i'm so curious

[whizzbee]

Today, at school, one of my friends was sick. his fingers and legs were stiff and he nearly fainted in class. My teachers came, one of them took the alcohol and smeared it to all over his body and this thing aroused my curiosity.

My question is, does it work, how does it work or what's the effect by smearing the alcohol? does it reduce the pain or what?

there's nobody to ask that time meanwhile I am sooo curious about this!!! can somebody tell me please

Thanks a lot!!

[daviddiken]

i am not sure that can work take ur friend 2 d clinic 4 test

[wannabeaditz]

i have never heard of doing that kind of thing iknow u put alcohol on wounds etc .......

[kotoreru]

The only thing I can think of is the fast cooling action that rubbing alcohol over a person's body would have. Alcohol as a chemical being quite volatile (i think). Perhaps your friend was very hot and the teacher wanted to cool him down quickly...

Sounds very suspect though....

[whizzbee]

hmm..that's right i think because it happened right after the PE, it made his condition worse and hotter then i think..

thanks for your posts guys...

[mcar]

It soothes. The alcohol is cooling.

[AstusAleator]

just don't light a cigarette anywhere near him for a while

[enhancer chen]

my experience shows that the use of acohol has two functions: kill the bacteria on the surface of skin; get your musle warmed by massage your musle with acohol. stiff musle would be eased.

[whizzbee]

hm...ok, thanks all, but then, here come another questions in my mind, what causes the stiffness?? why is it hot and needed to be cooled?

and enhancer chen said that the muscle is warmed, isn't the alcohol cools down the muscle?

[h2so4hurts]

That's pretty odd. Covering yourself in alcohol is a pretty bad idea because it dries out the skin and makes it more susceptible to viral infection and injury.

[woolleyy]

I think it might be a case of the person in charge was a typical school nurse (at least where I come from), who really knew very little about first aid. "Just pour alcohol on her!". Our school nurse used to give everyone who came in a glass of water, no matter what...

[enhancer chen]

look, when you get stiff, your muscle should not be hot and needed to be cool down. alcohol may firstly make you feel sharp cool for one second. keep massage and you will feel warmed. we may use alcohol to cool down your forehead if you got fever. but not stiff muscle!