ThermaCare Wraps
Oh the pain! Oh the cramps! Street Cents seeks relief from monthly misery with ThermaCare Heat Wraps. Our testers tell us what they think - then we take a look at what else is on the market - and what works best for the best price.
Viewer Letter
Dear Street Cents,
I was looking through my most recent issue of Teen People and found an advertisement for a menstrual pain reliever. I was wondering if this miracle product really works? The product is called ThermaCare.
Please Help Me Out
Vanessa Fortune
Street Cents Response
Street Cents took a look for the product and found out the pads are only available in the United States at the moment. Procter and Gamble, the company that makes the pads told Street Cents they don't have any immediate plans to bring the product to Canada. But we were curious to see if they really worked – so we decided to test them anyway.
The official name of the product is ThermaCare Therapeutic Heat Wraps for Menstrual Cramp Relief. They're made by Procter and Gamble. The company has other products in the ThermaCare line designed for backaches and other areas but these are specifically designed to go on your lower abdomen.
The heat wrap is thin and kidney shaped with an adhesive strip to stick to the front of your underwear. The heat wrap becomes activated when it is removed from the package. The company says it will last for eight hours.
The heat wraps are like a disposable, wear-around-town version of a heating pad or hot water bottle.
A box of three wraps sells for $6.99 US ($2.33 US/pad) in the States.
Typical cost of other cramp relievers:
generic (ie. No-name or store brand) Ibuprofen = $4.99 for 50 pills (about 10 cents/pill)
name brand (Pamprin) = $4.99 for 16 pills (31 cents/pill)
name brand (Midol) = $5.49 for 16 pills (34 cents/pill)
name brand (Tylenol Menstrual = $5.99 for 16 pills (37 cents/pill)
Heat therapy
Experts Street Cents talked to say heat does indeed help with menstrual cramps. They say applying heat helps ease the pain of cramping. The heat helps increase the blood flow to the area, which speeds up the pain relief process.
Procter and Gamble says heat therapy has been a natural remedy used over the ages both to relieve pain and to enhance the recovery process. They say that by increasing the temperature of the skin surface and underlying tissues, heat stimulates the body's thermoreceptors - sensory receptors that respond to heat and cold - which then help block the transmission of pain signals to the brain.
They say this translates into a significant decrease of discomfort.
The company says the patches contain natural ingredients (iron, charcoal, table salt, and water) that heat up when exposed to the oxygen in the air. When you open the ThermaCare pouch, the patch will begin to warm immediately and will reach its therapeutic temperature within approximately 30 minutes.
They say wearing the pad for eight hours will give you 24 hours of pain relief.
But is it true? Our testers gave the ThermaCare pads their full, cramp-riddled attention.
The Test
Street Cents gave a box each of the ThermaCare pads to two Halifax-area teens to give them a test-run. Here's what they said:
"They got rid of my cramps completely. Eliminated them."
"It worked for 12 hours."
"It did sound a bit like a diaper at first - but then you get used to it."
They said they thought the pads would be worth the money. Now they just need to find a friend in the U.S. who can buy them and send them up here... Or plan a shopping trip!
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