cryotherapy, also known as cryosurgery, is a commonly used in-office procedure for the treatment of a variety of benign and malignant lesions. In one report, cryotherapy was the second most common in-office procedure after skin excision. The mechanism of destruction in cryotherapy is necrosis, which results from the freezing and thawing of cells. Treated areas reepithelialize. Adverse effects of cryotherapy are usually minor and short-lived. The most common method of cryotherapy is the use of ice packs. There are different types of ice used in ice packs. The most common types are ice packs made with cubed, crushed and wetted ice. [2] The study of Joseph H. Dykstra et al. sais that wetted ice is better to lower surface temperature during treatment and maintaining the lower temperature during recovery. It’s also more effective in lowering the intramuscular …show more content…
Consider the nature of the tissue when icing: • The duration of icing for a small area with minimal fat and muscle, such as a finger, would be significantly less (~3‐5 minutes) than that for a larger area and deeper tissue such as at the hip (~20 minutes) • Intermittent icing (e.g., 10 minutes on: 10 minutes off) may be more effective for management of acute inflammation than icing for 20 consecutive minutes Type/duration of cooling dependent upon the goal • Cooling to reduce pain will likely require less intense (ice pack) and shorter durations (5 minutes) • Cooling to reduce metabolism of uninjured cells will likely require more intense cooling (ice bath or ice chips in a wet towel) for longer durations (10‐15