Ice or heating pad for a bruise?

[Bob Weisner]

Which is better Ice or a heating pad for a bruise?

[tod evans]

ice for the first 24hrs than heat.......02 tod

[Anthony Welch]

I agree. The ice in the 1st 24 hrs will help prevent as much swelling. Then heat, preferably warm, moist heat to help reduce what swelling there is. The bruise itself will disipate with time. This also helps with back strains and muscle pulls.

Anthony Welch

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Yep, the ice and heat is mainly for pain. The bruise looks will go away on their own :)

P.s. whatda do?

[Bob Weisner]

Thanks for the replies!! I slipped and fell last night on a concrete sidewalk while I was coming out of a tracking seminar what was put on by a local conservation group. I was walking across the grass and just stepped onto the concrete sidewalk when I went SPLAT!!! I fell right on to my right side and my right hand hit the concrete first. Left a nice checkered indentations on my hand for a while. a split second aftermy hand hit the sidewalk, the right hip hit the sidewalk. I know it is going to bruised up pretty good. My middle finger on my right hand hurts pretty bad around the middle joint. Can still move it, though. Don't think anything is broken, because I can hobble around and apply pressure to the hip. All this just to go to a tracking seminar to try and be a better Fox and Coyote hunter!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes::(

[Anthony Anderson]

Actually Bob, it wasn't ice:eek: . It was cooking oil:rolleyes: . While you were in the seminar the animals secretly conspired:eek: , ran over and poured the oil, ran back watched and waited. They were laughing their @#$@##% off when you fell:mad:. In all seriousness, I hope you recover soon. The same thing happened to me about two weeks ago. I went down like a sack of rocks. Regards, Bill

[Tyler Howell]

Cold is a wonder drug, but people poo poo it because it's free. We put it on everything.
I recomend :

20 min on 20min off for the first 24 hours. After that alternate heat and cold.
Do not put ice in direct contact with the skin. You can get frost bite from an ice pack:eek: .
I keep a bag of uncooked rice, peas or beans in your freezer. they conform to the injured spot and don't leak all over you clothes and bed.
The chemical cold packs you find in a first aid kit can explode if you activate them wrong (hit, smack, squeeze) and not good for the eyes.