First of all, this is a clever product I wish I’d had four
years ago. My Plantar Faciitis is healed now, but when it was bad, I would have
loved to have this!
Natra Cure Cold Therapy Socks are a nifty pair of socks with pockets that allow you
to hold a hot/cold pack across the sole of your foot (full length) and a half
size hot/cold pack across your heel (back) or toes (top). The socks are soft
(the fuzzy part against your skin) and actually sort of cute. The
packs are sturdy. (My alternative was wearing a pair of socks and rolling a
frozen water bottle underneath my feet when my Plantar Faciitis was really bad, which can be a bit messy!)
Please note: Do not walk in these socks because of the hot/cold packs containing Polygel, a special gel that retains heat and cold longer than other gels. Also, the packs need to
come to room temperature before changing from hot to cold or from cold to hot.
My thoughts: Excellent! I found these cooling, but not too cold
(sometimes the water bottles were too cold). I usually used the socks sitting, with
my feet up, but if it was not cold enough, I just put my feet down to press
down on the cold pack to give myself a bit more cooling.
This is an absolutely fantastic product for tired feet.
Last Saturday I put in a 14+ hour day on my feet (Scout Fundraiser) and when I was
finally done, my feet were tired & aching, and these were perfect. I’m just
keeping the cold packs in my freezer all the time, right now (maybe in the
winter that will change).
On the down side, you can’t take
the packs from the freezer (in case you change your mind) and straightaway put
them into the microwave to heat them up. The directions say they need to be at
room temperature, first. Also,make sure to put them into the socks before
heating them in the microwave. Heating them is very easy.
The packs give about 20 minutes of real cooling or
heating, which makes sense because that is only how long you are supposed to
use them. One time I took them out of the freezer to use, got sidetracked for
about fifteen minutes and then used them. They were cool & helpful, but not
as much as they had been when I had been able to use them immediately.
The website does not yet offer replacement packs, but will soon! I
think it might be nice to have two sets of packs in case I suddenly decide I
need to heat them up, and they are already in the freezer, or there is some
sort of emergency and I have to take off running, without time to remove the
socks (don’t laugh—this sort of thing is not out of the question when there are
children involved) and rupture the packs.
The description that comes with the socks was helpful. I
might never have found the ‘heel’ pocket in the sock without the picture &
description, otherwise. There are care instructions & heating/cooling
instructions. They are easy to read and not too verbose.
As I have used them for cooling my tired feet, I honestly
wondered what the top pocket in the sock was good for—I could not imagine using
it at all, until I tried heating the packs up. (Make sure you follow the
directions!) I put the one across the bottom and the half-size one over my
toes. I am going to love these in the winter! Sometimes my feet get so cold
that I have put a hot pad under them and another one on top—it solves the
problem, but is not as easy as these socks.
The directions say not to wash the socks, only to wipe them
down (really?!) So, just to push the envelope, I washed them by hand anyway,
with shampoo (I figured that was pretty gentle, right?) They don’t appear to
have shrunken or spontaneously evaporated. However, I’m sure it’s important to
let them dry completely before using them.
Since you are not supposed to walk in them, I guess they are
unlikely to get dirty, especially if I wash my feet before using them!
This post was written by Valerie Rees Maker. She has a husband, four children and a
cat, and lives in Orem, UT although originally from Concord, CA. She is involved in the Boy Scouts, teaches & performs
MiddleEastern dance, repairs books, and writes in her spare time.
Posts
