Comments on: Did people really use ice packs?

Question: Did people really use ice packs?

R. Mutt — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:54:13 -0800

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?

By: Caper's Ghost

Caper's Ghost — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:27:51 -0800

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.

By: wackybrit

wackybrit — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:29:04 -0800

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.

By: wackybrit

wackybrit — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:31:06 -0800

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.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:35:09 -0800

It used to be a signifier of hangovers in comedy.

By: zebra3

zebra3 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:01:51 -0800

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.

By: odi.et.amo

odi.et.amo — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:25:59 -0800

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.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:47:06 -0800

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.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:48:16 -0800

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.

By: macdara

macdara — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:50:16 -0800

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.

By: woodblock100

woodblock100 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:53:39 -0800

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 ...

By: deadmessenger

deadmessenger — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:09:13 -0800

I do it all the time - great for headaches.

By: oddman

oddman — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:49:51 -0800

By: dmd

dmd — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:50:54 -0800

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.

By: A189Nut

A189Nut — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:32:07 -0800

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

By: mumkin

mumkin — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:04:12 -0800

woodblock100, you fascinate me. Can you link to an image of such a device?

By: gatchaman

gatchaman — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:26:14 -0800

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.

By: tomble

tomble — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:30:45 -0800

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.

By: woodblock100

woodblock100 — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:27:44 -0800

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.