The magic spray!
We've (at least once) watched in a professional fooball match where player(s) grits his teeth in pain after been attacked by his opponent or colliding against eachother. A member of the medical team then come on ground, examines him and uses a spray on the spot paining him. And that's it; the player is back on his feet playing again.
The spray can used is usually called a magic spray but it's real name is ICE SPRAY which is an upgraded version for the conventional ice bags used.
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Not all magic sprays are made with the same ingredients.
Sprays may include:
Cold water which is used in cooling off players experiencing overheat.
Tincture of Benzoin which is sprayed on the injured area of the body to allow easy sticking of bandage on a sweaty skin.
Skin refrigerants, the most common - ethyl chloride. This is the one that is used when the "magic" is to be performed.
Cold water reduces blood supply to the injured area to prevent swelling while Skin refrigerants freeze and numb the skin surface on contact.
Magic sprays have become popular and are even available locally. They are meant to be used by only professionals but lay-men use them inappropriately nowadays and unknown to them it comes with a health risk if improperly used. Here's why:
- some ingredients like chloroethane when used improperly can be poisonous.
- most don't know the spot is supposed to be sprayed at least 30cm away.
- the spray shouldn't be used on open wounds as it may cause irritations or skin burns.
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Things sometimes have advantage and disadvantage. We should know that when injured, our body needs to rest and recover else, we would end up worsening the situation.