What is a football player spraying on a sore wound when he is hurt on the field?

If the wound does not bleed, which does not lead to a broken leg, the player will be given a pain reliever called "magic spray" by medical staff.

Throughout the football tournament, we often encounter the familiar image: When a player has pain after a collision, the medical staff will come on the field, quickly spray the wound, helping the players can compete. play normally. What is this medicine?

If the wound does not bleed, which does not lead to a broken leg, the player will be given a medicine to help relieve the pain. The immediate effect that people often call this 'magic sprayer'.

Picture 1 of What is a football player spraying on a sore wound when he is hurt on the field?
"Magic spray" is used by many football players because of its quick effect.

Magic spray was once considered the magical invention of professional football. Dr. Benjamin Richardson was the father of this spray with the original purpose of using it as an anesthetic.

This aerosol canister contains cold CO 2 and Etyl chloride. Cold CO 2 has an anesthetic effect, cooling the wound while Etyl chloride is a skin-cooling agent, causing the sprayed skin to numb when exposed.

The principle of operation of it is similar when you hold a stone in your hand. The numbness in the skin of your hands will make you lose feeling there. Sensory nerves will not detect pain, so pain cannot be transmitted to the brain.

Some experts believe that in addition to the anesthetic effect, the spray can also have a positive psychological effect on the players. The less painful wounds will stimulate the players playing in a more excited state.

The most ideal way to use this medicine is to spray 30cm away from the wound. In particular, do not spray on open wounds as this can cause skin burns and lead to other irritation.

However, Dr. Margit Rudolf, an orthopedist and sports medicine specialist at Otto von Guericke University, warns that magic sprays are not always the ideal choice for freezing wounds.

According to Rudolf, medical staff can cool the wound with an ice pack, but the spray can cool faster, so there is more danger. Therefore, experts believe that athletes should not abuse this spray to avoid leading to dangerous complications.

Not only footballers, many athletes also come to this spray to reduce pain in a short period of time when playing."An ice pack is sometimes better," Rudolf said.