As I’ve mentioned in a few posts now I have chronic pain mixed in with my health conditions. In particular costochondritis is a frequent issue for me which I’m always on the lookout for new remedies for!
What is costochondritis?
Put simply, it’s the inflammation of the cartilage around the sternum and ribcage area, often caused by impact. It feels like a horrible sharp stabbing and the very first time I had it I was taken to a&e with a believed heart attack (much to the fear of my poor house mate at the time)! After an x-ray I was diagnosed with costochondritis which I am particularly susceptible to since I hit the ground so frequently from my seizures. Bit of a fun circle, but I cope with painkillers, microwaveable heat packs and deep heat.
Recently though, I’ve come across a couple of new solutions which I’ve been trying out.
The first is MCC pain slayer balm and the second is the YuYu hot water bottle.
Pain Slayer
MCC (Motorbikes Cosmetic Company) are a small UK company specialising in hair and skin oils. They have a number of products which help with muscle pain and relaxation and are popular in the fibromyalgia community, which is how I heard of them.
After reading so many raves about the products I tried a small Pain Slayer and Sleepy Head double pack. The sleepy head is a relaxing oil and high you can rub into your head or add to a bath but it’s the Pain Slayer balm which has been so good for me! It’s made of Wintergreen, Eucalyptus, Clove, Juniper Berry and Peppermint so smells lovely and a lot less overpowering than things like deep heat and contains magnesium chloride so warms up when rubbed in- bliss! Pain Slayer can cost between £5:50-£30 depending on the size.
I’ve found it especially kind on the skin for treating costochondritis and don’t see myself going back!
The YuYu Bottle
The second thing I’ve been using came just this morning- a YuYu Bottle . This is essentially a high quality extra long hot water bottle which comes in a variety of textures and has a strap so you can hold the hot water bottle in place! I bought a green fleece one for £30 (including bottle and cover) and I’ve found it absolutely brilliant.
Normally when I have costochondritis I have to clutch a heated pack to my chest all day so moving about it a bit awkward. The YuYu tied neatly round my shoulder and allowed me to get about the house and my day with a constant source of heat. YuYu claim the bottle stays hot 2-8 hours depending on how cold you are and I got a good 5 out of mine today- much more than my microwaveable heat pack gives! It’s a shame they haven’t made the straps Velcro is my only issue.
Have you come across anything new which is great for pain relief? What do you tend to use?
Always great to hear new ideas!
Laters,
Ruthy xo
Learn more about chronic pain here
The yuyu bottle sounds awesome, I need to check it out! Thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome! I’ve found it so good- hope you do too 🙂
I use Hotties wrap heat pad. Its a REALLY good microwave heat pad that comes in a cover you can wrap aroubd yourself. I swear by it for any back pain. I also use Monkey Holding White Peach balm. Found that via an article on kickboxing! Its like tigerbalm but much stronger and white. High menthal content. Amazing for headaches and spot treatment of nerve pain
I will definitely check Hotties and Monkey Balm out! Used tiger balm before but didn’t find it strong enough. Thanks Kristen!
Hello ,
I saw your tweet about animals and thought I will check your website. I like it!
I love pets. I have two beautiful thai cats called Tammy(female) and Yommo(male). Yommo is 1 year older than Tommy. He acts like a bigger brother for her. 🙂
I have even created an Instagram account for them ( https://www.instagram.com/tayo_home/ ) and probably soon they will have more followers than me (kinda funny).
I have subscribed to your newsletter. 🙂
Keep up the good work on your blog.
Regards
Wiki