Effectiveness and Safety of Herbal Foot Baths in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and Foot Numbness
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Abstract
Diabetes is a chronic non-communicable disease that can lead to complications in many parts of the body, especially on the feet when the blood sugar level cannot be controlled. The complications of diabetes affect the body and quality of life. Nowadays, herbs are used to manage diabetes complications. Now, the effectiveness and safety of herbal foot baths, whose formulation is derived from herbal hot compress, have not been studied in patients with T2DM and foot numbness. This experimental research aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of herbal foot baths in T2DM patients who had had foot numbness. The study involved two groups of 30 participants each. The experimental group was given herbal foot baths, while the control group was given normal (non-herbal) foot baths. Both groups received foot baths with a water temperature of 38–40oC at home three times per week for 10 minutes/session, for a total of 12 sessions over a four-week period. The efficacy was evaluated to determine the numbers of foot abnormal sensation points with the 10 g monofilament testing and the safety with infrared thermography of the dorsum and arch parts of each foot. Data were collected and then analyzed using percentages, means, and standard deviations, and hypothesis testing including paired sample t-test for within-group comparison and independent t-test for between-group comparison. The results showed that after treatment, in the experimental group, the number of abnormal sensation points (left feet) significantly decreased (p < 0.001), but not significantly when compared with those in the control group; and for the right feet, both groups had significantly lower points of abnormal sensation (p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference between the two groups. With higher foot bath water temperatures, there were no significant differences in abnormal sensation points within and between the two groups. Thus, at the water temperatures of 38–40oC, herbal foot baths can safely reduce the number of abnormal sensation points, while non-herbal foot baths are also feasible and safe.
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