I’m sick.

The kind with coughing and sneezing and bad bad headaches.

I’m a poor little bunny (as my mother would say) but because my husband is still in Japan there’s nobody around to pamper me so there’s no point in moping around. That doesn’t mean I don’t (mope around), it just means the stuffed animals on my couch are the only witnesses and also victims to my hugging schemes…

But, it is a great opportunity to talk about one of my favourite japanese products: the 熱さまシート (netsusamashiito).

Ever since the first time I got sick while in Japan I am a big fan of these magic sheets that are not only good for fevers but work great with migraines (the main point for me).

I’m actually not sure if there are some from another brand (I assume there are) but so far I have only seen the ones from Kobayashi and it’s one of their greatest hits. If you have a look at their facebook page the first thing you see is the Netsusamashiito Family enjoying Tanabata, each with a Netsusamashiito on the forehead.

Kobayashi Facebook

But first things first, so what actually ARE those thingies?

They are essentially just cooling packs you can tape to your forehead (or any other part of your body if you want to). The cooling gel keeps you cool for about 8 hours and was originally invented for children, to make sure they have a cool head while having a fever even if they toss and turn in their sleep. Of course there’s also a video and song from the little Netsusama-kun about it you can watch here (^_^)

This is the “Grown-up” Version. There’s also one for children and even a pink one (wonder why I don’t have those)

Inside you’ll finde these sealed packages

Inside the packages are two of the cooling sheets. The upper side is quite soft and the gel part is covered with a plastic sheet

Just peel of the plastic (and you’ll immediately notice the smell of mint or menthol)

And the you just have to smack it onto your forehand and – tadaa – you’re all set (and probably also not very presentable as you are having a bad cold, at least that’s my reason for only showing some strains of hair :P)

They really work and I use them all the time. Not only for when I have a cold, but as I mentioned before also when I have bad headaches, especially migraines. Of course Kobayashi has also stumbled over the other possible uses for its product and advertise it as such.

Kobayashi

They are advertised as being useful for headaches, for studying, for sports injuries, even for the summertime when you just feel unbearably hot. They also changed up the form and now you can not only buy patches for your head but also longer ones to tape to your neck and smaller sizes for your body. Here’s an overview of the products.

Have you ever heard of, or maybe even used Netsusamashiito? If so, what do you think?