Past Issues

Background: The current main treatment of depression and suicidal ideation is to use the antidepressant and psychotherapy. But, it takes two to four weeks to show clinical responses. The warm-water foot-bath is an adjuvant treatment to choose. The effects to lower depression severity and suicidal ideation have been demonstrated before. Methods: We used 40°C warm water foot bath, 3 times a week, to explore the effect on depression, anxiety, and the suicidal ideation. Furthermore, we also monitored the heart rate as the physiological parameters during the intervention. Results: This study revealed that the foot bath signifi cantly improved the severity of depression and suicidal ideation (p < 0.05), which measured by Beck’s Depressive Inventory and Brief Suicidal Rating Scale. The lowering of the anxiety severity, measured by Beck’s anxiety inventory, was found to be correlated to the times of the foot bath (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In line with other studies, this study confi rmed the improved effects of warm-water foot-bath on depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. But increasing the study sample size in the future is warranted.