Salonpas Pain Relieving Patch, Extra Strength Topical Analgesic, 60 Ct (Pack of 2)

In the early 1980’s while serving in the United States Marine Corps at Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, my wife and I discovered Salonpas Pain Relieving Patches and have been using them every since.My wife has me put the patches on her back and shoulders early every night. I don’t use them as often as she does, but when I have back pain I go straight for these patches.In those days in Japan these patches were very inexpensive. As they have gained customers the prices has escalated exponentially. Nevertheless, we still buy them after all these years because they work for us. They smell good, stick well, and provide a relief in muscle pain.Accordingly, I recommend this product to family, friends, and others looking for relief of back pain.Enjoy!

Salon pas are the best pain patches available. I personally prefer the older (first) style better than the supposed to be new and improved. The new material is a stretchy type, whereas the original was similar to a plastic type. The plastic type ones stay on better and last longer. The new material doesn't stick very well, and for supposedly being 20% bigger they don't cover more area. As soon, as the patch is put on, I can instantly feel the soothing comfort. The medicine in the patches smells good (I like the smell), and it has a burning, tingly sensation the minute I put it on. Aches and pains feel so much better with salon pas. It's fast acting and lasts for a good 8 to 10 hours. Now, granted, I do sometimes use more than one patch in the area of pain as the patches don't cover a big area (the older ones or the new ones). When anyone tells me they ache, I automatically ask, "Have you tried Salon Pas?" because I have had positive results with these. I personally wish they had left the product as is and didn't try to improve it. Why try to fix something that isn't broke?

I have a lot to say about these, so please bear with me. I had pulled a back muscle in December, and had had little success in getting the pain to go away. I tried the usual suspects - the family of NSAIDS, heating pads, bengay, biofreeze, but nothing really did anything. It felt nice to have Hubby rub goo on my back, but it only lasted a short while.I was so stiff and sore I could barely bend. Everyday tasks were a joke - I had to use my grabber to get anything off the floor. When I would lay down at night to go to bed, I would get sharp cramps like a "charlie horse" in my back, which were so painful I'd be in tears. I was ready to just give up ever feeling like I could bend again.I did a little whining online to my friends about my sore back. One of them said she had found one product that actually had worked for her - Salonpas. I had never heard of it, and sent Hubby on a scouting mission. He found the large pads at another drug chain store, and bought a pack for me. I had my first night without the severe muscle cramps in several months! I was ecstatic! (See? Sometimes it pays off to "vent" to your friends!)However, those pads were very large, and pretty expensive, with only five pads being in the box.So, I did what I always do - researched the items online. I found some great prices right here on Amazon.I bought this size and a larger one. These smaller pads smelled very differently from the large ones at the drug chain, so I was a little suspicious - were they the same thing? These smelled of a blend of menthol and wintergreen. It isn't offensive, and certainly not nearly as overwhelming as things like Bengay.I can say that I don't think I could go without these things any longer. Yes, they make that much of a difference. Note that I left them on too long the first time, and it was like trying to peel a bandaid off an open wound! DO NOT go past the recommended 8 hours without changing the pad or taking a break from them to minimize irritation. The smaller size is something that I can better handle the application of myself, without extra sets of hands. It can still curl up on you - it is very floppy, a little like a heavy bandaid. Think of trying to place a very thin slice of bologna on your skin - that's pretty much what it is like! Ha ha!That being said, I also want to give a heads-up to folks who are sensitive to LATEX.Latex is not listed directly on the package as one of the ingredients. The box lists the ingredients ON the pad, but not what the pad ITSELF is made from. I believe it has a lot of latex in it. I am sensitive to latex, and cannot use regular bandaids, use latex gloves, etc etc. These things did indeed make me break out. I had a red patch to match the patches whereever I put them. I was not allergic to the medicine in them, because I had used it before. But these little guys seem to have a different patch base than the large ones. I had to take a break and put hydrocortisone cream on my back where I had applied the patch. It does list "natural rubber"as one of the inactive ingredients, but I'm not sure if the rest of the chemicals technically create latex or not - I don't know enough about the science behind that to know for sure.Speaking of ingredients - I do not see them listed on the Amazon listing (which is a flaw often repeated here), so I'll list what is on the box:Active Ingredients: Camphor, Menthol and Methyl Salicylate.Inactive Ingredients: Butylated hydroxytolene, hydrogenated rosin glycerol ester, maleated rosin glycerol ester, natural rubber, perfume, polybulene,polyisobutylene, silicon dioxide, starch grafted acrylate, titanium dioxide, tocopherol acetate, zinc oxide.Whew! So, a chemical soup, but dang, does it work.It was a definite trade-off, and by Day Two of not using them, I had my nightly back spasms back. So, I said to heck with the irritation, and use them anyway. I try to vary the exact spot I place them (even though some spots work better than others). They work outstandingly well when placed right over the area of pain. Mine is at an awkward spot at my waist area toward the back. So, my slacks also rub on the patch during the day. I am more cautious now to remove them in a timely manner, and that has really helped with breaking out so much. My skin is still irritated, but that is mainly because the initial irritation never actually got a chance to go away. I know I should just stop using them for a while, but NOTHING has helped my back pain other than these things.Note that this box contains TEN sealed packets that have TWENTY patches in each packet. You have a maximum of three weeks to usethem after opening a packet for maximum effectiveness. I keep my opened packet in a ziplock bag by my bed, which seems to help keep them fresh. There are ten green sheets in each packet, and each sheet has two WHITE patches (one on each side of the green sheet). Just peel and stick. You do not have to use both patches at the same time unless you need to. Be sure to wash your hands after putting on these patches, as you do not want to accidentally rub your eye with any of the menthol medication on your fingers!I do have fairly pale skin and I do have other allergies, so my experience might or might not mimic yours. I felt it was important to point out the possibility of skin irritation, esp if not changed often enough. I was guilty of leaving them on way too long, because I'd forget they were on there - my back felt that good. So, I caused some of the irritation, but I am 99% sure there is a healthy amount of latex in this size patch as well. The other thing to be aware of is that these have an aspirin ingredient in them, so if you are sensitive to aspirin/salycilates or on blood thinners, you need to be aware that it does enter your body through your skin (but not irritating to the tummy if you have an ulcer). If you are not sure, check with your own doctor to see if you can use an aspirin-related product with your current medications.I also gave a packet to my son, who has knee pain several times a week. He's had arthroscopy on that knee, but also has a problem with the bone development that tips his foot slightly outward. That puts even more pressure on his knee. He had tried naproxen sodium, which helped ease the pain a little, but did not help with movement. He too got pain relief from these patches.(I will say that I have also tried the Salonpas spray, and HATED it. It comes out in a very fine mist that will fill the air in any room you are in when you spray. Then it hangs in the air! It was awful. I had sprayed it in the bedroom, because we feed our kitties in the bathroom and I didn't want any over-spray going into their food dishes. It was so bad, I had to put my t-shirt over my mouth and nose and leave the room until it cleared out. Plus, it didn't do hardly a thing for my back, except make it burn a little where the spray landed. I still had the same back cramps. The spray is a definite thumbs-down from me, and I will stick with the patches.)If you have a sore spot that you can't find any relief from, a pulled muscle, osteoarthritis in a joint, then I highlyrecommend trying these. It might be the best thing you've ever done for yourself!I'll never be without these little wonders again.

Works within 10 minutes, which is great when I am witnessing the pain of childbirth without the child part. The patches are a good size for most acute cramps, they also offer larger sizes. This box has lasted me probably a year (of sparing use). My family uses these so I'm used to the smell from childhood, but I can understand if it puts off some people. It's just like icy hot. I don't notice much residue after taking it off, sure a bit immediately after ripping it off, but I think that's skin and moisture rather than the patch itself.

I twisted my back recently (ouch!) and this was a lifesaver. Everyone should have this in their drawer.The pain relief act much like Ben-Gay and Tiger-balm, except this one is a patch AND the pungent pepperminty fragrance is not as pervasive.As a patch, this item also has an advantange of not sticking to your clothes, which is the biggest problem I have with Ben-Gay and Tiger-balm.SalonPas takes about 20 minutes to hit its peak effectiveness, and when it does, the cooling pain-killing sensation is unlike any other pain relieving balm or patch.It loses its peak effectiveness after about 1.5 hours and its overall effectivenss after about 7 hours of so, but it still does its job for upto 10 hours.When I was in bed for almost a week with a twisted back, advil and SalonPas was all I needed to recover with minimal pain and discomfort.If you are looking for a great Ben-gay or tiger-balm alternative that won't stick to your clothes, then this is a great option.My only issue with this particular SalonPas was that it was too small (3 patches could fit in one hand). Luckily, amazon also sells the much larger SalonPas patches which is what I recommend for back-pain sufferers.