# Has anyone tried detox patches are they a gimmick?



## Lorrie (5 Feb 2007)

Hi
I purchased a packet of the above at a price of 25 euro for 10. I had read about them in a womans magazine and bought them in a Health Store. 
You put the white patches on your feet at night and they "supposedly" eliminate toxins while you sleep. So next morning yes indeed patches were brown as I expected.. however my 11 year old son wanted to try one! So last night stuck one on his foot and this morning his patch was brown also!? I am thinking either these things react to dampness and change colour automatically or else my son is up to no good! 
I smoke and would have a drop of wine regularly. So has anyone else any suggestions? Or should I put the whole thing down to a learning experience!?


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## sheena1 (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

I also read about those in a magazine. They claim to eliminate toxins through the soles of your feet as you have more pores there than anywhere else. As a test the writer of the article placed the patch on her thigh overnight (where there are not as many pores) and the patch did not change colour so she was convinced they were genuine. I am not sure....


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## nicelives (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

My gf swears by them and doesn't smoke or drink often. She puts me to shame the amount of vegetables and high quality food she puts into her system. She uses the detox patches fairly often and they always come off dark in the morning. Nature might not be as pure as we're led to believe.


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## Diziet (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

These things are designed to change colour. There is absolutely no evidence that they work, but they are certainly a good way of parting with money.


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

The _Irish Times_ health supplement just after _Xmas _had a feature on detox products and all the experts bar the _Boots _marketing woman concluded that there was absolutely no evidence that they were any use. Basically drinking the recommended 6-8 glasses of water a day and watching what you eat/drink otherwise is a much better idea.


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## Guest109 (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

another gimmick no doubt drink plenty of water its the only thing you need to clean out the system


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

 for plenty of objective/skeptical coverage of this sort of stuff.


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## Thrifty1 (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

My Mam tried them, she said they turned brown ans she felt she had a bit more energy for a couple of days and then back to normal.

She said she wouldnt recommend them, but i heard a few girls over on WOL say they found them great.


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## HighFlier (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

Somebody once said and its so true " No one ever lost money underestimating the commonsense of human beings"


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

Send me €10 in used notes and I'll tell you who said it.


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## rob30 (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

This detox thing is a laugh. Think just how good the liver is at detoxing the body, even within 24 hours of a massive bender! If skin was so permeable that a patch could draw out toxins, women would be absolutely terrified of the chemicals in cosmetics. 

The people who sell this stuff are preying on peoples love of the quick fix. A fool and his money is soon parted!


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## Lorrie (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*

Well I think I will pass on purchasing them again! I drink about 2 litres of water a day anyways so will stick to that. Much cheaper! 
Thanks


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## rob30 (5 Feb 2007)

Kidneys beat the pants off Brita filters too!


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## liteweight (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*



rob30 said:


> This detox thing is a laugh. Think just how good the liver is at detoxing the body, even within 24 hours of a massive bender! If skin was so permeable that a patch could draw out toxins, women would be absolutely terrified of the chemicals in cosmetics.
> 
> The people who sell this stuff are preying on peoples love of the quick fix. A fool and his money is soon parted!



Actually the skin is the biggest organ and does help detoxify the body. As to the feet..if you rub a clove of garlic on the soles of the feet, the smell will be on your breath within half an hour. You might have sore feet after it though as garlic oil is very potent and can even remove veruccas!

The jury is still out for me as to whether or not these patches work. I bought some last year and was pretty sceptical. I thought the moisture created by the soles of the feet made the patches turn colour, so I applied water to one of them and no change. Then I figured the salt content of sweat might have had an effect, so I added salt. However, when I placed them on the soles of my feet, they turned a green and brown gunky patch overnight. As the week wore on the colour was lighter and the gunk had disappeared! Go figure.....the one thing I did notice was that I felt much more rested and had the best sleep I've had in years. Placebo or no? Think I'll buy another pack!


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*



liteweight said:


> Actually the skin is the biggest organ


Speak for yourself.


> The jury is still out for me as to whether or not these patches work.


Can you point to some info about clincial trials/tests that back this statement up?


> Placebo or no?


In the absence of any evidence to back up the claims that they have any detoxifying effects I'd have to assume placebo.


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## rob30 (5 Feb 2007)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4576574.stm

Thats your decision. One thing is, why the feet? It has the body's thickest layer of keratin on top of the skin cells. The flank would be a much beter option for a detox. Do you not think that they ask you to put it on a part of the body that sweats a lot, so it would react with urea? Ideal choice for them would be the armpit, but removing it would be difficult.

I suggest an experiment for you. Put one on your foot, and another on a drier bit of skin. The toxins in you body are in balance due to a good circulation, so any difference in colour could be explained by it better power in "drawing" the toxins out. See if it only works on the feet. Also, try another moist part of the body to see if it works there.

The effect you see may only just be a chemical reaction from your bodys own elimination system, and the patch is only an indicator, not a catalyst, for this.


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## PM1234 (5 Feb 2007)

Have to agree I think its sweat and body moisture that causes them to discolour. 

That said I don't understand as they're continued to be used how the discolouration fades?


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## Z100 (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*



HighFlier said:


> Somebody once said and its so true " No one ever lost money underestimating the commonsense of human beings"


 
"No one in this world has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby."
Henry Louis Mencken 

One of the great quotes.........mind you, he also came out with this:

"The educated Negro of today is a failure, not because he meets insuperable difficulties in life, but because he is a Negro. His brain is not fitted for the higher forms of mental effort; his ideals, no matter how laboriously he is trained and sheltered, remain those of a clown."

Sounds like John Waters talking about women


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## liteweight (5 Feb 2007)

Clubman, if your skin isn't the biggest organ then your in trouble...unbalanced I'd say! I'm starting to think of Ricky Gervais'  'flanimals' for some reason.

Have never seen any clinical trials but I've never looked as I bought them on a whim one day. 

I imagine the feet are the best place as all the blood in the body circulates through a relatively confined space. A number of holistic treatments concentrate on the feet.

From what I remember, the only ingredients listed on the pack were oyster shells, crushed. Maybe someone can come up with an example of why these would turn brown/green and gunky?

I have no connection to this product by the way but I did feel better after using it. I did wonder about the placebo effect but then I thought that should only happen with someone less skeptical about the whole thing.

Good to know there are still some mysteries in life!


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## z107 (5 Feb 2007)

I have my doubts about drinking 8 glasses of water a day being 'good for you'.
[broken link removed]

I find beer to be much better.


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## jake108 (5 Feb 2007)

*Re: Had anyone tried Detox Patches are they a gimmick?*



Diziet said:


> These things are designed to change colour. There is absolutely no evidence that they work, but they are certainly a good way of parting with money.


 
Yeah it's the same as the foot spa detox gimmick a few years back. I heard the water changes colour no matter what!


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2007)

liteweight said:


> I imagine the feet are the best place as all the blood in the body circulates through a relatively confined space. A number of holistic treatments concentrate on the feet.


OK - you have me convinced anyway. Where can I buy these panaceas?


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## Danmo (6 Feb 2007)

You don't have to put them on your feet - you can put them anywhere on your body except your face.
I get blocked pores/hair follicles in that there is a lump beneath the skin. The dr prescibed antibiotics etc which didn't work. I had it over a year but it dissapeared within weeks of using the packages - it just drained itself. I know this is gross but I swear by them


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## shootingstar (6 Feb 2007)

rob30 said:


> Kidneys beat the pants off Brita filters too!


 

What...?


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## pricilla (6 Feb 2007)

*Foot Patches*

Well I read up about it, and apparently your feet are the last place toxins rest before your body releases them, so these patches aren't interfering, just speeding the process of elimination up.
I don't know what the story is, all I know is that if you keep using them then they go a lighter colour, so something must be changing.

I tried a few months ago and the only thing I did notice is that ever since I used them, my feet are really sensitive.


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## ClubMan (6 Feb 2007)

*Re: Foot Patches*



pricilla said:


> I don't know what the story is, all I know is that if you keep using them then they go a lighter colour, so something must be changing.


Yes - but it's unlikely to be any perceptible change in the "toxin" levels in your body. If somebody can post authoritative evidence that these things actually work then I will eat one.*

* Assuming that the packet says that's OK.


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## liteweight (6 Feb 2007)

ClubMan said:


> OK - you have me convinced anyway. Where can I buy these panaceas?



Health food stores. Bought mine in Dundrum. The ones I bought could only be used on the soles of the feet. Remember that feeling you had when you were a kid looking at something you knew was disgusting, but still it held a morbid fascination? That's the feeling you get the morning after.

Wouldn't think of trying the foot spa thing as I heard they put something in the water and that made me suspicious.


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## Danmo (7 Feb 2007)

*Re: Foot Patches*



ClubMan said:


> Yes - but it's unlikely to be any perceptible change in the "toxin" levels in your body. If somebody can post authoritative evidence that these things actually work then I will eat one.*
> 
> * Assuming that the packet says that's OK.


 
Well they cure me of constipation. That's evidence enough for me


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## Diziet (7 Feb 2007)

This link discusses these items in some detail!

[broken link removed]

I maintain they are a quick way of making money from the detox bandwagon, but then so are a lot of other things. Whatever floats one's boat...


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## ClubMan (7 Feb 2007)

Diziet said:


> Whatever floats one's boat...


Yes - but extraordinary claims about their efficacy requires extraordinary evidence to back it up. I'm all for people doing whatever they like as long as other non consenting parties are not harmed but I do believe that unsubstantiated extravagant claims about the efficacy of quack therapies should not be left unchallenged.

The  also have some useful reading on detox products etc.


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## Dreamerb (7 Feb 2007)

liteweight said:


> Wouldn't think of trying the foot spa thing as I heard they put something in the water and that made me suspicious.


You're suspicious about something in the water, but not about patches containing unspecified compounds and oyster shells which "draw out" toxins?


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## Diziet (7 Feb 2007)

ClubMan said:


> Yes - but extraordinary claims about their efficacy requires extraordinary evidence to back it up. I'm all for people doing whatever they like as long as other non consenting parties are not harmed but I do believe that unsubstantiated extravagant claims about the efficacy of quack therapies should not be left unchallenged.
> 
> The  also have some useful reading on detox products etc.


 
Hey ClubMan,

I am entirely in agreement, and there isn't any evidence that these things work at all - however, the placebo effect, or even taking a bit of care of oneself and having a few early nights with or without these patches, may make people feel better, hence the floating boat... The patches of course would be totally incidental to this process.

cheers,
Diziet


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## liteweight (7 Feb 2007)

Dreamerb said:


> You're suspicious about something in the water, but not about patches containing unspecified compounds and oyster shells which "draw out" toxins?



Left out the  on last sentence of post! Yes I was skeptical and as you can see from my other posts, I opened them up and performed various tests to see if any gave the same result as applying them to the feet. The thing that I couldn't explain was how the patches didn't produce the same 'gunky' results as the week went on. I'm just curious and I don't feel ripped off as I knew there were no clinical trials performed. I asked before I bought and bought anyway. They did make me feel better and I don't know why. However, I didn't run straight out and buy more. By the way, clinical trials are very expensive and are really only carried out by large pharmeceutical firms. If you read the small print on most cosmetics you'll find that these trials can be held on 20 people over 2 weeks. Not my idea of an in depth study! Anecdotal evidence also has a role to play where firms can't afford clinical trials IMO.


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