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 The old wives' tale has it that a hot water bottle can relieve deep pain in the body such as stomach aches, period pain or colic.
Researchers from University College London (UCL), using DNA technology to monitor heat and pain receptors within cells determined that hugging a hot water bottle can have similar effects to a painkiller by effectively "deactivating" pain at a molecular level.
Dr. Brian King, a senior lecturer in physiology at UCL, who led the research declared that: "the heat doesn't just provide comfort and have a placebo effect - it actually deactivates the pain at a molecular level in much the same way as pharmaceutical painkillers.
Dr. King found that temperatures over 40 C switch on internal heat receptors which in turn block the effect of chemical messengers that cause the body to detect pain. The team found that the heat receptor can block the pain receptor.
Dr. King hopes his discovery will lead to new pain relief drugs that could reduce the need for opiates such as morphine. He said: “the opiates have a broad spectrum of action, they are good when you really require pain relief, but it comes at a price. They are very harsh on the body so you only give them as a last resort. We were looking for something that would be less aggressive”.
He added: “The problem with heat is that it can only provide temporary relief”.
Eurosalus thinks of the balance amongst low price, efficacy and safety and suggest readers to buy one hot-water bottle, at least, or to find the old one in the drawer.
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