My wife works in an office that is rather chilly, but they forbid any heating blankets or space heaters, for fire safety reasons. I'm looking to acquire for her some sort of reusable body warming packs that may be placed into pockets or simply into one's lap, perhaps activated by a microwave oven. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.<br><br>

Craig, there are several out there. The first generation are herbal and generate heat when the ingredients are crushed together, much like a cold pack. These are not reuseable. There are reuseable chemical versions available from several camping,surplus and medical supply sites. having said that, Ill have to find them all again.Some of these packs generate enough heat to cause burning, but as your wife will be awake and not in a sleeping bag that is not a concern. There are also battery powered socks;essentially small electric blankets. If the office dress allows for the 'Eddie Bauer' look, those and a knit hat would help.<br><br>

You can probably find them at your local drug store. Also, suggest she drink hot tea.<br><br>

www.campmor.com has two heat packs available. there is a set of 4 disposable packs @ 2.99( 2.50 for two or more) that last up to 7 hours. they have a reuseable pack, but it only lasts one hour and must be boiled to recharge. 4.99( two or more @ 3.99) I know www. MajorSurplusNSurvival has a good selection, but I couldn't locate the packs on the website. Id drop them a line for details. They had two sizes in combination packs.<br><br>

The "Eddie Bauer" look would be fine for her work environment. Battery powered socks are a good idea I will have to investigate while I'm hunting down the reusable chemical packs you mentioned. Thanks, Chris.<br><br>

Thanks, CastAway. She already drinks the hot tea. Good idea, though.<br><br>

I will look into campmor. Thanks again, Chris.<br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Craig on 08/24/01 04:58 AM (server time).</EM></FONT></P>

My wife has a product I think was called the "Neck Buddy" or something like that. It's an eighteen inch tube of material that's filled with rice and has nylon rope loops sewn on each end as handles. Pop it into the microwave for a minute or so, depending on your microwave's power, and the rice heats up and stays warm for a good fifteen minutes or so (I don't really use it so I can't attest to the heat's staying power.<br><br>It's designed to drape over your shoulders, but you can hold it anywhere you want. Actually the neck would be a good location for her as the arteries there would warm the blood up and carry it to the rest of the body, just the reverse of draping a wet bandana around your neck on hot days to cool off.<br><br>She actually has two of them, on for the microwave and one for the freezer. The cold rice is not as uncomfortable as ice packs. It also warms up very fast so it would not be suitable for treating an injury where ice would be best.<br><br>She received them as gifts, so I'm not sure where they can found. I suppose you could make one out of a heavy cotton tube sock and rice. But make sure there are no synthetic materials in the sock as it may melt from the heat.<br><br>Willie Vannerson<br>McHenry, IL