Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Rice Socks--Good

As is common practice on the FDMB, Venita made and uses a rice sock to warm Max's ear before she draws blood to test his blood glucose level.

When Dr. Cutter suggested warm compresses to provide relief from the pain in her right breast nipple because of the ischemia (dying tissue) from the biopsy, Venita did as the Dr. suggested--a warm washcloth. But you know how fast a warm washcloth becomes a cold washcloth.

Venita decided to make her own rice sock. Real rice (not the Uncle Ben's converted type) put into the toe of a sock and tied. Put it into the microwave for 30-45 seconds, depending on how warm you want it. Venita will place her rice sock on the nipple, held in place under a sports bra, to bring oh so much relief from the discomfort.

She suggests it for anyone who wants a warm compress. Say you have back spasms and use a heating pad. Instead, you could sew together two pieces of fabric with rice inside, microwave it, and presto zippo, have a nice warm compress to lay on. Could be a real cottage industry!

Venita told Dr. Cutter about the rice sock. Dr. Cutter was unimpressed. The surgical resident in the room, though, thought it was a great idea and asked the details of making one. Maybe in the future, some patient needing warm compresses will be told by this soon-to-be-a doctor about rice socks/pads, not the warm-soon-to-be-cold washcloth trick.

1 comment:

Venita said...

Cheri. I love lavender. I grow 3 kinds of lavender in my gardens. Next summer and fall, now I know what to do with the lavender I always have let wilt on the plants, I will add them to rice "packs." Should the plants survive this very warm, wet winter we've been having in DE.