How to Make a Warm Pack

Warm packs can be used to treat a variety of health problems, from muscle aches to stiffness. While you can buy hot packs at the pharmacy, you can also make your own with simpler, less expensive materials that are readily available at home. Warm packs can help relieve menstrual pain, pain from abdominal muscle spasms, and cramps. ^{[1] X Source of Research} Before using a warm pack, you need to determine if the pain needs to be treated with warm or cold therapy. Also, be sure to follow safety warnings to protect yourself from burns.

Table of Contents

Make a scented warm compress

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Prepare material. Basic materials include clean long socks, some rice, beans or dry, uncooked oats to put in the socks. If you want the warm compress to have a more soothing scent, you need to prepare some powdered mint, cinnamon or your favorite herb. You can use herbs available in the kitchen, herbal tea bags or essential oils. ^{[2] X Research Sources}^{[3] X Research Sources}

Try adding lavender, chamomile, sage, or mint to your socks for an extra soothing effect.

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Put the ingredients in the socks. Fill the socks with rice, beans, or oats almost completely – about 1/2-3/4 of the socks. Be sure to leave enough room for the sock to knot. Or you can pour the material almost to the top of the sock if you want to sew it back to make a long-lasting warm pack. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

When pouring ingredients into socks, you can add a little powder or scented herbs to create a pleasant scent while applying heat.

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Tie or sew the ends of the long socks. Depending on how long you want to store the warm pack, you can either tie it up temporarily or sew the top of the sock permanently. The fastening method keeps the material inside for a short period of time and the socks can be reused. Or you can sew the ends of your socks back to make a permanent ice pack. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Sewing the end of the sock close to the material inside will create a hard pack, and conversely, sewing away from the material will create a soft pack. You should manually adjust the firmness or softness of the ice pack to your liking before sewing again.
If you make a soft pack, you can easily apply it to your neck and shoulder area to treat pain.

Make a hot pack evaporate

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Moisten a clean towel. Let the water run down the clean towel until the towel is full of water (drain the water). Place the towel in a sealed plastic bag (such as a claw-lock bag). Arrange towels neatly to ensure that they warm up evenly when you put them in the microwave. At this time, you do not need to zip the bag.

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Put the towel bag in the microwave. Place the towel bag (open bag) in the center of the microwave. Heat on high for about 30-60 seconds and increase by 10 seconds until desired temperature is reached.

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Use warm water instead. If you don’t have a microwave or don’t feel safe microwaving a plastic bag, you can boil some water in a kettle. Then, put a towel in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Finally, use a towel picker to put it in a plastic bag.

You can apply a warm compress directly to your skin if you want your skin to be exposed to moisture. However, be very careful and make sure the pack is not too hot. An evaporative heat pack helps in case of sinus pain, but you also need to be careful to avoid burns. ^{[10] X Research Source}

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Be careful when handling plastic bags. Because the towel is absorbent, there may be hot steam coming out of the plastic bag. Therefore, you need to be careful when taking the towel bag out of the microwave to avoid burns. The heat can cause severe skin shine even if you are not in direct contact with the hot object. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Use the tongs when handling if the towel bag is too hot.

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Seal the towel in the bag. After the wet wipes have been microwaved and reached the ideal temperature, you need to find a way to keep the hot steam in the bag so that the towel doesn’t cool too quickly. Note that the heat can cause serious burns so you must be very careful and protect yourself. Wrap a towel around your fingers or put on kitchen gloves to protect your skin during the zipper pull of the plastic bag.

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Wrap the plastic bag in a clean towel. Do not apply plastic bags directly to the skin. So you can use a clean towel as a barrier. Place the plastic bag in the center of the towel and then wrap the towel. This helps prevent the plastic bag from slipping off the towel and leaves only a single layer of towel between the pack and the skin.

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Place the wrapped pack on your skin. Wait for the pack to cool down if it feels uncomfortable. Remember to rest your skin every 10 minutes and do not apply heat for more than 20 minutes.

If the skin begins to turn dark red, purple, red spots and eggs appear, blisters, swelling, or hives, you should see your doctor right away. It is possible that the skin has been damaged by heat. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Know when to use a warm pack

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Apply warmth to sore muscles. Muscle pain is usually caused by too much lactic acid build-up in muscle tissue. ^{[13] X Research Source} When applying a warm compress to a sore muscle, the heat will draw more blood to the painful site. ^{[14] X Research Source} Increased blood circulation helps flush out excess lactic acid, which helps relieve muscle pain. Not only that, it also helps to bring more oxygen to the sore muscle, thereby speeding up the healing of the injured muscle. The feeling of warmth can “trick” the nervous system, reducing pain signals to the brain. ^{[15] X Research Source}

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Use an evaporative hot pack to treat cramps. If the cramping persists, you need to rest the cramping muscle first. Don’t overwork and avoid activities that stress muscles to the point of cramping. Wait 72 hours before applying a warm compress to reduce inflammation in the muscles (if any). After 3 days, you can apply a warm evaporative compress to the affected muscle to speed healing. ^{[16] X Research Source}

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Treat stiffness and joint pain with warm or cold compresses. Both of these methods are effective in treating joint problems. You can try each therapy to determine which is more effective.

Cold packs help numb pain and reduce inflammation and swelling in joints by constricting blood vessels. Although it may be uncomfortable at first, cold compresses are useful to numb acute pain.
Warm compresses dilate blood vessels, increasing blood circulation to help speed healing. The high temperature also helps to relax the tissues and ligaments in the place of tension, thereby increasing the range of motion of the muscles/joints. ^{[17] X Research Source}
You can apply heat by soaking the painful area in warm water. For example, swim in a warm pool or simply soak in a warm bath.

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Do not apply heat therapy when you have some health problems. Pregnant women, people with diabetes, poor circulation, and people with cardiovascular disease (e.g. high blood pressure) may react negatively to heat therapy. Talk to your doctor before applying heat to relieve muscle or joint pain. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Always remember to have a towel between the heat source and the skin to avoid burns.

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Do not apply heat for acute injury. ^{[19] X Research Source} Warming is best when applied to chronic injuries such as developing muscle pain or chronic joint pain. On the other hand, cold compresses are the best method immediately after an acute injury such as a joint sprain. So, if you have a sprain, you should apply ice immediately to reduce swelling in the first 48 hours. If the pain persists for several days, you can apply a warm compress to speed up recovery.

Warning

Do not place the warm pack on one spot for too long to avoid burning. It is recommended to change the location of the heating pad every few minutes.
Do not microwave the pack for more than 1 minute to avoid overheating the pack and melting the plastic bag.
Warm compresses should help you feel comfortable. Stop applying heat if you feel discomfort.
Do not use warm packs on babies and young children. ^{[20] X Trusted Source US Food and Drug Administration Go to source}

Things you need

Method 1

Tubular socks, clean
Rice, beans or oats to fill half sock
Powder with your favorite scent or essential oil (optional)
Microwave oven
Towel

Method 2

Towel
Water
Microwave or kettle
Plastic bag with claw lock
Dry towels or pillowcases
Picking tool

Steps