Foot rash

August 23, 2006 9:58 AM

I went to the doctor a couple years back for a rash on my foot, he used a very very very cold spray on my foot, it seemed like he was drying it out. After that, he gave me some cream and that was it. I was wondering where I could find that really cold spray.
posted by Gabe014 to health & fitness (12 comments total)

Maybe it's the Magic Spray
posted by bitdamaged at 10:03 AM on August 23, 2006

Are you sure it wasn't just rubbing alcohol?
posted by agregoli at 10:09 AM on August 23, 2006

It might have been something like Cold Spray, which is similar to the "magic spray" discussed in the previous thread linked above.
posted by arco at 10:13 AM on August 23, 2006

Was it liquid Nitrogen? The doctor used that to freeze off some warts when I was a kid.
posted by spakto at 10:44 AM on August 23, 2006

I have used both Micatin and Tinactin for athlete's foot, and both are quite cold when sprayed on. Perhaps it was one of those or something similar?
posted by TheCoug at 10:49 AM on August 23, 2006

It was given as an answer in the Magic Spray thread cited above, but in case you missed it, ethyl chloride is a possibilty, especially if the doc did a biopsy or anything painful to the affected area. Any aerosol tends to come out cold, due to the Joule-Thompson effect, so the list of potential sprays is pretty big.
posted by TedW at 11:40 AM on August 23, 2006

if you just want "really cold" spray, buy a can of bottled air (usually sold for cleaning out electronics), turn it upside down and spray. Be warned, it comes out REALLY cold, and you can kill skin cells by the extreme change in temperature.
posted by hatsix at 12:11 PM on August 23, 2006

Howdy:

You may be thinking of Gebauer's Ethyl Chloride. (WARNING: Annoying embedded video)

We use this in the emergency department to numb skin for various purposes, and it is in most cases the "magic spray" used in sports.

In my considered opinion, you should NOT follow hatsix's advice unless you want to give yourself a nice cold burn: the bottled air spray is not designed for topical use, and is not controllable/meterable to the same extent that the Gebauer's is. YMMV, IANAD, IANYD, ZOMGITS.

Hope this helps.
posted by scrump at 1:23 PM on August 23, 2006

Was it Dermoplast? My sister bought it while she was undergoing radiation, nothing better for a sunburn!
posted by Sara Anne at 1:54 PM on August 23, 2006

ZOMGITS? You made that one up, surely?!
posted by Chunder at 3:29 PM on August 23, 2006

ZOMGITS? You made that one up, surely?!

It's a kind of choose-your-own-adventure acronym. How does it make you feel?
posted by scrump at 5:25 PM on August 23, 2006

Chunder: "ZOMGITS? You made that one up, surely?!"

I googled it. He most certainly did not make it up.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 8:12 PM on August 23, 2006