Bruises hot or cold compress skin#

Heat will also help reduce swelling and help blood circulate post-injury. Keep the bruised area above your heart in order to drain the area of fluid and reduce pressure. Elevate the Bruised AreaĪs with ice, the goal here is to reduce swelling in order to speed up the healing process.

Bruises hot or cold compress skin#

If you feel like icing again shortly after, wait at least 20 minutes to give your skin a break from the chill. The proper way to ice is to wrap your ice pack (or frozen peas) in a towel and leave it on the area for ten minutes at a time. To reduce swelling (and speed up healing), apply ice on and off for the first 24 to 48 hours. Ice the Bruised AreaĪ bruise indicates there's a wound, so in order to heal the bruise you must heal the wound. Less blood flow, then, can mean a less severe bruise. Bruises, or contusions, are the result of the trapped blood from broken capillaries pooling beneath the skin's surface. That will reduce blood flow to the bruise which can help it from getting too bad. Read on to discover 12 ways to heal your bruise on the double. Whenever a bruise pops up, you're probably left wondering how get rid of a bruise - fast! While the average total healing time of a bruise is 10 to 14 days, you can speed up the healing process. Smith says.If lift weights, play field hockey, practice modern dance or are just plain clumsy, you might find yourself with a lot of unsightly bruises. Symptoms of an infection also include nausea, vomiting, fever or chills,” Dr. “Any injury that punctures the skin and becomes painful a couple days after an incident, or appears redder, raised, hot or causes red tracks streaking away from the wound should be examined by a physician, as it may represent an infection. Smith says other clues it’s time to make an appointment include any injury that causes instability, inability to bear weight or loss in a joint’s range of motion. If pain and swelling don’t improve after one week, it’s best to see your physician. The smaller pieces conform to the injury size better however, it works just the same as bigger, frozen pieces. Try crushed ice or even bags of frozen vegetables. The smaller the piece of ice being used for ice therapy, the better. This reduces the chance of frostbite to the skin while using ice for swelling. Keep a thin layer of cloth, like a T-shirt, between the ice and skin. Using ice over deep cuts is dangerous because skin is much more vulnerable to freeze-injury without the top layers of skin acting as a protective barrier. After 24 hours, using heat or cold therapy can be determined according to your preference. Ice is best as soon after the injury as possible, but never during the activity. Use ice for inflammation within the first 24 hours. When using ice, here are some rules to follow:

Try ice packs for injuries, such as sprains, strains, bruises, even bug bites.

Smith says icing an injury can help minimize swelling around an injury and, in turn, reduce pain. He says the underlying materials may actually absorb and redirect the heat in unusual ways. Smith says it’s also not recommended to use heat therapies over implanted devices, like knees or hip prostheses. Additionally, using heat over a known cancerous tumor is not recommended as it may, theoretically, increase the metabolism and growth of the tumor.”ĭr. “They are at a higher risk of suffering frostbite or burns because they can’t feel the damage. “People diagnosed with diabetes, nerve injuries, stroke, spinal cord injury or those under the influence of intoxicants or opioid pain medication should consult their physician before using thermal therapies,” Dr. While it’s safe for most people to use heat and cold therapy, there are some who have conditions making these options unsafe. Devin RH Smith, MD, UnityPoint Health, breaks down what you need to know about heat and cold therapy in order to help relieve your aches and pains. Deciding between an ice pack and a heating pad for an injury can be confusing.