Re: Re: burning hands - icing/warmth cycle to speed healing

[Guest guest]

At 10:09 AM 7/26/2009, you wrote:

> I had nerve damage to foot and the pain was burning and it is

> slow to heal. If your hand is swollen, get a gel pack to ice it. It

> should stay soft even when frozen in freezer, to get the swelling

> down. It's important to get the swelling down because swelling can

> compress the nerves in your hands and feet and cause nerve damage.

Seems like a good idea to try out.

Only ice for 10 minutes at a time. Start slower if you feel you want

to be safer.

The max I heard was 20 minutes, 20 minutes heat or warmth, or nothing,

before icing again. 10 minutes intervals with icing is also

good. Lot of icing

info online now.

The ice cubes in a plastic bag, wrapped in thin towel, where the towel is

safe to touch against one's skin, is what works for me. Crushed ice

or smaller ice cubes work better. Or have some near ice cold water

to add into the plastic bag, so more " ice cold " surfaces contact your

skin.

Hmm, a bucket of ice cold water and immerse your entire hand?

I would say this method might max at 3-5 minutes, and then

warm up the hand, and re-ice.

Why warm up? Here is what I heard, from many sources.

Icing decreases inflammation, allowing " good " blood to flow in

when warm again.

But the good blood contains immune released chemicals that

localize into cells, to heal them, causing swelling. So, re-ice.

Strange as it seems, it works for me, for sprains, and strains.

However, I do not adhere strictly to the timer. Listen to your

body. Ice for less time if your body tells you that. Stop

the interval ice/warm if your body tells you that.