I still haven't figured out if the source of my pain is nerve related or something different. I've been to pelvic physiotherapists, colorectal surgeons, and everything else without much improvement. When I told my colorectal doctor that I had pain sitting down and also occasional burning during bowel movements, he said that I have anusitis. I didn't really believe him because I have so much other pain like lower back pain, penile pain, perineum aching, and quick shocks through the pelvis that can't be explained by simple inflammation to the anus. He assured me that's what I have and told me to buy a product called Anurex, which is a small insertable that you freeze and apply to the anus.
Now if i'm right (that i have nerve pain) and he's wrong (that I have anusitis) is there any risk to trying this for a few weeks? I read a lot of people on this forum apply icepacks externally with some success, but I just wanted to make sure it's safe.
Are there any risks to icing near the nerve pain longterm?
Re: Are there any risks to icing near the nerve pain longter
Hi volans,
I couldn't live without ice. I used to rely only on ice for pain relief, but now I take drugs so I don't have to ice all the time. It can harm your skin if you do it too long and without some kind of barrier, but I used it almost continuously for several months (without a paper towel barrier) before I developed a problem (panniculitis, which I fully recovered from). Now I usually I wrap my ice in 1-2 two layers of a paper towel, and I do it less (about 1/4 of my waking hours and about 1/8 of my sleeping hours) and I have no problems with it.
Is this like a mini ice pack? If so, I would think it would be okay. Ice packs (the kind with a thick plastic cover) are never strong enough for me---they have too much of a barrier---so if this insertable is like that, it doesn't seem like it would cause harm to the skin. But you could start with short intervals just to be safe.
April
I couldn't live without ice. I used to rely only on ice for pain relief, but now I take drugs so I don't have to ice all the time. It can harm your skin if you do it too long and without some kind of barrier, but I used it almost continuously for several months (without a paper towel barrier) before I developed a problem (panniculitis, which I fully recovered from). Now I usually I wrap my ice in 1-2 two layers of a paper towel, and I do it less (about 1/4 of my waking hours and about 1/8 of my sleeping hours) and I have no problems with it.
Is this like a mini ice pack? If so, I would think it would be okay. Ice packs (the kind with a thick plastic cover) are never strong enough for me---they have too much of a barrier---so if this insertable is like that, it doesn't seem like it would cause harm to the skin. But you could start with short intervals just to be safe.
April
Re: Are there any risks to icing near the nerve pain longter
Yes the instructions are to apply the device for only 6-8 minutes per session so I don't think that's long enough to do any real damage. You can see what it looks like here:
When I first had this problem 3 years ago, i found I had short term relief by applying heat (either heating pad or preferably sitz bath) so i've been using that consistently ever since. But I never considered cold therapy, and it's possible all this heat -while giving temporarily relief- is making things worse long term and what i really need is cold to reduce inflammation.
I'm going to give it a shot and report back with results.
When I first had this problem 3 years ago, i found I had short term relief by applying heat (either heating pad or preferably sitz bath) so i've been using that consistently ever since. But I never considered cold therapy, and it's possible all this heat -while giving temporarily relief- is making things worse long term and what i really need is cold to reduce inflammation.
I'm going to give it a shot and report back with results.
Re: Are there any risks to icing near the nerve pain longter
Oh, that looks like a great product. I've never heard of it before. Yes, I think that short window of time would be fine (especially given what I've been doing for the past 3 years!). Keep us posted. I think others might be interested in finding out if it works.
Others have found heat helpful too. Violet has posted that she found considerable pain relief by alternating between ice and heat (and just as you did, she used a sitz bath for the heat). And the doctors who advised me as I was trying to recover from my panniculitis (a dermatologist and a urogynecologist) recommended a sitz bath because the heat promotes blood flow, and blood flow promotes healing. So, the heat can promote healing. I also find some minor pain relief with the heat (e.g., in the shower) but nothing compared to what I get with ice.
April
Others have found heat helpful too. Violet has posted that she found considerable pain relief by alternating between ice and heat (and just as you did, she used a sitz bath for the heat). And the doctors who advised me as I was trying to recover from my panniculitis (a dermatologist and a urogynecologist) recommended a sitz bath because the heat promotes blood flow, and blood flow promotes healing. So, the heat can promote healing. I also find some minor pain relief with the heat (e.g., in the shower) but nothing compared to what I get with ice.
April