March 1, 2015 PDI Newsletter
Greetings to all PDI and DCI Warriors,
Welcome to this March 2015 PD Institute newsletter. Seems like we just rang in the New Year and already we are into the month of March. Time does fly, doesn’t it?
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Let’s discuss how to expand and make your Peyronie’s disease or Dupuytren’s contracture treatment plan work better – at no cost.
It is common to overlook a very effective therapy that is essentially free to use, because we do not talk about it very much. You will find this suggestion is a simple and easy way to expand your PD and DC treatment plan, and it even feels good.
People do not use heat – moist heat – as much as they should in their self-treatment programs. This is probably because applying a moist heat pack to the body seems too low-tech, too simple, too old-fashioned, to be of much therapeutic value in this high-tech world. In my opinion, moist heat should always be included as an important part of your PD or DC treatment plan, even if you are only using internal therapies of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. For that matter, even if a person is only doing stretching therapy, moist heat is still a valuable therapy to include every day.
But most people use a large group of internal and external therapies. The best time to use moist heat is directly before or after any of the external therapies (ultrasound, Genesen acutouch pens, gentle stretching, or the common combination of DMSO, vitamin E oil and Super CP copper peptides) are applied to the area of dense fibrous infiltration. This is true because the dilated blood vessels and the extra blood in the area that is created by the moist heat should make any of these external therapies work better – especially the combination of DMSO, vitamin E oil and Super CP copper serum. I think that applying moist heat especially before and after using the DMSO combination makes a lot of sense. The heat will dilate the blood vessels of the area and cause greater absorption of these three therapies into the tissue of the scar on the shaft or nodule on the hand.
Another advantage, when treating PD, is that if you precede sexual activity with moist heat packs you will bring extra blood to the genital area which can result in a more firm erection.
However, keep in mind that the potential for getting burned is ever-present when you apply heat to the delicate tissue of the genital area. If you are very careful to not apply too much heat, and don’t fall asleep with heat packs on the area, you can minimize any risk. The tissue of the hand is thicker and tougher, and less likely to be burned by overheating, but an accident can still happen if one is not careful. It is important that you check your skin frequently while the moist heat is being applied to assure you are not burning yourself. Be careful and you should do fine with the heat.
Here is an excerpt from my book, “Peyronie’s Disease Handbook,” that covers the basics of applying moist heat therapeutically:
“A hot shower is generally not effective because the heat is applied in such a broad area that much additional blood cannot be sent over the entire surface. You will not experience the degree of increased blood flow and lymphatic drainage as when the heat is focused to a smaller and more specific area.
To apply moist heat to your genital area, first cover the surface that you will be laying on to keep the area dry. Prepare three towels.
The first towel is used to cover and protect from moisture the surface that you will be sitting or lying on.
The second should be a large clean towel. Soak it in water as hot as you can stand to handle. Wring the towel out as completely as possible so that it is not dripping excess water. Lie down in a comfortable position. Apply the large hot moist towel to the genital area for 5-15 minutes, with special attention to covering and wrapping specifically around the penis, being careful not to burn yourself.
The third is a towel to cover and insulate the moist towel to keep it as hot as you can stand, for as long as possible.
The first time you do this heat treatment it is very important to check yourself after the first few minutes and check yourself again five minutes after the first check, to assure that you are not burning your tender genital tissue. If it should happen that you get burned, because that is the nature of accidents, to reduce pain and speed healing at the site of the burn use:
- Ice pack to the area for 20 minutes only, no more. After 20 minutes the response of the body to the ice changes, and the tissue begins to swell and favor retention of inflammatory by-products. Do this twice the first day and then daily until you are no longer in pain.
- Neosporin topical ointment applied to the area of injury according to package instructions. Keep the area clean and covered with sterile gauze.
- Aloe vera gel applied to the area will speed healing.
- Determine what you did wrong with the heat; don’t do it again, because you will be using moist heat again in a slightly different manner, as it is still a good thing to do. Adjust and modify your technique so you will not burn yourself again.
At the conclusion of the moist heat application you should be nicely pink – only – not red. You should not feel like you are burned or sore to the touch after using the hot towel. Some people who do not have a lot of extra time to devote to additional treatment will keep the hot moist towel in place while doing other therapy; they do some soft tissue massage to the lower pelvis or apply moist heat while doing DMSO, vitamin E oil and copper peptide treatment.
As a very convenient option, instead of using a wet towel that has been wrung out as a heat source, you can also simply use a hot water bottle wrapped with a moist towel to the genital area or hand when you go to bed, or simply put it in place if you are going to be sitting for a long time in front of the TV, your computer or even your car. Or, as an alternate heat source you can even put a half or full cup of rice in an old sock, tie off the open end, and heat it in the microwave for a few minutes. This is an easy and inexpensive way to make a handy reusable heat source for your problem area. Every little bit helps.
The reason to not use a waterproof electric heating pad as a heat source is that the heat level that develops can continue too long, increasing the opportunity to get burned. Not so with the wrung out moist towels or hot water bottles that will cool down after 10-15 minutes, preventing any potential injury.
Do not underestimate the value of moist heat applied to the area of contracted and dense tissue to speed up healing – it might seem old-fashioned, but it works wonders. Do it!
If you do not have “Peyronie’s Disease Handbook” yet, read about it HERE.
If your therapy plan is not producing the kind of results you want, and you feel discouraged, put that energy into something productive. Write me an email that describes what you are doing, and include questions about those things you do not understand about your problem. I will do the best I can to help you so that you get the kind of results you want.
Enjoy the warmer weather coming our way because the calendar says that Spring is just around the corner, even though the thermometer says otherwise.
This concludes our discussion for this issue of the newsletter. I hope everyone found this issue of the PDI Newsletter interesting and informative so you can do a better job of helping your own PD or DC condition.
Stay focused on your treatment plan. Good luck in all that you do. TRH
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