The wheat bag and why it's essential to self-care
After years of admiring this brand and these gorgeous products, it brings me so much joy to add Blästa Henriët, to West Stanton Store.
For those of you who haven't used wheat bags before, you might find the below blog written by our friends at Blästa Henriët useful.
A wheat bag (or “microwave heat pack”) provides natural pain relief and relaxing warmth.
Good self-care is key to improved mood and reduced anxiety and the wheat bag can be useful tool along the way. The wheat bag has natural therapeutic properties, which are non-invasive and drug free. Not only can it keep you warm and cosy throughout winter and cool during the summer, it will help with joint stiffness, cramping, back pain and muscle aches too. 
The name is a telltale of the filling inside, which is 100% natural wheat grain. Our Wheat Bags are filled with 1kg of local Cotswold wheat, grown and harvested in England. This wheat grain naturally contains moisture that retains both heat and cool with impressive insulation properties. The grain can absorb and evenly distribute both heat and cold, giving you effective pain relief and comfort.
Applying heat to an area of the body increases blood flow, bringing along proteins and oxygen. A heated wheat bag is great to decrease joint stiffness, reduce pain and inflammation, and relieve muscle spasms. The wheat bag offers moist heat (or “convection heat”). Moist heat works on your muscles on a deeper level and is in many ways more efficient than dry heat.
Heat is for relaxation, comfort and taking the edge off of several kinds of aches and pains throughout the body, such as stiffness, cramping and back pain. Use for soreness from over working your body after a hard day at work or at the gym. Target muscle knots and relax your neck by draping the wheat bag across your shoulders. The Wheat Bag will do wonders when it comes to menstrual cramps as well as pregnancy pains.
Sometimes you have to be careful with using heat therapy - never apply heat to an infection or fresh injury - nor any acute inflammations, like a flare-up of arthritis. It can be unsafe to use a wheat bag directly onto the belly area during pregnancy - but as you can easily regulate the heat level of the wheat bag you can safely apply gentle heat around the painful areas during pregnancy.
Applying cold reduces blood flow to a particular area, which can significantly reduce inflammation and swelling that causes pain, especially around a joint or a tendon. It can temporarily reduce nerve activity, which can also relieve pain. You can put the wheat bag in the freezer and apply to a fresh injury or to cool you down on a hot day.
Use our Wheat Bag, or our smaller Eye Pillow for hot and cold therapy to treat issues relating to:
- Neck and shoulder tension
- Back pain
- Muscle aches and stiff joints
- Arthritis pain
- Headaches and Migraines
- Tired and puffy eyes
- Dry eyes
- Cramping
- Swelling
- Sport injuries
- Aching feet
- Ear ache
- Pregnancy and pelvic pains
- Post surgery
- Endometriosis
Knowing when to use heat and when to use cold will significantly increase the effectiveness of the treatment. Some situations will require both.
If either treatment makes the pain or discomfort worse, you should stop. If the treatment hasn’t helped much with regular use in a few days we recommend make an appointment with your local GP.
The Wheat Bag will retain heat for up to 40 minutes after heating in the microwave or oven for just a few minutes. You can reheat and reuse the wheat bags many times over and as our wheat bags are made to last with removable and washable covers your wheat bag will live on for many years.
After heating or cooling you can place or wrap the wheat bag over any aching body part. The grain filling will gently shape and mould to your body and offer targeted pain relief.
The dexterous properties of the wheat bag makes it superior to a hot water bottle - it is like a warm hug, and completely plastic free.
Are Wheat Bags safe to use?
As with any product involving heat, there can be a risk of injury if not used properly or as intended. If you follow the manufacturers instructions such as ensuring the wheat bag can rotate freely in the microwave and don't overheat it poses no risk.
We offer full safety instructions both on the box and on the item itself for all our products. As long as these guidelines are maintained there is no cause for concern. You'll find all instructions needed on our Care and Safety page.