Is Icy Hot anti-inflammatory?
Michael King
Updated on February 20, 2026
Icy Hot is known as a counterirritant, which means that its purpose is to create minor inflammation or irritation in one area in order to block pain signals coming from another area.
Does Icy Hot help heal?
Icy Hot is designed to divert your attention from your pain by masking it with cooling and warming sensations. While you might find the temporary distraction a welcome relief, you aren't actually treating the source of your pain. Furthermore, this distraction can actually cause more harm than good.Who should not use Icy Hot?
Children and teenagers younger than 18 years should not use this product if they have chickenpox, flu, or any undiagnosed illness or if they have recently received a vaccine. In these cases, using aspirin or aspirin-like products increases the risk of Reye's syndrome, a rare but serious illness.What does Icy Hot do to your body?
Generic Name: methyl salicylate-mentholThey work by causing the skin to feel cool and then warm. These feelings on the skin distract you from feeling the aches/pains deeper in your muscles, joints, and tendons.
Can I use Icy Hot and ibuprofen together?
Interactions between your drugsNo interactions were found between ibuprofen and Icy Hot Lidocaine.
Best Topical Medicine for Pain
Is Icy Hot good for arthritis?
Substances such as menthol and camphor produce a sensation of hot or cold that may temporarily override your ability to feel your arthritis pain. Examples include Icy Hot and Biofreeze. Anesthetics. Topical anesthetics such as lidocaine produce a numb sensation to reduce pain.Is Icy Hot A topical NSAID?
Icy Hot is a brand of topical pain relievers. That means they're applied to the skin. Icy Hot has 14 products with various formulations.Does biofreeze reduce inflammation?
Biofreeze therapy works similarly to ice in reducing inflammation and improving circulation, but offers more powerful, comfortable, convenient, and long-lasting pain relief.Does Icy Hot increase blood flow?
After 2 hours, Icy Hot Cream had a net effect of reducing skin blood flow 39%, whereas blood flow to muscle increased by 17% above baseline levels.Does Icy Hot work for pinched nerves?
Ice and heat packsThe combination of hot and cold increases the circulation of fresh blood to the area, which may help relieve pain. Hold an ice pack over the affected area for about 15 minutes at a time, three times a day to help reduce inflammation.