Buzzy, can it be used with infants?

by Susan Rossi
(Flossmoor, Illinois, USA)

I am a manager in a Urgent care and plan to purchase several Buzzies. I also plan to purchase one for my Grandson who has Charge Syndrome and requires frequent shots and IV's. My question is that he is only 9 months old, weight 18.2 lbs, can I use it on him? Thank you Susan Rossi

Certainly, Buzzy is safe for infants. The issue is whether Buzzy will work as well for infants, and the answer is...we don't know yet. I don?t have any scientific data yet for a one and 1/2 year old. We have good data on older children (4+) for IV sticks, but right now that?s all that?s proven. Kids who are old enough to be distracted with the Flippits cards work best. Younger kids often don?t like being held still, so it?s been hard to know how much of their yelling is because of the shots and how much is being held down for the thigh injections. We?re starting studies on shots, so we should have some data soon.

The ice pack is another unknown. Children younger than six have increased distress with cold spray, which is colder than Buzzy's ice pack. My theory is that the stratum corneum, or outer layer of the skin, is so thin that the cold burns them rather than distracting them. Cool should still work for infants, but cold could go either way.

For older kids and adults, the ice pack gives about 60% of the numbing, and does need to be frozen solid to transmit vibration. In addition, part of the cold pack's efficacy comes from something called Descending Noxious Inhibitory Control. Scientists are split on whether DNIC is present at birth, or develops over the first two years of life.

My 8month old seems unaffected by her shots with the use of Buzzy.
Of course we don't use the cards but the Buzzy itself is a distraction for her.
The nurse administering the shots was pretty impressed with the Buzzy so I'm guessing that my daughter not screaming/crying after her shots was an atypical response. She says she's going to recommend purchasing the Buzzy for use in the shot clinic (for immunizations).

Awesome! Out of curiosity, did you use the ice pack? We're testing Buzzy in infants with our NIH grant, but we decided not to use the ice pack for the trial.

Thanks for the great feedback on Buzzy in an infant!

Take care,

Dr. Amy