Does a Hot Water Bottle Ease Period Pain?

Granny really did know best as scientist have proved a hot water bottle on the tummy can ease period pain. University College London scientists discovered heat treatment works by blocking pain messages to the brain. 

Science of a hot water bottle

Presenting his findings to the Physiological Society’s annual conference, Dr Brian King said: The pain of colic, cystitis and menstrual period pain is caused by a temporary reduction in blood flow to organs, causing local tissue damage and activating pain receptors. The heat doesn’t just provide comfort and have a placebo effect it actually deactivates the pain at a molecular level in much the same way as pharmaceutical painkillers work. We have discovered how this molecular process works.

Menstrual pain is one of the most common gynaecological complaints in women of reproductive age. More than 80 per cent of British women are thought to suffer from period pains. Research found that 20 per cent of young women said their monthly pains cause trouble in their relationships, while one in three is left feeling depressed.

A hot water bottle has many uses, don’t put it off and road test your own.  There are so many to choose from, traditional rubber including plasticiser free to the latest technology latex allergy free.  There’s even a mini one to take with you on the move and at the other end of the scale take a look at a giant hot water bottle.

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UCL, one of the world’s top universities with an international reputation for quality of its research and teaching.