Morning all
I haven't started chemo, but I know it will be the near future and I have read about the affects to neuropathy your nails and body.
Has anyone tried cold therapy (like the cold cap) on hands and feet? and if so, what are your opinions on it.
I am thinking of trialing it as I already suffer neuropathy in my feet and I need to prevent further damage and I don't fancy losing/damaging my nails either.
From what I have read it affects the relevant part the same way as a cold cap.
Appreciate any feedback & hope it helps others!
Hi Skj01
I wore cold gloves and socks throughout my chemo treatment. However, my oncologist and chemo nurse were not supportive of the idea but I went ahead anyway and was very discrete.
I also cold capped throughout too.
I had 3 x 3 weekly EC followed by 9x weekly Paclitaxel - I started 'cold therapy' from the very first treatment
I got very slight neuropathy in both feet - toes mainly. It was tingling - I was only aware of it when I was sitting still.
When I was walking I didn't notice it.
My chemo finished 3 months ago and I have been taking VIT B12 - the neuropathy got a bit worse before it improved and now it has completely gone.
While I was researching 'cold therapy' for hands and feet ,I did contact a company offering cold gloves and socks to see if I could rent a machine but that didn't work out- they stopped responding to me.
So I searched the internet to see what other people had used and came up with my own combination of 'cold wear' .
I bought the following
SuzziPad Foot Ice Pack Cold Socks & Cold Gloves
Hilph Foot Ice Pack Slippers
KOOLPAK LUXURY REUSABLE HOT & COLD PACK
Please remember that I was having to be discrete about the cold therapy for hands and feet - things might be easier for you if you have support from your team-
I found that the SuzziPad thawed out very quickly and the freezer packs were tricky to insert so I set them up before going to the hospital and pack freezer blocks around them.
I used the Koolpack blocks for my hands as the sizzi got warm quite quickly. I used the suzzi blocks for the back of my hands and held onto a Koolpack - swapping out when needed - some people hold onto frozen water bottles I believe. I roundwd off the corners of the Koolpacks as they were quite sharp.
The Hilph ice pack slippers were much more successful for me. I originally bought 2 pairs but one of my treatments was delayed by 2 hours, after I had been set up in the chemo suite, and I didn't have enough kit to see me through the treatment. ( I bought an extra pair after this although I never needed the 3rd pair)
I used the koolpacks to rest my feet on when I had the ice slippers on to slow down the melting. I also slipped a koolpack between the top of the slippers and my toes to keep things cool for longer
Do your own research though, and see what will work for you.
I would thoroughly recommend cold capping and hands and feet cooling - at least you would have tried everything.
I used polybalm
for all my nails and started 1 week before treatment - my nails are great
Wishing you an uneventful, speedy treatment xxx
Hi deebee60
Thanks for the feedback. I found socks and mitts with ice packs on Amazon for about £40, which I am considering buying. I was planning on getting 2 sets as you can't get the additional ice packs on their own and like you planned to pack them with ice blocks to keep the second set cold, but I will check out the ones you've used.
I must admit if the medical team can't find a medical reason as to why I shouldn't do it then they can't stop me and I am happy to be a test subject in this instance. If we don't trial it how can they get the data to prove their position. Well that's my opinion and I am sticking to it.
I am planning to cold cap too. Scheduled my haircut for next week. Not going full buzz cut, more a step change to a shirt pixie. I know it'll only be for a few weeks, but I think the transition will be easier.
I've already bought polybalm nail treatment and started to use it today.
I'm all over the place at the moment. The waiting to start is driving me nuts, so I am looking at what I may possibly need and researching as much as possible. It gives me something to do and makes me feel more in control of what's happening.
Thanks again!
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