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Unit 6 Hot and Cold Application
Unit 6 Hot and Cold Application
2. Fibromyalgia.
3. Osteoarthritis.
4. Tension headaches.
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Unit 6: Hot and Cold Application Fundamental of Nursing
1. Heating Pad: place a towel over the area to be treated, apply for up to
10 minutes checking regularly that the skin is not becoming too hot.
4. Steam Inhalations: sit in front of bowl filled with water that had been
brought to boiler stand at stove over pot of water - herbal extracts may
also be added; cover head, shoulders and pot with a large towel; close the
eyes and inhale steam for up to 10minutes; allow cool air in as needed if
too hot; keep a cool cloth handy to wipe the face
Cold application
Temperature is between 0 to 12 deg. Celsius; cool is considered
between 13 to 18 degree Celsius, not a topical room-temperature cream or
lotion with cooling effect.
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Unit 6: Hot and Cold Application Fundamental of Nursing
6. Migraine headaches.
7. During exercise in hot environment - cool down with fans, ice packs
and cold towels
1. Cold Gel Pack/Ice pack: wrap in a towel to prevent frost bite, place
and hold over the area, ice packs contain crushed or chipped ice and are
more efficient than commercial gel packs.
3. Ice Cup: take a paper cup filled with water and put it in the freezer;
when frozen tear a way paper to expose ice as you massage/stroke it over
affected area. Best suited for muscle injury and larger area.
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Unit 6: Hot and Cold Application Fundamental of Nursing
for contrast, fill one sink with warm/hot water and the other side
with cool/cold water ( use plastic bins for feet); place body part(s) in
warm side first then the cool side; repeat 3 times.
2. Compresses:
have both a hot water basin and a cold water basin available; dip
one cloth in hot water, wring out and place on area; dip the other cloth
in the cold water, wring out and replace the hot compress with the
cold one.
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Unit 6: Hot and Cold Application Fundamental of Nursing
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Unit 6: Hot and Cold Application Fundamental of Nursing
4. Skin and tissue integrity (open wounds, broken skin, scar formation,
edema): Subcutaneous tissues are more sensitive to temperature
variations than are superficial tissues. (e.g., cold can decrease blood flow
to an open wound, thereby inhibiting healing).
- Inexpensive
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Unit 6: Hot and Cold Application Fundamental of Nursing
3. Electrical Pads
- Provide constant heat
4. Ice Bags,
- Filled either with ice chips .
5. Compresses
- Can be either warm or cold
6. Soak
- Refers to immersing a body part in a solution
- Sterile technique is generally indicated for open wound