I've just checked and I see that wheat bags have already made an appearance on my blog here. So I won't rerun the story that explains their covers.
There is a selection of shapes and sizes of wheat bag in our collection. The long skinny one gets wrapped around Mr B's ankle morning and night. One of the little chunky square ones had been doing regular service on F's left thumb for a month or two now.
Human opposable thumbs are slightly weird things, but also useful for unscrewing lids on bottles and jars, tearing open catfood pouches, pressing the last bit out of toothpaste tubes, and operating can openers.
I don't care so much about being frugal with toothpaste remnants (in fact toothpaste could go into Room 101), but I need humans to have fully operative thumb digits for a myriad of reasons beneficial to me - like brushing me, washing my bowls, and operating round doorhandles.
It (the thumb) hurts in different places at different times of day and the onset of pain might have been a delayed effect of when she crashed aground in the mountains during our holiday - it's the hand she fell onto. However she is getting on a bit and the wear is starting to show, and for once in her life F is not clear whether the pain is in a joint (possibly arthritic, permanent and in need of regular exercise) or soft tissue like a tendon which may in fact get better if rested.
Exercise vs rest.
She's not good at resting things. Moving it, especially in the mornings does seem to reduce the pain. She reckons a hot wheat bag when she goes to bed helps a lot.
I'm voting for arthritis. While thumbs are useful, she has got two, and as long as this one stays stiff and sore and weak I get a nice warm wheat bag to curl up on every night.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteI must tell you, Tigger dear, that I love a wheatbag or three... in fact, I have six. A tiny square one for hands and shoulder points; a long skinny one for wrapping if needed; three standard all-purpose ones, and one super-sized, specially designed thoracic and shoulder drape. I cannot imagine life without their soothing... and warming - I use two in bed instead of hottle-bottles!!! Hugs and whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx
What we want to know is what the world did before microwaves to heat them up. xxx mr T
DeleteHari OM
DeleteAh, but here's the thing... if wrapped in foil, your wheat bag can be heated for 15 minutes in conventional oven at 175c or 325f, turning every 5 minutes (though do check as you go because not all wheat bags are equal...) Yxx
Wheat bags are amazing for pain relief
ReplyDeleteI feel arthritis comes to all of us in the end Hopefully it’s a soft tissue
Injury and it heals quickly
I have not yet had the pleasure of using a wheat bag. I see I must rectify that soon.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 rice bags and have never heard of wheat bags until I followed your link you provided, read that post, read this post and while you waited or me to complete my comment, I ask google about wheat bags and of course AMAZON popped right up with dozens to be bought and said they are made in the UK and Scotland, which means I will most propably have an Amazon delivery soon. My rice bags are worn out, I have long skinny ones, I used them on any joint that decides to ache from our friend Arthur Itis. I am having a hand problem and can't decide what it is. nothing helps, it makes me yelp if i move my hand a certain way. not mr ITIS but what is the question. now I am wondering what wheat looks like that is inside. headed over to google to find out
ReplyDeleteI looked up what wheat looks like and found I have never seen wheat before.
DeleteYou might never have seen it but most of the flour that makes all that bread you can't eat is made out of it. Now we are going to try rice bags as well. I think ours are wheat bags because that was probably the grain in the hen-house feed shed when F's Mum was looking for stuff to fill the ones she was making. Most people have rice in the cupboard, but despite its omni-presence in bread most of us don't have whole wheat just lurking about in our pantries.
DeleteHari OM
DeleteI got my bags in OZ... so they have lasted well. Wheat tends to hold heat longer and slower release. Rice works well quickly but does not hold the heat well and also quickly becomes unuseable due to its high moisture absorbency. Yxx
Perfect for keeping you cosy in this weather Tigger. Poor F but lucky you
ReplyDeleteI do have a lavender bag, but no wheat bags, but I may have to sew one up! I certainly hope the thumb feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteSomeone gave F a teddy bear you are meant to microwave to smell the lavender and use to warm yourself, but she can't bring herself to zap him.
DeleteNever heard of wheat bags. But a cancer patient I met at church introduced me to rice bags and their effectiveness in easing pain --through heat from microwaving or cold from putting bags in the freezer, whichever helped the most during their treatment. Appreciated your monologue about your human's challenges and care of you.
ReplyDeleteSame principle different grain. Do rice bags have long grain or short grain rice? It sounds like a stupid question, but wheat is a 'fat' grain (like short grain rice) and it might make a difference to how they heat up or hold their heat. We have never tried freezing them, so we will give that a go this summer.
DeleteHari OM
DeleteIt does tend to be long-grain... and as I wrote in resonse above, does make a difference to heat retention. Yxx
Wheatie bags are awesome, I used them when I was in labour with my daughter, worked a treat.
ReplyDelete