I have always wondered if there was some way to artificially cool our bodies. I mean after all, we don’t break out in hives when we are at a stable body temperature, right? If there was only some way to keep our bodies cool and prevent them from getting heated in the first place.
I wish we could have some kind of bionic system implanted, with a network of tiny wires that are connected to some sort of cooling device. This device could regulate our temperature, and if it sensed that we were getting hot, it could release a super-cooled chemical to cool us down immediately. I wish! Maybe at some point in the future they could invent something like that. The funny thing is, I was searching online one day and came across something called a “cooling vest.”
What is a Cooling Vest? Could it Help People with Cholinergic Urticaria?
Apparently cooling vests are just vests that have been specially designed to help cool the body. They are mostly used by people that work outside in hot conditions (construction, etc.) and also by sports players. Some of the vests I looked at included a vest that you can freeze (or small ice packs you freeze and then insert into the vest), and it supposedly retains the coldness for up to 3 hours. They also make other cooling wear such as leg wraps, neck wraps, vests, and even headbands and hats.
The vests are built with special pouches and designs to allow you to add water and then freeze them. The vest is insulated, and is supposed to maintain a constant temperature for up to 2-3 hours while you are wearing it. The cooling vest said that it is supposed to maintain a constant 58 degrees F temperature. I wonder if it works as they say?? I wonder if this would help Cholinergic Urticaria??
I thought the cooling hat was an interesting idea. I realized one thing recently about cholinergic urticaria–Don’t wear a hat! A large portion of body heat escaped through your head. When you wear a hat, it keeps all the body heat in your body, thus you are more likely to have a hives attack (I noticed this right away the other day when I wore a hat). So even if I am having a bad hair day I don’t think I will be wearing a hat anytime soon.
But of course even if a cooling vest did work, it is only a temporary fix. It still doesn’t cure cholinergic urticaria, it would only help (maybe) in reducing the risk of a hives attack on a hot day. I don’t plan on rushing out and buying a cooling vest, but the concept of being able to cool the body is interesting. Perhaps we could make our own “home-made” vests or gear lol. Ice packs work great. But the only problem is that we need something to kick on right when an attack happens. Otherwise our bodies might adapt to the coolness of the gear, and develop hives anyway. If it had a mechanism to wear it got really cold when you pressed a button or something, then that would be cool.
But I thought the concept of some kind of bionic integration was a pretty cool idea. I’ll bet a warming vest would help people with cold urticaria. Or remember those things called “hot hands” that you could shake and open and suddenly the small packets would get really really warm. My wife buys something like that for her stomach sometimes. It is a pad that you open and then it gets really hot for a few hours. Maybe that would help people with cold urticaria? Just a few ideas…