It may be difficult to find this particular product, seeing as the company was found by the Federal Trade Commission to have made false claims and was ordered last year to stop selling it: "At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has banned marketers of Kinoki "Detox" Foot Pads that would purportedly remove toxins from the body through a person's feet from selling a wide variety of products. The FTC charged that the marketers falsely claimed the pads could treat numerous illnesses and medical conditions. In a settlement announced today, the judge banned the marketers from promoting or selling any dietary supplement, food, drug, or medical device, and from assisting others in doing the same... The defendants Yehuda Levin and his company, Xacta 3000, Inc. sold a two-week supply of Kinoki Foot Pads for $19.95, plus $9.95 for shipping and handling. The defendants falsely claimed to have scientific proof that the foot pads removed toxic materials from the body, according to the FTC complaint. The defendants also advertised that when applied to the soles of consumers feet at night, the food pads could remove toxins, metabolic wastes, heavy metals, and chemicals from the body; treat headaches, depression, parasites, fatigue, insomnia, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, cellulite, and a weakened immune system; and cause weight loss...The defendants agreed to a judgment of $14.5 million, which represents the total revenues from the sale of Kinoki Foot Pads. The entire judgment is suspended based on the defendants inability to pay, but will become due if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition." Never fear - there are still companies out there promoting similar foot pad quackery. The supply of gullible consumers is apparently endless. Here is a link that might be useful: FTC cracks down on toxic quackery

Hello Victoria :-) Have you heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder? It is a known problem that happens to people as summer starts to turn to fall. It is a change in the intensity of sunlight, the shortening of the days. This year I would think it would be particularly noticeable because we have had so much cloudy weather. I find I also get a vitamin D deficiency when I don't get enough sun. So I try to get out in the sun with my skin exposed as much as I possibly can, all year, no matter what the season. If this is something that has effected you in the past, too, then it could be a physical problem for you. They do recommend 'light' therapy with special lamps for that. I did find some other recommendations for things you can do for yourself to alleviate the symptoms and linked to below. It might be worth your while to talk to your doctor about it. It is a well known syndrome. Plus, see if you can have vit D and the B vitamin levels checked a few times a year. A vitamin D deficiency would show up more in the winter. Taking good Fish Oil supplements that have vitamin D in them will help you all winter. It takes a couple of months of taking them before you start to notice the difference. If you are in a zone 5 location, then I suspect your warm weather season is pretty short. I have always lived in the Northeast, so early on, I heard it say that if you want to make the winter bearable, find something about it to love. So, now I really do love winter and look forward to it like the rest of the seasons. If I could do winter sports, I would do that. I tried going skiing with friends once a long time ago. Some of us were not able to ski, but I would go with my friends for a weekend and some would ski while the others used the tubing areas of the ski resort, which was just as much fun to me. We haven't done that in years, but what a difference it made in my attitude to winter. Also, I view gardening as a year long activity. Fall is a gardening season just like spring or summer. Growing greens for the vegetable garden is a great idea. I am planning winter containers right now, and I suddenly found my enthusiasm returning. I have two of those styrofoam large containers that can stay out all winter. I am planning to add evergreen plants that are hardy to two zones colder than mine. I have just started looking for plants and brought home a few last week. Then there are end of the season perennials that are just starting to come into their own...Butterfly Bush, Joe Pye Weed, Cosmos, Zinnias, Four OClocks and Morning Glories are all waiting until now to start looking great. I seem to have a spring and fall garden and my summer garden needs some work. [g] Then there are all the end of season sales that I look forward to, and bulb ordering and planting. Mum and Pansy season and it is a great time to start biennials for early spring growth. Start the seeds now and plant in the fall, so they will be up and growing in the spring and they may bloom for you next year instead of waiting. We work very hard in the garden the whole growing season, right up until November, so I actually look forward to a rest in the winter..lol. Two years, I spent the winter trading seeds and winter sowing, and it made the winter fly by, but I didn't feel like I was getting enough rest. [g] So I had to cut back. Seed trading is very engrossing, I found and may be something you would really enjoy. Houseplants and wintering over summer plants is another good way to make the winter fly by and feel like you are still gardening. We also found a local pond where we walk when I can. I really look forward to that in the winter. Lots of birds and the changing scenery, lots of people walking dogs. Every day is different. Getting a pet is also something to consider. So...now that I've talked your ear off...lol. Hope you feel better! :-) Here is a link that might be useful: Seasonal Affective Disorder

Thanks for sharing that explanation. It's quite scary to see what soap can do once it's absorbed into the body of a plant. I agree with your "weak soap short soaks" summary. It doesn't take that long for soap to do what it needs to do to the bugs as long as it makes direct contact. So there is no need to expose the plants to more of it than necessary. I guess the reason I felt the way I did about using the lowest effective concentration of soap is because that's the way I treat my own skin. We know soap is an enemy to human skin. It strips away the natural barrier of fatty acids, which keep skin moisturized and help prevent infection. There is also some research that shows that it interferes with our skin's ability to absorb vitamin D from sunlight. And it decimates populations of good microbes along with the bad ones. There have been studies that showed that these good microbe populations are correlated with lower levels of inflammation on minor everyday injuries. So, they are probably just as important to our skin as they are to our digestive system. Now, I'm embarrassed to say I don't know enough about the composition of a leaf to know how all this impacts them, but I think there's every reason to err on the side of caution. Especially after what you've learned, I'm going to be even more judicious about when I use soap. Of course that's not to say that it is more harsh than other insect preventatives. Who knows what negative impact systemics or neem oil or alcohol might have too. Keeping our plants strong and healthy in the first place is always going to be preferable to any invasive treatments - same as with us.

I saw some of these type thingy's on ebay a couple years ago. Never bot any, but I was curious too, at the time. Funny thing is that my elderly Mother who is 'a little kinda' into some natural, homeopathic and etc, fwd'd me an e-mail this past Fall saying put Vick's Vaporub on bottom of feet and then place socks on and sleep - to HELP remove toxins. I haven't done THAT either yet! But, I wonder if there is something to this. (I thought I might use big 4" squares of gauze taped to my feet and then socks over.) Anyway, if I try this, I will go for the Vick's method first. I've seen those pics of ugly greys, greens & purples on those 'day-after' pics...discusting! (I think if I had some of those foot pads, I would want to put a little moisture on them overnight to see if they turn colors-as a test. LOL!) Obviously, I'm not really motivated to pay for & try these things. However, I DO think there 'might' be something to this. Afterall, some people spend lots of money on their feet whether it be soaking, pedicures, massages, shoes, insoles, etc. And there are even the 'pressure points' on bottoms of our feet that, according to some, when proper message techniques applied, help the whole body function. But, who doesn't like pampering their feet? I say try it, and if it works...wonderful! Of not, well your feet STILL might feel good. (Just come back to post results! LOL!) OK, a LOT of people buy vitamins & supplements, etc., and don't really KNOW that they actually work...maybe there's a placebo effect going on? Maybe can be justified by blood & urine tests? MAYBE, it's state of mind. (I take care of myself, therefore, I feel better...and, I AM better.) I say go for it! It's not like a major expense...is it?!!! I have a little vaporub left that I've had for years...I will try that first. (altho- I don't know how active the vaporub is at this point! haha)