Patient Instructions for Warming Socks

Equipment

• 1 pair of thin cotton socks
• 1 pair of thick wool socks (if not available, a second pair of cotton socks is OK)
• Hot water
• Cold water
• Blankets
• Bed

Procedure

1. Soak the cotton socks in the cold water in the sink or in a basin
   
2. Take a hot bath or shower. You may get your whole body wet or just your feet.
3. When you are very warm, quickly wring out the thin cotton socks until they are damp.
   
4. Put on the damp, cold socks followed by the dry thick wool socks.
   
5. Get in bed and under some thick, warm blanket and go to sleep.
   
6. Remove the socks once they are dry. If the socks are bothersome, remove them after a couple hours. 
   
7. Repeat nightly until symptoms clear

Uses & Applications

​For head colds, sinus infections, sinus congestion, sore throats, headaches and insomnia.

How It Works

​Your body’s response to the cold and wet stimulation of the feet is to shunt blood to the feet to warm and dry them. This reflex action shunts blood away from the sinuses and head, thereby decreasing the volume of fluid available to contribute to the sinus congestion and increasing circulation.