Re: Detox Foot Bath?-www.4ebr.com

It's been a long time since you posted this, but one of my neighbors who cannot afford it, just ordered a $2000 foot bath.

I took chemistry in high school and college and it did not add up so I did a quick Google and found this:

http://www.chem1.com/CQ/ionbunk.html#FBF (bottom of the page)

More electrolytic pseudoscience: "Detoxifying" foot-baths
Have you ever heard of those foot-baths through which an electric current is passed in order to draw out the "toxins" from your body? To someone who knows no chemistry, it can be quite impressive to see all these evil substances color the water various shades of brown, green, and blue as the current works its magic. Sometimes you see flecks of solids and bubbles of gas appear as your body is "cleansed". Well, this is an old parlor trick, a nice chemistry-classroom demonstration, and, of course, a highly profitable scam. It is offered by ayurvedic healers and other quackery practioners, including some naturopathic and chiropractic physicians, and can go by such names as Ionic Detoxification, Aqua Chi, Bionic Hydrotherapy®, etc. See here for a typical promotion.

How does it work? You place your feet in a bowl of water to which a bit of salt has been added. A small electric current is passed between two electrodes immersed in the water, which soon becomes quite discolored. The color, of course, comes from electrolytic corrosion of the metal electrodes. These are usually made of iron, nickel, and copper, all of which decompose into highly-colored ions; these colors will vary with the amount of salt present and the pH of the solution. By-products of the electrolysis process are bubbles of hydrogen and chlorine gases (both of which are dangerous in confined spaces) and sodium hydroxide, commonly known as "lye". The latter tends to soften skin, allowing it to flake off, pick up various colors on reacting with the metal ions, and complete the illusion that one usually pays dearly for: individual treatments can be from $50 up, and the grossly overpriced power supply "machines" sold for home use can go for as much as $1000. And of course, all that really gets cleaned out is your wallet!

This makes perfect sense and this is a total RIPOFF. Any MD who would use this in his practice should lose his license. You were right to question it.


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