Kooling sheets (Kobayashi Healthcare Kool 'n' Soothe)

Member Name: juicy_lucy

Product:	Kobayashi Healthcare Kool 'n' Soothe
Date:	08/05/06 (389 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: handy for travelling

Disadvantages: Expensive

Kool and Soothe

These soft gel sheets are quite new in my medicine box, such as it is. They were bought on a whim, in case Little Miss ever had some kind of fever, and I was interested to see how they would “perform”

**What do they do?**

They promise to immediately cool down a child (why not adult?) and because they are ready for immediate use, they are convenient and can be used any time, any place.

The sheets don’t need to be put in the fridge because they are designed to be always cool. The idea is that the water from the sheet evaporates when it touches the heat of the skin, and this produces the cooling effect,

They can be used with other medicines

**What are they?**

Inside the box, there are 2 packets with 2 of the kool ‘n’ soothe strips in each. Because the packets are a thick paper, they are easy to open and don’t require scissors- they can be easily torn open. Another plus point is that the instructions are on each packet as well as the box, so it’s easy to carry individual sheets around, even if you are worried about forgetting how to use them.

Open up an individual packet and inside is one strip about 11cm by 5 cm. The gel substance is clearly visible, because this is the blue bit. It’s this bit which is stuck to your head or other body part

**How do I use them?**

The box gives quite clear instructions, showing three illustrations of children with a sheet on different face and head parts. This is, I suppose, to emphasise the versatility of the sheets.

They are quite simple to use…take out a sheet, remove the film from the back of the sheet, and put it on the hot part of the skin.

Each strip should be used only once, because if used more often, it will obviously be less effective.

There are the usual warnings, the most obvious being that the product is for external use only (I think that’s fairly obvious), and that they should not be subjected to temperatures over 36 C.

**Who are they for?

They are recommended for children over the age of one year, and all of the instructions mention using them on children, but they could just as easily be used on adults- if you want use one, don’t be pt off by the references to children!

**Price and Availability**

These can be purchased from most supermarkets and chemists, and appear to be quite widely available- I see them all over the place now!

These cost me about £3 for 4 of the strips, and I imagine they are about the same price now. At 50p a strip, it’s quite expensive for something a flannel or sponge could do!

**Produced by…**

Kobayashi Healthcare,
Bucks.

www.kobayashihealthcare.com

**What I thought**

I bought these to combat any temperatures or hot body parts, and have used them a few times.

They are simple to use and have no obvious side effects. The strip peels off easily and they are easy to stick to the forehead or affected part, and they also remove easily which is a hug plus point as anyone who has ever had to remove a plaster from a child will agree. One thing I did notice is that they are quite big and so I tended to cut them. They also fall off easily, although the packet says they can be “worn” for up to six hours, and to keep them on successfully requires willpower. They are not very good to stick on a child when they go to bed because if they move, then they fall off, and quickly lose their stickiness.

They are nice and cooling when first put on, (I did try one) but I can’t vouch for their effectiveness because each time they have been used, Calpol was also administered, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it was the Calpol which reduced the temperature.

Little Miss likes having them on because she truly believes they have magic healing powers, but that’s the power of conviction; when she is awake, she will happily hold a sheet to her forehead, and then feel better.

Having had three children, and not used or needed them for the eldest two (I don’t think they were invented!), I think they merely take the place of a cool sponge. They are, for children, quite fun to use, and for parents, good to convince a child that they will soon be better.

A good use for them is if you are traveling and a child is fractious or over heating in a car because they do have an instant cooling effect, or if a child had a “hot spot” of head, such as nettle stings. Otherwise, I for one, am sticking to my tried and tested methods, although I am going to recommend them because they do have their uses, and one of these could be headaches (mild ones) but not migraines as I can’t imagine they would be any help to a migraine sufferer.

Thanks for reading.

Daniela xx

Summary: Cooling strips