Granny's cure//household remedies

[FaceFoiled]

Hi!

I know this sounds a bit weird, but I was wondering if you had any family cures for bruises ^_^. I have a bruised/fractured rib which I can't do much about if I am not mistaken, so no point in going to the doctor for that. I figured out last weekend that roughly 15 beers dulls all the pain, which allows me to do some crazy stuff. Waking up after that, takes 15 times as long though, as turning over is a real struggle :P

So here was my question; do you know of anything you can do to help deal with bruised or fractured ribs?

[RaustBlackDragon]

Hi!

I know this sounds a bit weird, but I was wondering if you had any family cures for bruises ^_^. I have a bruised/fractured rib which I can't do much about if I am not mistaken, so no point in going to the doctor for that. I figured out last weekend that roughly 15 beers dulls all the pain, which allows me to do some crazy stuff. Waking up after that, takes 15 times as long though, as turning over is a real struggle :P

So here was my question; do you know of anything you can do to help deal with bruised or fractured ribs?

If you have a fractured rib, that honestly sounds like something you SHOULD go to the doctor about IMHO.

[Gargantuan_Penguin]

doctors can do nothing for fractured ribs. unless it collapsed and is damaging your lungs.
basically all you can do is wait, it takes a month and a half to heal a fractured rib. don't wrap it up that can cause a lot of harm it turns out.
pain medication is all a doc could give you.

[FaceFoiled]

Nah, they can't do anything about it anyway. You can't set it or wrap it up :P, at most you get some painkillers/muscle relaxers, and you don't need a prescription for those anyway (like advils). I'm wondering if things like tigerbalm would help out, I used that last week for a few days, and set my nipples on fire. But not sure if it actually does any good to my ribs.

Interestingly. a fractured rib is less of an issue than a bruised one. As a fractured rib would heal faster with less pain than a bruised rib. :P

But like, right now I'm sitting at work and it is annoying the shit out of me. I am changing the way I sit on my chair every few minutes and am in pain every time I adjust to get comfortable again. Currently have a cushion propped up at one end to twist my back a bit for comfort. Need a better alternative :P

[daveboy2000]

use a heating pad or a towel drenched in hot water, as far as i know you could also use an icepack, but i think its weight will just make it hurt even more, and if you fall asleep or something, it may cause frostbite.

I'd recommend you go for the towel, as the heat may cause drowsiness (talking from experience) and sleeping while using a heating pad isn't such a good idea. ^^

[morvelaira]

You actually want to use ice when you first injure things to reduce swelling, and therefore reduce the magnitude of the injury. Wrapped in a towel, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. Other than that, all the folk remedies I know are just different methods for controlling pain.

[Husbag3]

You actually want to use ice when you first injure things to reduce swelling, and therefore reduce the magnitude of the injury. Wrapped in a towel, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. Other than that, all the folk remedies I know are just different methods for controlling pain.

I thought frozen peas was slightly more traditional.

[Marasambala]

I thought frozen peas was slightly more traditional.

I've only heard that for one particular surgery...

[SterlingRed]

I thought frozen peas was slightly more traditional.

I've only heard that for one particular surgery...

Frozen peas are a poor mans icepack. Some people prefer it since it's moreflexible than a block of ice. For the purpose of reducing swelling, there is no difference between frozen peas or an ice pack.

[MoRmEnGiL]

Painkillers help, booze helps, but nothing helps more than science. Maybe you ought to ask your doctor about it really.

[FaceFoiled]

Thanks for the feedback all. :) As mentioned by several others as well though, a doctor cannot do anything about a bruised or fractured rib. And as I am not coughing up blood I'm sure its all fine and dandy in there :P

I tried warm towels last night, was quite nice for a bit but did not sleep with it. I did however, put my big dog (plushy) on my bed and used it as a back pillow, the sweet puppy offered some nice support so I could fall asleep :P

[Deepsniper]

Yeah FF sorry to hear you got hurt like that. I know the feeling having bruised my sternum before. Ice really does help. If you can go to the pharmacy and buy a couple ice/hot packs that you can put in the freezer I recommend doing it and alternating packs every hour or so. Like Laira said, 20 on 20 off. It won't actually help to heal it but it will offer some pain relief in terms of swelling control and if your lucky the ice could even numb off the nerve endings. Thats just my 2 cents. Get better man.