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Brittany Barreto, Ph.D., is a podcaster, an entrepreneur, and a molecular and human geneticist. (In different phrases, she’s actually good.) Learn her column right here every month to find out about what’s occurring on the planet of know-how and innovation in ladies’s well being.
The final time Jenny had a migraine assault, she had a a lot completely different expertise than she was used to having. She had reduction from the ache, however she didn’t really feel drugged or nauseated. She was capable of drive herself house, and she or he was excited that she didn’t must miss her daughter’s soccer sport that night or her father’s physician’s appointment within the morning.
Prior to now, after in search of therapy for a migraine assault, she was despatched house on remedy that saved her from with the ability to present up for her household and obligations. This time, although, Jenny’s doctor used OcciGuide, a medical gadget that has lately come in the marketplace after years of growth and medical trials. The gadget treats headache and migraine assaults with out the destructive negative effects that may occur when you take opioids or different robust ache remedy.
Headache, migraine and cluster assaults are the fourth most typical purpose for visits to the emergency division. And migraine illness impacts extra ladies than males. Actually, about 3 out of 4 folks who’ve migraine illness are ladies. And analysis reveals that girls have extra and longer migraine assaults than males.
Modifications in hormones such because the drop in estrogen earlier than menstruation or fluctuations throughout perimenopause can result in a rise in headache and migraine assaults. As many as 6 out of 10 ladies report having menstrual migraine assaults.
One of the vital frequent remedies for migraine illness is ache medication. Sadly, although, among the ache medicines might be addictive and overuse can result in rebound headache assaults. Moreover, many ache medicines equivalent to opioids and over-the-counter ache medicines like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve) are both not advisable to be used by pregnant ladies or can solely be used within the first two trimesters.
“Whereas managing a ache clinic, I used to be bored with seeing ladies being despatched house so disoriented. I knew that they had issues to do, children to maintain and companies to run. I needed to create a instrument that allowed all healthcare professionals with any quantity of expertise to have the ability to administer the occipital nerve block therapy,” stated Jillian Levovitz, co-founder of OcciGuide.
Occipital nerve block therapy is mostly secure, doesn’t embrace narcotics and has no results on the remainder of the physique. So why haven’t you heard of it?
Nicely, not each supplier feels snug administering it. A small quantity of numbing medication, equivalent to lidocaine, is injected into the occipital nerves at the back of the cranium. There are tips for the way healthcare suppliers (HCPs) can discover these nerves, however many favor to prescribe medication moderately than take the prospect of lacking the occipital nerve with a needle.
(Photograph/Courtesy of OcciGuide)
To assist make HCPs really feel extra snug giving occipital nerve blocking therapy, Levovitz created OcciGuide, a tool that simply guides any HCP to the proper injection factors. OcciGuide is a single-use medical gadget that form of appears to be like like an odd pair of headphones. It wraps across the again of the affected person’s head with arms that relaxation on high of their ears. Two port holes on the again aspect of the gadget immediately line up with the occipital nerves. This makes injecting the numbing medication extraordinarily simple and lowers the chance of lacking the nerves for the HCP. I think about it means much less stress for the particular person receiving the shot, too, understanding that the HCP injecting numbing medication into the again of their head has a map!
(Photograph/Courtesy of OcciGuide)
In america folks spend $11 billion a yr in direct prices equivalent to medical spending and one other $11 billion in oblique prices, like misplaced productiveness, due to headache and migraine illness. Alongside these monetary prices are the dangers of contributing to opioid dependancy. Not solely are opioids addictive, however overuse can really result in headache and migraine assaults changing into persistent as a substitute of occasional.
Innovators like Jillian are usually not accepting the established order in the case of treating circumstances that disproportionately have an effect on ladies. We would like ladies again on their toes and again to their lives as shortly as doable and with the least quantity of negative effects. Typically to create this sort of change, we simply have to construct a roadmap.
The details about merchandise and/or companies on this column doesn’t represent any type of endorsement or suggestion by HealthyWomen. Hyperlinks are offered as a comfort and for informational functions solely. This column might sometimes cowl corporations by which Brittany Barreto is an investor.
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