Cold Packs and Ice Packs provide great relief from injuries, pain, swelling and various other conditions like arthritis.
Reusable ice packs provide an effective and good cold therapy treatment in acute stages of injury. The use of reusable ice packs in sudden injury plays an important role in both treating the injury and also reduces the recovery time. These reusable ice packs work by quickly reducing internal bleeding and swelling by constructing the blood vessels in the injured area. In addition this cold therapy assists in easing the pain for the casualty and reduces the swelling of the injured area.
Instant Ice Packs
Instant Ice Packs contain two chemicals inside the pack, one of which is contained in an interior pocket. By crushing the Ice Pack, the pocket is blasted enabling the chemicals to make an endothermic response. It is this response that immediately brings down the temperature of the pack permitting treatment immediately. Ordinarily an Instant Cold Pack gives 20 minutes of therapy treatment, in spite of the fact that this can differ contingent upon the ambient temperature of the surrounding environment.
The key preferred standpoint of the Instant Ice Pack is that they can be conveyed in your medical aid kit consistently regardless of where you are as they don’t need to be kept cool. They can just be activated when required and connected to the injured area.
How to use an Ice or Cold Pack
When an injury occurs, an ice or cold pack should be applied in the sore area at least 3 times a day as long as you get relief from pain, swelling and inflammation. For the first 72 hours, ice should be applied for every 10 minutes continuously for an hour, after that, use ice pack for 15 to 20 minutes, 3 times a day.
Ice packs or cold packs should not be used for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time, and a person should not sleep with the ice on their skin. Most of the cold or ice packs are too heavy to be used on or around the eye, thus one should be careful when using these packs around the eye.
Benefits of using Ice and Cold packs
An ice pack can be used a number of times
A reusable ice pack can be used in as many number of times one wants. Ice packs function terrific due to the fact that they do not need to be replenished in the manner ice does. The best aspect of these ice packs is that when they’re not frozen, they should be put back in the deep freeze until they freeze once again.
An instant ice pack is a portable pack that becomes extremely cold when initiated and can be utilized like a customary ice pack. These cold packs can be advantageously transported, making them particularly supportive first aid supplies for use in a hurry or when ice is inaccessible. They turn out to be especially helpful when wounds happen in circumstances in which acquiring ice may not be conceivable, for example, camping, climbing or playing sports.
Hot and Cold Gel Packs
Hot and cold gel packs are just like ice packs and are used to deliver cold therapy treatment by being keeping them cooled in the freezer just before the use. Since Ice Packs are frozen they can give cold treatment at lower temperatures than Instant Cold Packs. This can help with drawing the warmth out of the injury quicker than with an Instant Ice Pack. Moreover Re-usable Gel Packs give cold treatment longer than Instant Ice Packs. Re-usable Gel Packs work by being cooled in the freezer and should be kept cold until such time that they are required.
An additional advantage of the hot and cold Gel Packs is that they can be utilized for conveying cool treatment or hot treatment. Hot and cold gel packs can be heated in a bowl of water in a microwave to give hot treatment which is particularly effective in easing aches and painfulness of muscles and joints.
The best part of these re-usable Gel packs are that they can be utilized again and again by putting it back in the cooler or microwave.
Advantages of Cold and Heat Therapy
Heat and Cold therapy is generally useful for people involved in sports, who frequently meet with injuries and accidents. Utilizing cool therapy gel is one of the manners by which cryotherapy or cold therapy can be utilized to deal with injuries when they emerge. There are many other benefits of using cold therapy such as
- It offers topical pain relief.
- It provides instant relief when applied to the injured part.
- It helps in reducing inflammation if it is present and helps to cool down the injured body part.
- When combined with the active compression, cold therapy heals your body more quickly by preventing tissue damage, and encourages healthy blood circulation and stimulates tissue repair.
- Steady cooling enables the therapeutic cold to infiltrate further in the body, which implies a greater amount of your recuperating tissue benefits by less swelling, pain, and edema.
- A more profound, predictable cooling impact endures longer after the therapy session has been finished.
Which one to use Ice Packs or Hot & Cold Packs
On the off chance that you require a pack that you can keep in your first aid bag just in the event that it is required and if you are moving then the Instant Ice Pack would be the perfect alternative.
Both, Reusable ice packs as well as hot and cold Packs are effective and can be used in injuries to get relief. It’s all up to you which one you want to use in individual situation.