When you suddenly need an ice pack, why not make one yourself? Learning how to make your own ice pack can be a bit tricky without the right guidelines. It’s a bit hard to figure out how you can create a good ice pack without adding in a little alcohol. But with a bit of patience and experimentation, you will be more than OK. These DIY ice packs will effectively reduce swelling and bring down inflammation. They will also save you money and give you much desired pain relief. Here are some good creative ideas to focus on!

How to make an ice pack without alcohol

Water

The simplest way you can make an ice pack is via getting a thicker plastic bag and pouring water into it. Once you seal the bag, you can put it in the freezer, and you are good to go. But this is the simplest process, and the ice pack will not have tremendous healing properties. It still works quite nicely, and it does bring in front some really impressive features for the most part. You just have to use that to your own advantage. It’s not an ice pack with alcohol, but it’s still suitable for a variety of situations when your legs or any other body part hurts a lot. It can help you immensely, so you should check it out if possible.

Sponge

A clean sponge can make a great substitute for an ice pack. Just get it wet with some water and pop it in the refrigerator. Put it in a zip-lock bag if you want, but this is not mandatory. When you first take it out of the freezer you will feel that the frozen sponge is hard and not flexible at all. Don’t worry, as as it warms up a little it will gain it’s flexibility but will not be dripping water. It’s another cool way how to make your own ice pack at home.

Rice

Using frozen rice is a cool way to heal an injured or painful area of your body. Take a thick plastic bag and fill it with rice. Make sure the bag is not full and there is still some space remaining. Once the bag is tightly sealed, all you have to do is freeze it for at least 2 hours and you are good to go. A good amount of rice will hold the cold for 20 minutes and that’s the ideal amount of time to relieve swelling and inflammation. Because of it’s grain consistency a bag of frozen rice will mold around your body, and that’s another amazing benefit of this method.

Coins

Still wondering how to make your own ice pack? Do you have a lot of loose change? There is a way you can benefit from it, besides taking it to the bank or a grocery store. If you need an ice pack quickly, metal coins can be a great substitute. They keep cold temperatures really well, so next time just put a bunch of them in a sock and refrigerate for a couple of hours. If you have enough of them, they will also mold to your body quite nicely.

Dish Soap

Have you ever seen frozen gel ice packs that are flexible as well? It turns out you can make one at home with dish soap and a zip lock bag. Just put enough dish washing liquid in a plastic bag, make sure it is tightly sealed with all air removed, and throw it in the freezer. To minimize the risks of leaks use a double bag. If you are low on dish soap, corn syrup will also do the trick.

Still not sure how to make your own ice pack? Try alcohol water ice pack.

Creating an alcohol ice pack is a bit more complicated, but not by much. The idea here is that you need a large plastic zip-lock bag, 2 cups of water and a cup of rubbing alcohol.

Now that the ingredients are in their place, you need to fill the plastic freezer bag with the water and alcohol. Make sure that you remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing it. Ideally, you want to avoid any spills. So put the bag into a second bag, and then you have to put it into the freezer.

The amount of time needed here will differ, but make sure that you keep it there at least for 2 hours or so. This will make it easier for you to avoid any issues, and the ROI will be amazing in that perspective.

Which one is the best?

Once you learn how to make your own ice pack, you may ask which option is the best. The reality is that an alcohol water ice pack may end up being better in some situations. But even if you learn how to make an ice pack without alcohol, that’s still very helpful and amazing in its own right. Just try to consider that and the results will be more than OK in that regard. As long as you learn how to make your own ice pack and use these ideas above, you will have no problem protecting yourself in the long run!

On the other hand regular gel based ice packs have other ingredients. So it will be hard to make a cold pack that works as good. One important aspect to consider is that you always have to place a towel in between your skin and the ice pack. Remember that the ice pack is very cold, and this can easily cause skin damage. Using a towel will help you avoid any problems.