Vaccines are necessary to prevent our children from suffering easily preventable diseases, but of course, the bad shot of the puncture must be passed. The truth is that it is a very unpleasant moment, both for children, who do not expect that acute pain suddenly, and for parents who suffer almost like them when they get vaccinations.
A group of freshmen at Rice University in Houston, Texas, has invented a device to relieve pain from vaccines or any other injectionn that could become a revolutionary solution for hateful punctures.
The invention, for the moment a prototype, has received the name of Comfortably Numb (yes, like the song of Pink Floyd) and consists of a small capsule printed in 3D that contains harmonium nitrate and water, components that we find in the refrigerant bags.
When shaken, the components are mixed and a chemical reaction occurs that cools a metal lid placed at one end, which in contact with the skin, sleeps in a minute.
Already, ice can also be applied before the puncture, but the advantage of Comfortably Numb is that it acts very quickly, just in 60 seconds, which would be an instant soothing without the need for the child to have to endure a few minutes with an ice pack on the leg or arm until the area becomes numb.
What would be great (and it is a phase that researchers are developing) is that eventually the capsule can be integrated into the disposable needle caps They are used in all hospitals in the world.
But of course, there you would have to evaluate the costs. The value of the invention is estimated at about two dollars. Too expensive, I think, for the amount of needles that are used daily in a hospital. Hopefully someday they will make it happen.
Solutions to soothe the pain of vaccines
At the moment, this device or any invention (at least as far as I know) is in practice, but we can do some things tolighten the pain in babies caused by the injection of the vaccine.
One that has proven effective is giving sugar to the baby to relieve the discomfort of vaccines. A teaspoon of sugar It seems to be an effective and economical measure to reduce discomfort caused by vaccines. Already, it is not advisable to give babies sugar, but it is timely.
It can be combined with other methods such as the five "S" so that the baby does not cry with vaccines: swaddling (wrapping the baby), side / stomach position (placing it on its side or face down), shushing (doing "shhhh"), swinging (cradling or rocking it) and sucking (sucking), which we know as tetanalgesia.
Press the zone for 10 seconds Before applying the vaccine slightly decrease the pain of the puncture.
There are also pharmacological solutions to relieve the pain of vaccines such as anesthesia cream or patches or give oral analgesics at least six hours before.
