An occupational therapist friend of mine shared this tip with me a few years ago, and it’s been my go-to ever since to prevent swelling and bruising.
What do you do when you accidentally bash into something, drop a heavy item on your foot or overwork your hands or arms doing some building or cleaning-out project? You know that annoying feeling that it’s going to bruise or swell up …
Do you just chide yourself, shake your head and move on, resigned to live with the bruise and pain for a week?
Here’s another easy option. Even if you’re not home when it happens, applying this tip as soon as you get home will still help tremendously. If you can do it right at the time, it can completely prevent that ugly, dark rainbow of color from ever showing up.
Maybe you’ve heard the best thing to do for such injuries is RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Well, I literally use rice. Here’s how you do it.
Instead of going to the pharmacy and buying a selection of sizes of gel packs to keep on hand for different situations, this versatile item can be applied to any part of the body and will conform very nicely. It’s particularly good for hands and wrists
I like to keep two of these standing by. You’ll need
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- 2 quart-size Ziploc bags
- 4 pounds of white, uncooked rice
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Cheap and easy to find at the grocery store. Simply put two pounds of uncooked rice inside each Ziploc bag, zip it up and put it in the freezer. I usually squeeze out the air as much as possible before I put it in the freezer.
Now, whenever you need ice for a sprained finger or a bump on your thigh because you walked into a table, you can take this out of the freezer. (psst…it’s also good for headaches and hangovers)
Rice holds the cold for a good 20 minutes which is all you need. You can put a hand right inside the bag and let the rice mold all around it. The great thing about the iced rice is that you don’t get that horrible shock you would get with ice water which is the next best thing for a hand.
For most people, placing a thin cloth, like a tea towel, on the skin before applying any ice pack to a larger area is most comfortable, and still effective.
So, next time you’re out shopping for groceries, pick up some extra plain white rice and Ziploc bags. You’ll have a versatile ice pack you can use over and over again. If you need a larger one … say, for a whole knee joint or back … simply use a gallon-size bag and more rice.
And, of course, be good to yourself.
Accidents happen.
There’s nothing wrong with self-care and taking a few minutes to heal a booboo. If the consequence is significant, make a massage appointment here or with your favorite, local massage therapist.
Nice chilly rice!
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