again is a component of rust, iron oxide. So kind of supports the theory that the electric current is just oxidizing the metal rods and not really affecting your feet."

Besides iron, Dr. Francis found no evidence of heavy metals or other toxins in the water."

Here is the story:

http://www.kvbc.com/global/story.asp?s=6095483&ClientType=Printable

I think SpaCast has it right. Anyone at all with a valid, scientific report that can prove this is anything other than a feel good device, please step forward. They've given a lot of space here to people who claim they love it, but why can't a single person offer any evidence that's scientific or medically endorsed? I just see a lot of defensive comments, customers drinking the feel-good Kool-aid, and nothing at all of substance.

PT Barnum is having one heck of a good laugh.