Wet Sock Treatment
Wet Sock Treatment
Sounds crazy, right? When I first heard this I shrugged it off. Ridiculous old wives tail. I have tried some unusual home remedies, but this seemed completely counter-intuitive and silly. But mom’s get desperate late at night when their kids are sick and miserable. So, late one night I tried it on my little boy and it worked so well I spent the next day reading and researching this crazy treatment and found out that it’s not as crazy as it sounds at first. But to start, lets see how it’s done.
HOW to Use Wet Sock Treatment
The treatment is is easy and doesn’t take any special ingredients (which is probably why I was willing to try it in the middle of the night… it didn’t require driving anywhere). What you need:
2 pairs of socks preferably at least 90% natural fibers like cotton or wool
Water
Yep. Thats it.
Step one. You start by warming up the feet as much as possible. With a big kid or adult it’s nice to soak the feet in hot water for 10 or 15 minutes. If you are treating a baby and their feet were already wrapped up and warm, they are probably fine to move to step 2.
Step two. Get the first pair of socks soaking wet in ice cold water, squeeze them out and put them on the warm feet. Some people like to put their wet socks in the freezer or fridge while they soak their feet. Then, put on the dry pair of socks over the wet pair and immediately go to bed and stay wrapped up nice and warm. Do not walk around or uncover. The socks will be dry within four hours. Repeat each night as necessary.
How does it work?
Wet sock treatment works, because when the feet go from being very warm to very cold, the body wants to warm them up and return to homeostasis. To do this, it increases circulation and blood flow, which in turn moves blood through all your systems, including the lymph system, which increases the immune response to everything else happening in the body at the same time.
I have successfully used this treatment with myself and my children, always with positive results. When my baby is coughing at night, wet sock treatment works faster than cough medicine to stop the coughing and he usually falls asleep almost immediately. I also love that it is safe for children of any age and has no harmful side effects. When my baby was 2 months old and got a fever, I was worried about what dose of tylenol to give him, so while I waited to hear back from the doctor I tried wet sock treatment and it lowered his fever so much he no longer needed medicine. This is actually my very favorite home remedy for tiny babies.
Wet sock treatment works the best on colds and flu. It is especially helpful when congestion or fever is involved. Because it helps bring a fever down, I tried it on my last bout of mastitis and it worked wonderfully. Usually mastitis puts me on my back for 3 days at a time, but it cleared up in half the time. My immune system just seemed to need a little bit of help.
Want some other ideas for natural remedies when you are sick? Check out these great posts!
How I beat Mastitis without Antibiotics
Images courtesy of tiverylucky, Gualberto107 and satit_srihin at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and the statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any products or techniques mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. I am just a mom who shares what works for me!
December 11, 2013 @ 2:37 pm
I’m so sorry that you have to say “usually” about mastitis. I only had it once. That was enough. Terrible. I ended up in the emergency clinic. Wiped me the heck out.
December 11, 2013 @ 6:09 pm
I have 4 kids and never got it at all with the first 3, but with number 4 I got it 8 times! It was horrible. My lactation consultant thought it was poor latch on baby’s part, but we couldn’t fix it because he had an ultra sensitive gag reflex. But he was gaining weight just fine and getting plenty of milk, so I just powered through. It is pretty awful!
January 23, 2015 @ 5:51 am
It sounds like your 4th baby had a tongue tie. I had mastitis with both of my babies. My first bout was two weeks postpartum and no weight gain. He had a poor gag reflex and would spit up his bottle after each feed. My second had the same symptoms but this time I kept pumping. Despite needle draining 3 abscesses (breast surgeon) and mastits once again my second was FINALLY diagnosed with a posterior tongue tie (rarely caught by docs and lactation consultants). Turns out my son has a PTT too! Once lasered my second could latch properly and get all the milk out… No mastitis since!!! Hooray!!!
January 23, 2015 @ 7:24 pm
I’m so glad you got that figure out! My lactation consultant said that he had an overactive gag reflex, so he wasn’t taking enough of the breast into his mouth. I made so much milk, he still got plenty to eat, but he wasn’t draining the breast. As he grew and his mouth got bigger, it ceased to be a problem.
December 11, 2013 @ 6:52 pm
When I lived at Camphill Village Minnesota, a biodynamic farming community, the wise women of the village did the wet sock treatment with lemons in the socks. It seemed to do the trick for high fever, plus the lemons smelled good. I know that we don’t often keep lemons on hand, so it’s nice to know that plain wet socks are also helpful.
December 13, 2013 @ 12:26 am
what do ya mean”lemons in the socks”?
December 11, 2013 @ 9:24 pm
This is a very common natural treatment in Switzerland!
December 13, 2013 @ 4:48 pm
I have been having problems with my lymph nodes. I read about increasing your circulation by alternating hot/cold water in the shower, and my problem has disappeared. I love learning! Thank you for giving me more useful information.
December 24, 2013 @ 12:45 am
I wonder if this is the same reason that the vicks on the feet with socks over works? The menthol and eucalyptus would have a cooling effect like the wet cold socks?
December 24, 2013 @ 1:21 am
Yes, actually! I am actually thinking about editing the post to mention eucalyptus on the feet. Another thing I do that is quite effective is put homemade vicks (eucalyptus essential oil in coconut oil) all over the feet then the wet socks over. It works wonderfully!
December 24, 2013 @ 6:49 am
This is so interesting. I’ve never heard of it but it makes sense. I will definitely try the next time one of my kids get sick. Thanks for posting.
February 8, 2014 @ 4:56 am
Its really not so far fetched when I consider I did put cold cloths on foreheads & ICE PACKS under arms to bring high temps down when I worked as a pediatric RN.
February 12, 2014 @ 8:54 pm
I love the wet sock treatment. I used it on my twins when they were about 6 months old and started getting sick!
Two other ways that I improve my health naturally:
http://www.lifesanity.com/the-health-benefits-of-garlic-oil-goot-and-how-to-make-it/
http://www.lifesanity.com/how-to-make-master-tonic-and-why-you-should-bring-on-the-heat/
Thanks for sharing!
Kara
February 13, 2014 @ 7:24 pm
This is great! Love how simple it is. I have also heard of the lemon sock idea. Similarly, when my daughter was sick with a fever recently I did socks dipped in egg whites, which I imagine had the same effect. It seemed to really help. I searched my pinterest account for the lemon sock instructions but the link didn’t work. So I went with egg whites. Love the homemade vicks idea as well!
I am also sad to hear about your bouts with mastitis! I give you tons of credit for continuing to breastfeed, as most people I know would have given up. I had it twice with my second child and it really knocked me out quickly!! Since I had no idea what was going on when it first happened, and therefore didn’t try to intervene in enough time, I ended up on antibiotics. This time around with my third child I have had plugged milk ducts two or three times. Each time I have taken a hot shower and massaged the area and tried to manually express some milk on that side. I kept nursing frequently and massaged the plugged area while doing so. I also massaged with a few drops of lavender essential oil mixed in coconut oil. Eventually while nursing it would all of a sudden unclog and milk would rush out. So glad I avoided mastitis those times!
February 13, 2014 @ 8:05 pm
There seem to be a lot of variations on the wet sock treatment, but I imagine they all follow the same principle. I am always amazed at how quickly it works to both bring down a fever and to stop coughing. My baby has had a little bit of a cold this last week and he keeps having coughing fits in the night. It will go on for 15 to 20 minutes before I wake up enough to realize I need to do something and then I do the wet sock treatment and he stops coughing almost immediately. Incredible.
Yeah, mastitis is the worst. It was the socket I have ever been!
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February 19, 2014 @ 1:05 pm
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April 14, 2014 @ 1:10 am
Another thing you can try with the wet sock treatment is to rub some peppermint essential oil on the bottom of your feet to help reduce the fever. It should work almost immediately and reduce the fever by 3 degrees. Click my name to try the oils.
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May 9, 2014 @ 3:43 pm
Ok this sounds so crazy that I have to try it! Next cold I get I’ll be wet sockin’ it up! Thanks for sharing!
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May 9, 2014 @ 4:13 pm
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September 20, 2014 @ 7:31 am
I have used this technique many times with great results! I wet just the soles of cotton socks and use wool socks over them. It works really well. People think I’m crazy when I tell them about it, I guess those people prefer to be sick longer and to take antibiotics. Haha!
October 10, 2014 @ 6:03 pm
Is there a trick to doing this with little ones so they don’t freak out? My 3yr old daughter has some congestion and cough right now so I am pulling out all the natural remedies. I decided to try this with her but she flipped out and pulled the socks off. I had given her an Epsom salt bath with EOs so her feet were good and warm but the ice cold wet socks were a no go.
October 11, 2014 @ 2:06 am
aw! I am sorry! My little ones are used to it from a young age. My two year old actually brings me socks when he does feel good. Some mamas have tried it after the littles are asleep deep with wet socks that are not ice cold, just wet. good luck!
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December 19, 2014 @ 8:08 pm
Thank you for your article. Our daughter woke up yesterday with a fever and as the day came to a close the fever continued to increase. So, I decided to try the wet sock treatment with hopes that it would work to bring her fever down. Well, after the treatment I put her to bed and she fell asleep for an hour and then woke up. I was worried that she would get a chill and the treatment wouldn’t work. The next few hours her body was extremely hot to the touch and she was miserable. However, after four hours of that she feel asleep again, slept well, and woke up without a fever:) I have read many article that state the wet sock treatment should be done three nights in a row. My question is since her fever is gone do I still repeat the treatment two more nights or not?
December 22, 2014 @ 12:00 am
I am not a doctor. Since it is a remedy with no side effects, I feel safe using it on my kids as often as I feel it will be helpful.
December 22, 2014 @ 3:46 am
My 1 year old is sick with high fevers. In had a lady tell me to put cold wet socks on him to help draw his fever down, but his feet are already cold all the time and turn into ice when he is fevered so it didn’t work with him. She never mentioned warming his feet prior to the cold socks though. Would this method work since his feet are naturally really cold?
December 23, 2014 @ 12:38 am
I am not a doctor, so I don’t know, but one thing I love about this treatment is that it certainly doesn’t hurt.
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February 24, 2018 @ 7:36 pm
My son is 9 months old DOC.. Right now living in Kuwait from last 2 months. Here the climate is too cold so ma son is having cold & cough which doesnt allow him to.sleep. can u.suggest home remedies for this..
Thank u…
Ur suggestions are appreciated ?
March 23, 2018 @ 8:29 pm
The wet sock treatment is wonderful for this!
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