Did people really use ice packs?

December 18, 2007 4:54 AM

In older films, ill people are sometimes shown with an ice pack on their head. Presumably to bring down a fever? Did people really do this back then, or is the ice pack merely a comedic signifier?
posted by R. Mutt to media & arts (18 comments total)

People did do this "back then" and they still do it now.

A cold pack on the head isn't going to do much to lower the core body temperature of a patient, but it could cool the local head area. It's probably more for the comfort of the patient than an actual treatment.
posted by Caper's Ghost at 5:27 AM on December 18, 2007

You can substitute a bag of peas for the ice pack, but this isn't a particularly uncommon scene in my or my girlfriend's family with varying types of illness / pain. I'm not sure this is a particularly uncommon thing to do.
posted by wackybrit at 5:29 AM on December 18, 2007

To add, ice can also provide distraction from the real pain / ilness. This is particularly true of toothache and headache. With the particularly poor knowledge of medicine back in "the old days", it might have been more accepted as a "cure" of sorts even though it's just a distraction / relief.
posted by wackybrit at 5:31 AM on December 18, 2007

It used to be a signifier of hangovers in comedy.
posted by yerfatma at 5:35 AM on December 18, 2007

I've seen it more as a signifier that the character has a hangover.

I get vascular headaches a lot and I do this myself. It's not just a distraction; changes in temperature make your vessels expand or contract, so sometimes putting an ice pack on your head actually does make the pain go away.
posted by zebra3 at 6:01 AM on December 18, 2007

It's a great remedy for migraines and very popular in my family. Until I was prescribed Imitrex earlier this year, ice on the head for the rest of the day was the only relief that I ever saw for a migraine.
posted by odi.et.amo at 6:25 AM on December 18, 2007

You can buy them online... though I think they are more intended as a joke present than actually practical. It's something I tend to mentally associate with the Rat Pack era/scene. I think with the hangover case the idea is to numb the pain, rather than 'cool' the brain.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:47 AM on December 18, 2007

If someone got a bump on the head, I think it could also be used to keep down swelling.

I've done it when I got headaches though and it worked.
posted by drezdn at 6:48 AM on December 18, 2007

If one happens to be sans-ice, a folded facecloth rinsed in cold water and draped across the forehead achieves a similar effect, especially if you have a fever/sweats. It doesn't do much other than provide a welcome cooling sensation, but sometimes that's all you need.
posted by macdara at 6:50 AM on December 18, 2007

Very common here in Japan. Kid gets a fever, first thing the mom does is have them lie down, and she puts a little ice bag on the forehead. Most households even have a little stand doo-hickey to hold the bag suspended just touching the forehead, while the patient is lying on their back ...
posted by woodblock100 at 6:53 AM on December 18, 2007

I do it all the time - great for headaches.
posted by deadmessenger at 7:09 AM on December 18, 2007

This book (copyright 1918) recommends it at least once.
posted by oddman at 9:49 AM on December 18, 2007

I spent a lot of time in bed with an ice pack on my head for migraine until I got Relpax. It was pretty much the only thing that helped.
posted by dmd at 9:50 AM on December 18, 2007

Very common in Europe, though not in the bag like container you see in American movies. I always found a cold shower hose on the head to shrink the blood vessels worked
posted by A189Nut at 10:32 AM on December 18, 2007

woodblock100, you fascinate me. Can you link to an image of such a device?
posted by mumkin at 11:04 AM on December 18, 2007

Had malaria when I was a kid. Vividly recall an ice pack on the forehead every time my temperature made the nurse's face drop. Definitely brought it down alot.
posted by gatchaman at 11:26 AM on December 18, 2007

I do this sometimes when I'm very hot. You lose something like 40-50% of your body heat just through your head, so cooling it off faster should help bring body temperature down a bit.
posted by tomble at 2:30 PM on December 18, 2007

Can you link to an image of such a device?

At your service! Here's a Google image search, and here's a blog page with a photo of one (old-fashioned type) in use.
posted by woodblock100 at 3:27 PM on December 18, 2007