Why is ice recommended for swelling for the first 24 hours, but not after?!
Question: Why is ice recommended for swelling for the first 24 hours, but not after.?
For example, yesterday morning I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth taken out, and part of the post-op directions was to apply ice packs to keep the swelling down. But for the next day directions (and many information places I've seen online) say to stop icing and use heat instead. The ice packs feel good though, I'm just wondering why you're either not supposed to use them after 24 hours or it doesn't work after 24 hours. Does it stop working or something.? Is it harmful.?Health Question & Answer
Answers:
There's no magic or even good medical science behind it, but the theory is that cooling will cause vasoconstriction, which will limit bleeding and slow the inflammatory response a bit. After a day or so, what clots need to form should pretty well have formed, and there's no longer a need.Health Question & Answer
Actually I think ice packs are most effective up to 48 hrs. Apparently after that heat helps increase circulation to the area which promotes healing. Some studies suggest that applying heat externally causes our bodies to adapt by cooling internally...sort of like applying ice.Health Question & Answer
i think its just for temp reliefHealth Question & Answer