Epsom Salt Detox Bath, Herx?

First of all, I haven't been diagnosed with anything yet, but was told I might ha Lyme as well as mycoplasma and bartonella and labs were sent off. I was told to start epsom baths, and I just completed my first one. I got out, only to find a rash on my arms and chest/breasts. My pain is worse and my legs and arms feel so heavy. The rash is all but gone now. Is it possible that I'm having a herx reaction? And if so, is it stopping because the rash is going away, or will it keep going? If it's still going, how long will it last, and will it get worse?

What effect does this have?

Hi Anduncan,
Welcome to our forum! I'm so sorry that you are ill with this, but I'm sure glad that you found us!

As has been suggested by WWJD, it would be helpful if you read through the "New to Lyme? Start here!" as it has a whole lot important information, informative links and pdf's, and symptom list as Lyme rarely travels alone. The second post, about 1/2 way through has a lot of information about the detoxing methods we recommend here.

It's very likely that you unknowingly set off a herx with the detox bath- I know I had a lot of trouble not setting off herxes when I first started using the detox bath myself! Be sure not to use hot water, and don't stay in the water for longer than 7 - 10 minutes at a time until your body gets used to having this kind of help.

Dry skin brushing is when a person gets a soft, natural bristle brush -similar to this one: www.amazon.com/Bath-Brush-Handle-Natural-Bristle/dp/B007WNVYW6/ref=sr_1_5?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1355784394&sr=1-5&keywords=natural+bristle+body+brush

You should lightly brush your skin in small circles daily with a soft, natural bristle body brush over your entire body. The point is to remove the dead skin that hasn't yet completely let go yet so that your skin can do it's job better - one big thing it does is help you to detox.

You will also need to drink at least 64 ounces of good clean water each day to help flush the toxins out. You can add fresh lemon in you aren't having any muscle cramps/spasms/twitching.

The Epsom salt/peroxide soaks are to help detox more toxins. Some people are so bogged down with toxins that the baths themselves can set off a herx. If this is a problem, then I suggest that you use the foot soaks with Epsom salts and peroxide, as they can be very effective as well. Most people find that they can do the foot detox soaks more often, although at first you may not be able to do more than a couple a week. This should improve in a few short weeks.

It's a shame but very few doctors of any kind have any clue about detoxing - even though they know about toxins in our bodies. I had to learn about detoxing here on this forum myself, but once I learned how to not overdo the detoxing, I have been encouraging members to use these methods since! They just seem to do wonders!

If you aren't sure that your body detoxes well, then I suggest you start off with lukewarm water and only stay in the water for no more than 10 minutes the first time. You can adjust one or the other slowly once you see how your body responds.

These baths release toxins stored in the tissues, so it can overload the detox pathways which is why I always suggest starting off so carefully.

If you know that your body has trouble detoxing, you may want to consider a foot soak instead - that's all I can use and it's still effective.

There may be places that do the foot baths, I'm not sure as I live in a very rural area and there are no services like that at all. Remember this is not a 'normal' foot soak, but one meant to help with detoxing.

I just buy Epsom Salts and peroxide and do mine at home - generally while I'm on the computer! I just set a timer so I don't go over my time (10 - 15 minutes) and sit down and enjoy it. Just remember, even though it's "just" a foot bath, the water temp., amount of Epsom salt and the amount of peroxide matter.

I use about a gallon of water, about 1 & 1/2 cups of Epsom salts and 10 -12 ounces of peroxide now, but I built up slowly to that amount of Epsom salt and peroxide. Because you said you are pretty sensitive, I would suggest you try using only 1/2 to 3/4 cup Epsom salt and 6- 8 ounces of peroxide to a gallon of water for the first time to see how you respond. You can increase these amounts as you feel your body can handle it.