Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Best Help For Hot Flash Relief! Frogg Toggs And Magic Cool Cloths


Are you sick and tired of those monster hot flashes wreaking havoc on your wonderful life? I am so over these things!!!! After living through over 50,000 hot flashes I finally found the secret to calming those suckers down. Obviously if I still have hot flashes in my life I cannot tell you how to make them go away. What I can tell you is how to get through them in a more comfortable manner with two brands of cooling cloths: Frogg Toggs and Magic Cool. I have had hot flashes for the past eight years all day and all night. Believe me I'm not really thrilled that I am a freaking authority on having wicked hot flashes either. There are better things I could be doing with my time than being a hot mess! Let's turn this thing around and use my hot and flashy knowledge for something productive. Helping you! A big shout out to all the long suffering ladies like me who have no doubt they too live in a hot and flashy world! I feel your heat!!!!



Being the tenacious woman I am, I tried to 'tough it out' for the first two years thinking the hot flashes would eventually go away. You know... just like everyone else had done. Certainly I did not want to take the risky estrogen therapy. Plus I wasn't going to be a baby and whine about these womanly things of life. Be strong I said to myself! You can do this! My gyno recommended that I try taking Remifemin. Well that just did not work for me at all. Since my severe lack of sleep was causing serious system failures within my body, doctors insisted I get the estrogen therapy for one year. To give my body a break I unfortunately had to give into using the damned estrogen pills. They worked at removing the hot flashes and I got the much needed regular sleep. That was glorious and I still dream of such nights. Sleep helped my body overall and gave us a handle on my other medical issues. The down side is the pills also gave me breast cancer. So I do not recommend estrogen therapy for that reason... 'cause cancer sucks big time. After that quiet year they came right back again! In addition to my thyroid condition, having had breast cancer does not allow me to use the various other hot flash hormonal creams that seem to work for some women. Well "F Me!" I'm left with an overwhelming amount of interruption to my life, and a rotten night's sleep. My body clock is always thrown off due to having to sleep during the day to catch up! All the doctors can come up with now is to say you have 'Severe Menopause.' Not the news I wanted to hear. So the fact is I still have them. What can we do dear lovely ladies? For our sanity, and our bodies, til the hot flashes decide it's time to ffff-fade away for ffff-freaking good?

Wind from fans are not all that helpful as you can't carry a full sized fan around, and that is the only size fan that has any use for me. Even standing in front of air conditioner vents (when the hot flashes allow me to stand) is not a solution. Since most hot flashes also make me feel dizzy I need to sit down when they start to come over me. The amount of hot flashes I endure is a grueling waste of my day and night that's for sure. If I'm out in a store I may have to lean or hold onto something when they arrive. Recovering from a broken leg can make that a bit tricky. How about the flush pink face that makes you look as though you are blushing? Not always a great look, and may even seem inappropriate at times. Then there is your makeup sliding down your face too. I ask the great gods of maturity isn't getting wrinkles enough? Where are my awesome unicorns and rainbows????



The good news is that this past September while vacationing at my brother's house things changed a bit for the better. About time! My sister-in-law suggested that I try using one of her 'Magic Cool' cooling cloths that she kept around the house for her hot flash moments. My brother was also using these cooling cloths at work during extreme heat days. They both highly recommended that I try the cooling 'Grabber Magic Cool' product for my hot flashes. I was willing to give the small cloth a shot, having nothing to lose except a few degrees of heat. Really I was skeptical that a little piece of fabric would help. Kathy instructed that I keep the thin cloth wet, wring it out, and place next to the bed. "When a hot flash is coming on just give the cooling cloth a wave, and then snap. Then wrap the cloth around your neck and it will feel cooling." On average now during the night I only get a hot flash every two hours. Although there are nights they will come on five at a time with no break in between. Let's not even go there! When I awoke to the first hot dizzy buzz that night I grabbed the cloth, snapped it in the air, then wrapped it around my neck. Felt good. Yes I liked it... this little cloth really did help! Cooled off my heat and distracted me from my hot flash discomfort too. I was then able to lie back down and fall asleep till the next one. Why hadn't I heard about this solution before? Geez. Hey! What if I could find a bigger cloth???!!! Oh my! Love that idea! That is why I am sharing this good news! Picture me on my happy unicorn sprinkling cooling icicles over you!



When we got home from our trip I had my husband order me a black Magic Cool cloth. Thinking a darker color would blend into the clothes I wore during the day. He told me there were some other brands on Amazon that were also selling cooling fabric products. Wanting to investigate these possible solutions for my daily heat issues I suggested that he pick out one other brand and order that as well. My black Magic Cool personal cooling cloth arrived and looked just as expected. Then when I opened the 'frogg toggs Chilly Dana' tube I was let down that my husband had ordered me a bandana shape cloth. Wait a minute... this is a head scarf... darn I wanted a big rectangle shaped cooling cloth. Little did I know that this triangle bandana shape is the most useful shape of all the cooling cloths I own for hot flashes!!! Really! And I am not wearing it on my head either Ladies!


Place the frogg toggs Chilly Dana triangle across your chest as shown.

Listen to this my hot and flashy friend! Having an average of one hot flash every 40 to 60 minutes during the day I have taken to wearing a sports bra. As those of us with constant hot flashes know; a sports bra makes lifting up your shirt to get the heat out every hour a bit easier. Plus the material of a sports bra dries very quickly afterwards. At night I would usually just lie in bed lifting my top letting the steam out, then I'd wipe down the dripping sweat with a paper towel, or wash cloth. Now with the 'Chilly Dana' I can place that cold triangle shape across my chest where the heat is most intense, lower my sports bra over top of the cloth, and press the cold cloth onto the building heat. Ahhh sweet relief! Those 'frogg togg' cloths get super cold! While they absorb the building hot flash heat it becomes a great distraction from all the usual side effects of a hot flash! The cloth also absorbs any sweat too! After the hot flash is finished I pull the bottom of the cloth out from under the sports bra quickly, just the way a magician pulls a tablecloth off. Tah-dah!


Whew! I am having a hot flash as I write this! Let me grab my frogg toggs cooling cloths for a few minutes. Sometimes I can continue doing what ever I was doing far more quickly now, as I just leave that frogg togg cooling cloth to do its thing on my skin under my clothing. No more flashing my hubby with my hot flash! (That really does gets old after awhile!) 


Wear your Magic Cool cloth out to lunch or dinner.


I love how cold the frogg togg brand material gets when wet. It's amazing! The only downside is they are a bit large and bulky for social occasions. The thin Magic Cool cloths come in handy as they fit in the purse. Wonderful for restaurants or work. If my husband and I are out shopping, or at a gig, I bring along the small thin black Magic Cool cloth. Wet the cloth, place it in a baggie, and into your purse. Most people do not notice when I slyly wrap the thin black cooling material around my neck since it blends into my other clothing. When the flash is over I slip it off and seal it back into the baggie. When the next hot flash arrives the Magic Cool cloth is ready to use. Give it a sneaky wave in the air or under your table you devil.


The Magic Cool is a thin micro type fiber and the patterned frogg togg is a thicker dense material.



Recently I added the 'frogg toggs' large 'Chilly Pad' towel to my cooling arsenal. This long rectangle can be used on a variety of body parts that are heating you up. During my first two years of hot flashes my back would pour out sweat so bad that every 5-10 minutes my husband had to wipe me down with a towel. If only I had the incredibly cold 'Chilly Pad' back then to place across or down my back! At that time I also had to place rolled up coils of paper towels in my bra multiple times during the day. What a hot mess! 



Now that I know the secret to cooling myself down I wrap the 'Chilly Pad around my neck, or across my forehead, or both at once! Sometimes my belly feels hot and I lay the long pad across my abdomen area tucking the ends under my back. These really are the best help for hot flash relief! This material gets icy cold and will take the fire away from your skin immediately. You will be surprised how warm the fabric will be when the hot flash is finished. Within minutes after taking the fabric away from your body it returns to being cold again. You can wave it in the air to speed up the process if you are getting multiple flashes. Good to have a couple of cooling cloths ready at your bedside.

Place the larger frogg togg Chilly Pads across or down your back as needed.

I do not use the long rectangle Chilly Pad on my chest since the Chilly Dana bandana shape works far better for that area. Once I tuck the bandana shape over my chest, I pull the sports bra down over the cold fabric to hold it tighter to my skin. I then use the top tip of the triangle to pull up through the top of my sports bra to cool off a bit of my neck. I have got the triangle move down fast! Also remember that you want the sports bra pressing down on the frogg toggs cold cloth, not your hands. Your hands have heat in them taking away valuable cooling power. The long rectangle Chilly Pad is too much material to get under the sports bra quickly. Use the long cold rectangle chilly pad around your neck like a scarf. Lay back in cool cold comfort my friend and let that nasty hot flash pass. When the rectangle shape is gathered lengthwise like a scarf to fit around your neck, you can then flip the cold scarf over halfway through the flash. Thus giving you some fresh colder fabric relief mid hot flash! Sweet!!!


Really bad night? Use 3 cool cloths for total hot flash relief! Chest, neck and forehead!


Often I use all three of these cooling cloths at the same time! I wet them as needed, then wring them out, carrying one or all of them throughout the house during the day. Placing them all by my bed at night I am ready to chill. The frogg toggs are fantastic for use in your home or a private office. That long Chilly Pad would be great to place around your neck during a hot flash at home, in your car, or at work. If you work in a private office with a door you might bring the Chilly Dana bandana to work with you as long as you are able to push it up under your top when no one is around. That's the tricky part. Don't forget the Magic Cool cloth for your purse and be ready at all times while you are out shopping, in a meeting, or dining with friends.


The thin wet Magic Cool cloth fits easily into a small plastic sandwich bag and into my purse.





I only need to wet the cloths once or twice a day, and then again right before bed time. Some nights I may re-wet as it nears morning. It all depends how warm your home is as to when they dry out. The frogg toggs material is funny as it dries into a stiff board shape. 



Just wet it, wring out and it's ready to use again. The frogg toggs fabric holds up to 8 times their weight in water. Be sure to read the instructions that come with whatever brand of cooling towel you choose. They should be washed before use either in a machine or by hand thoroughly. They can also be washed or soaked if they become soiled. Do not use bleach or any chemical laundry products.


The cold wet frogg togg material has a frog feet design on one side. I tend to use that side against my skin.

These products are mostly seen as useful solutions for summer heat encountered by construction workers, sports people, and those who work out in the sun. Purchase these cooling cloths on Amazon, Walmart, or other stores like Bass Pro Shops. Hot and flashy lady this product is for you too! You can check out Amazon to read reviews and learn more about these and a few other brands to try for yourself. I've added extra links below for a headband shape and a hot pink 33 x 25 inch cool towel. Wow! If I got two of them I could cover my entire hot self in those extra large babies! Certainly the only thing better than using these cool cloths would be NOT having hot flashes at all! 



Looking forward to jumping for joy when I do not need to use cooling cloths and can get a good 7-8 hours sleep without interruption! In the meantime... now no longer a hot mess... you can go back to being the goddess of all things chill. Be happy. Be healthy. Be peace.





As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

NOTE: We actually did purchase all my cooling cloths from Amazon. I am an affiliate of Amazon so I may get a few cents as compensation from any sales generated through this post. There is no up-charge to you as prices remain just as they are shown on Amazon. Any sales would be helpful in keeping this blog going. Vintages images used for my artwork are public domain or from The Graphics Fairy.

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