Haha, wish I'd seen this thread yesterday—I legit froze my face off with a gel pack straight from the freezer. Ended up wrapping it in an old t-shirt out of desperation. Anyone else accidentally overdo the icing and panic they've given themselves frostbite...?
Yikes, that's exactly why I always double-wrap mine in a dish towel first. I once convinced myself I'd permanently damaged a nerve from icing too long—spent hours googling symptoms. Did your skin feel weirdly numb or tingly afterward...?
"Did your skin feel weirdly numb or tingly afterward...?"
Yeah, totally relate to that feeling. After my gum surgery, I iced way too aggressively because I was paranoid about swelling. Ended up with this weird pins-and-needles sensation that lasted a good hour or two after removing the ice pack. Freaked me out big time—I was convinced I'd done permanent damage too. But honestly, it's usually just temporary nerve irritation from the cold exposure. My dentist reassured me that as long as you take breaks every 15-20 minutes and keep a barrier (like your dish towel trick), you're fine. The nerves just get a bit cranky from the cold, but they bounce back pretty quickly. If it keeps happening, maybe ease up on the icing intervals or add another layer of cloth. Better safe than sorry, right? Hang in there, it gets easier!
Had that same weird numbness too, but mine lasted wayyy longer—like half the day. Kinda panicked and googled myself into thinking I'd permanently damaged nerves or something. Glad to know I'm not alone...guess I should chill (literally) with the ice packs next time, huh?
Haha, I totally feel you on the Google panic spiral. When I had my gum surgery, I went full budget-mode and DIY'd my ice packs—basically frozen peas wrapped in a dish towel. Worked great at first, but then I got distracted binge-watching some show and left it on way too long. My cheek went completely numb, and I legit thought I'd given myself frostbite or something. Spent the next hour frantically googling symptoms and convincing myself I'd need another surgery to fix the damage I'd done. 🙄 Thankfully, feeling came back eventually, but lesson learned: peas are for dinner, not for marathons of Netflix-induced icing sessions. Glad we're all surviving this gum surgery adventure together...
