Why isnt icy hot working

Icy Hot is a pain reliever in the form of a cream, gel, or spray which is used on arthritis pain, hurting muscles, and aching joints on the body. The chemical composition of Icy Hot is a combination of menthol, methyl salicylate, and capsaicin. So does this product actually work? This is done because the methanol reveals a cooling sensation where as the capsaicin demonstrates a hot, burning feeling on the body.

When it turns cold the pain is dulled and when it is hot the muscles relax. Going from hot to cold actually distracts a person from feeling the pain because all they are so focused on the change in temperatures rather than any other injured body part. Icy Hot seems effective but in reality it only causes short term pain relief.

It seems Icy Hot has more of a placebo affect because when someone puts it on they seem to feel better automatically. Image 3. The conclusion on whether Icy-Hot is a scam or a effective product is very controversial. Many people do accept the null hypothesis because in the long run there is no healing of the body.

They believe the only scientific test to provide a link between Icy Hot and muscle, joint healing is a double blind placebo test. This would mean there would be two groups. If members of the control group which used Icy Hot felt better then we would know it actually works. According to Steve Cagle, the president of a company who produces analgesics conducted a study in and discovered the people who use this who have muscle pain are more relieved and feel better after using a muscle relieving gel.

US Pharmacist. Food and Drug Administration. Content current as of February 11, University of Florida Health.

Chemical burn or reaction. Updated September 23, Atlantic Brain and Spine. Is Icy Hot effective at relieving back pain? Published March 5, Icy Hot.

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The 6 Best Cold Sore Medicines of Additionally, the cooling properties of menthol have been shown to be anesthetic, which means they help prevent pain, especially in the throat and on the skin. This is the reason you often see menthol as a key ingredient in cough drops and topical creams, like Icy Hot. Methyl salicylate is an organic chemical compound that is derived naturally from several plant species, most commonly the wintergreen.

In a nutshell, however, it irritates the skin just enough to help block pain signals coming from a different area of the body, say a pulled muscle, providing temporary relief. Like methyl salicylate, capsaicin is a counterirritant that helps relieve pain by irritating the skin.

In large doses, like taking a bite out of chili pepper, this burning is uncomfortable and painful. But in smaller quantities, it can produce a heating sensation that is pain-relieving. Icy Hot is known as a counterirritant, which means that its purpose is to create minor inflammation or irritation in one area in order to block pain signals coming from another area.

To accomplish this, chemicals like menthol and capsaicin change the temperature of the skin which distracts the pain coming elsewhere in the body. Counterirritation is a common method of pain relief both in healthcare and in our daily lives. Counterirritants employ what is known as the Gate Control Theory which essentially suggests that non-painful and painful input cannot be registered by the brain at the same time.

By default, if there is no input from the nervous system, that gate remains closed. However, when we experience pain, small nerve fibers the nerves that can sense pain synapse onto projection cells which travel to the brain.

If there is more small fiber stimulation than typical, painless input, the gate will open and the brain will sense the pain. On the other hand, large fibers the nerves that sense general stimulation also work the same way. However, if there is more large nerve fiber stimulation, it will close the gate to the brain blocking out all signals, including pain.

For example, have you ever taken a hot bath or shower when you had a bad case of poison ivy or a itchy rash? In short, the chemical properties of Icy Hot cannot penetrate deep enough into your muscles to cause any substantial healing, but they can provide a temporary relief by stimulating the nerves near your skin and blocking pain signals.