Life

This Little Corgi Warmer Is The Coziest Way To Deal With Period Cramps

by Mia Mercado
Urban Outfitters

Anyone with a period knows just how terrible cramps can be. You’re aching. You’re bleeding. You can’t find a comfortable way to just...exist. In addition to some rest and Netflix marathoning (doctor's orders!), one thing that may help with cramps is this corgi-shaped plushie heating pad. This is both because heat can soothe period pain and because the cuteness of the heating pad will be a welcome distraction.

Available online through Urban Outfitters, the corgi heatable plushie is compact, cute, and the potential cure for your menstrual pain. The plushie has a “microwavable pouch filled with flax seed and lavender” so it both feels and smells good. To use it, you just remove the pouch, heat it in the microwave for a minute, pop it back in the plushie, and you’re good to go.

The reviews speak for themselves. “I just bought the corgi one. Not only is it cute, but it is [the] perfect size for my stomach,” one person wrote. “For cramps, this works wonders. It’s super soft and cuddly as well so trying to get comfortable is not a problem. Best purchase.” There is also a huggable sloth version if arboreal mammals are more your speed.

The corgi heatable plushie comes courtesy of the brand Smoko. If you’re not familiar with Smoko, it is the extremely cute retailer your twee heart desires. Their About page asks, “Who says being an adult has to be a Unicorn Free Zone.” Like I said, extreme levels of cute. In addition to the adorableness that is the corgi heating pad (which is sold out on their site but appears to still be available on Urban Outfitters' page), they have products like dumpling heated slippers and unicorn hand warmers. If you’ve ever wished you could wear cute, happy dumplings on your feet — dumplings always looks so pillowy and soft so I wouldn’t blame you — here’s your chance.

Heating pads, warm baths, and any other kind of heat therapy is one kind of period cramp remedy many gynecologists swear by. “It’s such a great therapeutic way of decreasing cramping,” Dr. Jessica Shepherd, an assistant professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and Director of Minimally Invasive Gynecology at The University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, told Self.

One preliminary study in 2001 tested heating pads as a home remedy for period cramps. “We did find a significant decrease in the amount of pain the patients had over those four hours,” Michael Zinger, a clinical instructor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Cincinnati and one of the study’s authors, told WebMD. At the end of the study’s first hour they observed a 27% reduction in pain. It increased to 43% at the second hour, and 79% by the end of the fourth hour. However, researchers did not find a noticeable change in average blood flow, one of the contributing factors to menstrual cramps. They did note, though, that “those who reported the greatest reduction in pain seemed to have the most improvement in their own uterine blood flow during the testing times.”

In other words, the corgi heating pad is scientifically beneficial, both in the way that it can soothe menstrual cramps and, again, because of it it’s general cuteness.

Denis Val/Shutterstock

A blog post from the Arizona OBGYN Affiliates also notes the value in heat therapy as a way to soothe menstrual cramps and explains how it works. “Heat therapy works by relaxing the muscles of the uterus, increasing blood flow and easing pain,” the post states. “If a build-up of blood in your pelvis is causing your cramps, use an icepack to help draw the blood out of the pelvis and toward the extremities.” They also recommend trying a combination of heat and ice packs to see which bring the most relief.

Even drinking something warm may help with bad cramps. Next time your period has you out of commission, cozy up with your corgi heating pad, grab a cup of your favorite tea, turn on Netflix and marathon-watch the cramps away.

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