Heat patch

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A warming plaster is an adhesive plaster that is used for the external treatment of pain, especially in the back area (e.g. lumbago , muscle tension, rheumatic diseases ). It stays on the skin for four to twelve hours. Warming patches are over-the-counter medicines .

Traditional heating patches

The classic method is the release of active ingredients that stimulate blood circulation and thus ensure constant, even heating of the covered area. They are used in products such as the "Hansaplast ABC Warmth Plaster" developed in 1928 or the "GothaPlast RheumaMed Warmth Plaster". As an active ingredient usually used capsaicin , sometimes in combination with other active ingredients (eg. As arnica in Gothaplast RheumaMed), or patches for sensitive skin also Nonivamide , a synthetic version of capsaicin.

Name and story

The abbreviation "ABC", which has become colloquial, stands for the combination of the three herbal ingredients arnica , belladonna and capsicum . In 1928, the inventor of the ABC patch, Professor Raubenheimer, used extracts from these plants for the first time in a healing patch against rheumatic complaints. The composition of the ingredients has changed over time. Therapy studies have shown that cayenne pepper thick extract - obtained from the chilli pepper - in the ABC patch leads to significant relief of back pain. Today ABC only contains capsaicin ; arnica and belladonna are not used.

effect

Applied locally, the capsaicin obtained from cayenne pepper thick extract stimulates the skin's heat and pain receptors. The skin reaction is noticeable and often visible as reddening. The blood circulation is promoted, a feeling of warmth spreads. Another positive effect is the long-lasting analgesic effect. The capsaicin inhibits the release of a neurotransmitter pain, known as Substance P . "The existing supplies of substance P are emptied and the pain signals are no longer transmitted, which is why patients no longer have pain even after the therapy has ended," explains the Berlin doctor and pain expert Dr. Jan-Peter Jansen. After using drugs that promote blood circulation, the use of heat in the form of red light or a hot compress is taboo, because the drug and heat application can be extremely intensified.

Iron powder based heating patches

Iron powder-based heating patches do without the direct irritation of the skin by active ingredients in favor of an external heat supply. Iron powder bound in the plaster reacts with the oxygen in the air and the resulting heat of reaction is released to the body.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Press release on the 75th birthday of the ABC brand from May 2003
  2. Paprika for back pain. In: MMW Progress in Medicine, 50/2003
  3. Healing from the chilli pepper . In: Pharmazeutische Zeitung, June 19, 2003
  4. ABC plasters turn your back on pain. In: Business magazine for orthopedists, 5/2002
  5. Cayenne pepper. In: Kneipp Blätter, 6/2002
  6. Temperature with depth effect. In: Apotheken Umschau, January 2, 2003