Localized heat and cold therapy are common interventions with numerous clinical applications, including the relief of localized pain, stiffness or aching; reduction in inflammation and swelling; decrease in muscle spasm and tightness; and control of bleeding. Heat increases circulation and blood flow, while cold decreases blood flow and slows down the body’s metabolism and oxygen demand. Heat and cold have long been used for these purposes. but today there are improvements over traditional ways to apply localized temperature therapy (LTT).
Why Ready-to-Use Is Better
Providers and caregivers are increasingly moving toward ready-to-use solutions for temperature therapy. In homecare, improvising with towels, gloves or household ice can slow a visit and create inconsistent temperatures. Instead, treatment with ready-to-use instant hot and cold packs (per labeling) gives clinicians a repeatable, safe starting point in the home. Packs allow care teams to act quickly and effectively, work safely and keep patients comfortable.
Additionally, standardizing temperature therapy with a small set of instant packs helps home health and home medical equipment (HME) teams align practices across branches, caregivers and shifts—reducing variation from home to home while keeping setup simple. Clinicians spend less time assembling supplies and more time educating patients and families.
Here are some tips for ensuring safety and compliance:
- Follow labeled instructions. If the pack’s temperature or application is not correct, pain relief can fall short and discomfort can increase.
- Avoid improvised heating or cooling at home. Towels or microwaved packs can irritate skin or cause burns.
- Maintain a consistent care approach to help stay on plan, address other priorities and avoid reapplications that take away from limited visit time.
Challenges & Solutions
Improvised LTT methods often create inconsistent temperatures, safety concerns and wasted time. Ready to use packs are designed to help prevent leaking and support a safe, effective temperature for a positive patient experience. This can be beneficial for providers and patients receiving care in their living rooms or bedrooms.
Soft costs add up when treating patients at home. Minutes spent assembling workarounds or dealing with leaks are minutes not being spent on education or safety checks. Multiply even five extra minutes per visit across a caseload and the lost time is significant. Ready-to-use packs can help reclaim time during home visits and save on setup time. Caregivers are not running for ice or spending time on cleanup. Having small, right-sized packs in the clinician bag makes routine tasks, such as warming intravenous sites or easing soreness, faster and more comfortable.
Some options on the market include:
- Instant hot or cold packs
- Ice bags
- Reusable gel packs
- Perineal cold packs
- Infant heel warmers
For care teams, fewer product stock keeping units or SKUs, and standardized ordering help streamline supply tracking and can reduce waste. Standardized purchasing and volume commitments can assist organizations in managing total cost while keeping pack selection straightforward for field teams. We recommend working with pack suppliers on training, evaluation and rollout so homecare teams can adopt packs consistently and use them as labeled.