Effect of cold water immersion on oedema formation in the scalded mouse ear

One ear of adult white NMRI hairy mice was first scalded and then immersed in cold water in order to study the effect of cooling on oedema formation. Oedema was determined by wet-dry weight measurements of punch biopsies from the ear and expressed as an increase in tissue water content. The temperature of the cold water was 8 degrees C and periods of cooling from 15 to 240 minutes were used. The contralateral ear and the quadriceps muscle were used to study distant effects of scalding and cooling. After scalding, significant oedema was found in the burned ear. Cooling for 30 minutes gave a significant reduction of oedema in this model. Shorter or longer periods of cooling did not reduce oedema significantly. Cooling did not influence the oedema formation of the contralateral (unburned ear). Neither scalding nor cooling changed the water content of the muscle.