Can hot compress be used during the remission period of chronic pain? What medicine should women use?

Hot compresses can be used during the remission period of most chronic pain. The analgesic drugs suitable for women must be judged based on the type of pain and the basic physical condition. There is no unified one-size-fits-all option.

Not long ago, I treated a 32-year-old primary school teacher who suffered from chronic lumbar muscle strain for nearly three years. During the remission period, he applied a hot water bag on his waist for 10 minutes every night. The stiffness disappeared very quickly, and his insomnia was much better. Last week, I didn’t notice that when I came to visit my aunt, I also suffered from vascular migraine. I took the hot water bag and applied it on my forehead, but the pain made me want to vomit. When I came to see me, I kept talking about how the same method was useless when I moved to another place. In fact, the logic of hot compress is very simple. It is to warm up the local area and relax the tight soft tissue, accelerate blood circulation and take away the accumulated metabolic waste. It is just like pouring some warm water on frozen water pipes in winter to clear it. For pain such as muscle strain, fasciitis, and chronic dysmenorrhea, the probability of comfort after applying it is particularly high during the remission period. But it is not applicable to all situations. For example, if there is localized skin damage, or the chronic pain is neuropathic (such as post-herpetic neuralgia, pain caused by diabetic peripheral neuropathy), hot compress may stimulate the nerves and aggravate abnormal discharge. If there happens to be irregular vaginal bleeding, applying it to the stomach may aggravate the bleeding. In this case, do not join in the fun of hot compress. You also need to pay attention to the temperature. It should not exceed 45 degrees and should last no more than 20 minutes at a time. Otherwise, girls with insensitive skin can easily get burnt by low temperature. I have seen many baby warmers get blisters after one night.

As for medication, it’s actually more about symptomatic treatment. Don’t just search for “female painkillers” and buy them blindly. Let’s talk about the most common chronic musculoskeletal pain, such as back pain caused by sitting for a long time, and knee pain caused by standing for a long time in high heels. If you occasionally feel pain during the remission period, you can give priority to some topical medicines, such as Voltaren ointment or flurbiprofen gel patch. They are absorbed through the skin and will not irritate the stomach like oral medicines. Many little girls carry one in their bags. If they have a stiff waist after sitting for an afternoon, rub it on and it will relieve them a lot. If the pain is so severe that external medications cannot be suppressed, and there are no contraindications such as gastric ulcer or asthma, it is okay to take a piece of ibuprofen or acetaminophen. As long as you don’t take it for more than 3 days in a row, there will basically be no major problems.

If you have chronic dysmenorrhea, you don’t actually need to take regular medicine during the remission period. If the menstrual pain is severe, ibuprofen is the first choice. It is more effective than drinking half a pot of brown sugar water. As long as there are no contraindications, you can basically go through your menstrual period comfortably if you take it one hour in advance. But if you have unexplained chronic lower abdominal pain, don’t rush to take painkillers. You must first go to the gynecologist to check whether there are problems such as endometriosis and chronic pelvic inflammatory disease. If the pain is really caused by such diseases, you may need to use progesterone or even short-acting contraceptives. Taking painkillers by yourself will only cover up the condition.

There are also different opinions in the academic circles. Some studies believe that drugs can be used as little as possible during the remission period of chronic pain. Physical intervention such as hot compresses and rehabilitation exercises should be given priority to reduce the risk of drug side effects. Others believe that regular use of analgesics in small doses can avoid repeated acute attacks of pain and damage to nerves. The specific choice depends on the individual's pain frequency and tolerance. To put it bluntly, whether it is applying heat or taking medicine, the core thing is to first figure out the cause of your pain. If you are not sure, ask a doctor for evaluation first, which is much more reliable than searching for folk remedies on the Internet and trying blindly.