Epsom Salts
Soaking in an Epsom Salts bath can help Fibromyalgia symptoms. This may seem a bold statement to make. You see Epsom salts are simply Magnesium Sulphate (sometimes spelled as Sulfate). And most of us need to increase our intake of Magnesium. Elsewhere I have written in more detail about the benefits of Magnesium
And it has been estimated that 75% - 90% of the western populations are deficient in Magnesium and interestingly women with Fibromyalgia
Epsom salts to soothe pain, de-stress and aid sleep
Magnesium SulphateThe easiest way to become replete in Magnesium is to take Epsom salts baths or foot baths. So after researching about the benefits of Magnesium repletion I decided to take Magnesium Citrate as a supplement and to take Epsom salts baths regularly.
I decided to soak in a bathtub that contained Epsom salts by the bucket load. Epsom salts is after all just Magnesium Sulphate and can be bought in small boxes or bags from health food stores or supermarkets. They are usually sold in packs of around half a kilo and the advice is to throw a handful in a bath tub full of water.
But I wanted to absolutely ensure that I was completely replete in Magnesium. So I bought and still buy 25kg sacks of pharmaceutical grade Magnesium Sulphate from Amazon, (much cheaper to buy in bulk) and use at least 1 – 3 kgs in my bath tub. You can soak your feet in a bowl or bucket if you don’t have a bath tub.
‘But surely this must be too much?’ I hear you cry. In answer I have to say, no, not at all. Becoming more popular is float therapy where you lie in a floatation tank or float pod, (about double the size of a normal bath tub) that contains body temperature water and Magnesium Sulphate known as Epsom salts.
Epsom Salts BathEpsom salts floatation tanks contain as much as 500kg of Magnesium Sulphate in them. Much research and development has been undertaken in the health benefits of soaking in floatation tanks. Here in the UK the company Floatworks state ‘The more regularly you float the better. Just like any activity, the more you practice the better you become, and the more cumulative effects you will see.’
So you can see that no upper limit has been placed on how many soaks you can have in very high density Magnesium Sulphate.
Because currently there isn’t a floatation tank in my locality I had to make do at home.
I take at least two Epsom salts baths a week and soak for around 20 minutes. You can soak for longer but the full benefits of the Magnesium are obtained in around 15 minutes. I shower after taking an Epsom salts bath to rinse of the Magnesium.