The cold compress or cold pack is a very common first-aid treatment for some injuries many people still don’t know about. It is very effective in preventing or minimizing swelling of an injured part of your body immediately after injury. It helps prevent or minimize tissue inflammation which contributes to pain hours or days after the onset of injury.
Initial reaction of the body to cellular insult is the process of inflammation which starts to manifest as swelling. By initiating cold compress or cold pack immediately as first-aid to the injury the swelling of the tissues is effectively prevented or minimized by the constricting action of cold therapy to the blood vessels surrounding the tissue. Moreover, the numbing effect of cold application helps to relieve or minimize pain. By controlling the inflammation, the tissue is able to recover in a shorter time.
Cold compress or cold application should be applied to the injury as soon as it is available right after the incident or within 24-48 hours. The duration of application should not be more than 20 minutes at a time, removing it after 10 minutes and put back again after a minute or two. Repeat application can be done before the 2nd day lapses. It is best for non-serious, closed injuries that do not warrant emergency medical intervention such as sprain, stretched muscles, or blunt blows.
This post is focused only in cold compress or cold pack application as immediate first-aid intervention. Other intervention may or not be given sooner or later. It all depends on the caretaker. Suffice to say that the natural process of healing is all that is needed assuming proper care has been rendered.
No comments:
Post a Comment