Biomats vs Heating Pads
How Are Biomats and Conventional Heating Pads Different?
Type of Heat Generated
Ever wonder what the difference is between a Richway Amethyst Biomat and a conventional heating pad or electric blanket? The most frequently asked question is "Are they a fire hazard?" Well, the answer is yes if you are talking about electric blankets or heating pads. Most are heated by ceramic coils that are woven into the fabric or inside the mat. When you put cloth and a heating element together, you are asking for trouble, even if that fabric is "fire retardant." Eventually, with enough contact heat, or conductive heat, anything will catch fire and we see this in the statistics. Over 1,600 people are treated in emergency rooms each year for heating pad or electric blanket burns. Eight people die, on average, each year because of those devices.
On the other hand, not one person has ever been burned or died because of a Richway Amethyst Biomat. The Biomat uses fabrics and amethyst to generate heat, not electric coils, and the Biomat is never hot to the touch and does not use points of heat (heating coils).
When you set a Richway Amethyst Biomat to a certain temperature, the outside of it never gets as hot as that temperature. Instead, when you lay down on it, the Biomat heats you to that temperature. The Biomat generates radiant heat in the form of far infrared rays. In other words, the heat you feel is radiated out and mostly happens inside of you. Heating pads and electric blankets heat to the temperature selected making their higher temperatures dangerous to you and the environment around them. If any part of a Biomat ever gets as hot as the selected temperature, it shuts off. If the Biomat is set to a temperature higher than 113°F, after four hours of operation it will step down the heat to 113°F. The Biomat has all of these features in place to assure that it is safe while you enjoy it.
Health Benefits Received
Another difference is that regular heating pads are only a contact heat. They do help alleviate some aches and pains but only on the very surface of the human body. They also help with stomach aches if you lay on top of them but that is pretty uncomfortable.
Biomats help with those things too but the infrared light waves send penetrating heat up to 6-8 inches into the body, providing pain relief to a much larger part of your body and lying on one face down on a Richway Amethyst Biomat (or draping the Mini Biomat over your stomach) will do the same thing with a lot more comfort. The Biomat does not get hot on the surface, but instead warms the human body from the inside out. Infrared heat is healing energy with many health benefits. Contact heat is a temporary fix.
Heating pads and electric blankets have absolutely no healing power. They just generate heat. The benefits of a heating pad or electric blanket are temporary. And we haven't come across any of these types of products that produce negative ions or that amplify infrared light by way of amethyst. The Biomat's heat is generated by life-rejuvenating far infrared rays that have been proven to improve circulation, relax muscles, alleviate muscle spasms, and relieve back, muscle, arthritis, and joint pain by the FDA. The Biomat is a proven solution for many health conditions and its healing effects are short and long-term.
How the Biomat Works
The Richway Amethyst Biomat is an infrared heating mat with advanced heating technology. The Biomat works by utilizing amethyst crystals to generate far infrared rays (FIR) and negative ions. When it is heated, the amethyst crystals emit FIR, which penetrates the body tissues, promoting relaxation, improving blood circulation, and reducing inflammation. The negative ions produced by the amethyst crystals help to neutralize harmful positive ions in the environment, improving tissue oxygen, cellular communication, and mental clarity.
Safety
A significant safety difference is protection from EMF (electromagnetic fields). The Biomat has three layers in its construction that protect against EMF radiation and an IC chip in the controller made by Texas Instruments that prevents any EMF from reaching you. Heating pads and electric blankets have absolutely no protection from EMF.
Another difference when it comes to safety is that studies have shown that the use of electric blankets and electric heating pads may cause carcinogenic cellular activity.
Temperature Range
Heating pads usually just have two to four temperature "range" settings like "low," "medium" and "high". The Biomat allows you to select an actual temperature (95-158° F) and has many more temperature settings than those other products.
FDA-Approved Medical Device
The Biomat is an FDA-approved Class II medical device. We are unaware of any heating pad or electric blanket that is approved by the FDA to be labeled a medical device.