If you are suffering with pain, it is likely that at some point you will try ice/heat to help reduce that pain!
Often patients visit us having applied heat or ice to an area. This patient had laid with a hot water bottle on his back for a few hours which has resulted in this burn. Whilst heat and ice have many physiological benefits, we need them to be gained safely!
We advise you:
- Always place a ‘barrier’ layer/towel in between the heat/ice source and the skin.
- Only heat/ice for 15-30 minutes at a time
- Never go to bed lying on the heat pack.
