Absolutely. First, email me at abaxter@mmjlabs.com and I'll get you a document that contains them. We'll also put them up on the website in a downloadable form.

Thanks for the question!

-Dr. Amy

Hi, MOllie!

For some reason this message got missed, and for that I apologize.

Absolutely, we'll work on getting the instructional videos on DVD, and will also be having a live Webinar sometime before spring.

The Curlex is a good idea (if that's what you're describing). We're working with other ideas as well, threading the tourniquet hole is probably a good start but not the optimal repeat IV use option.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you wish: info@mmjlabs.com and we can discuss further.

Hi, Angie-

The data from shots may not be the best indicator, as some of the kids who are already scared and don't have a point of reference may rate pain high just because of anxiety. That said, the direct pain blockade physiology works best for kids who are old enough to tolerate the coldness of the ice packs. We're not specifically testing whether kids are bothered by the ice or not, but from the feedback we get using the white ice wing starting around age 4 or 5 is the best.

Younger children (infants) are getting benefit from feeling Buzzy on their chest or (per one mom) sucking on Buzzy, and some from using Buzzy directly. We have no direct data on using BUzzy anywhere other than directly proximal to the site. We've analyzed the adolescent data, and the younger age data should be available this year.

I'd say offer the Buzzies to the oldest/most anxious. Feel free to contact me at info@mmjlabs.com to discuss further, and possibly work on a donation place on the site where people could donate a Buzzy directly.

Take care,

Dr. Amy

Hi, Amanda-

It doesn't sound as if you did anything wrong. First, on average Buzzy reduces pain by 50% in the intravenous trials, so not everyone has complete pain relief.

Second, the blue wings should be frozen for older kids and anyone who can tolerate the coldness. When they're not frozen, they just absorb vibratoin so you don't get as much effect. We've found ice gives about 60% of numbing, the vibration gives about 40%. Unfortunately, not only do younger children have thinner skin which makes them less likely to tolerate the cold, our research is showing that the ice cold that modulates adult pain probably isn't present in birth, but grows over time.

We have plenty of patients who have given us good feedback in babies and toddlers, but this is definitely also the age group where most people ask us if they're doing any thing wrong. Younger children have more anxiety tied up in not understanding, and because of the ice thing younger children simply are missing out physiologically on part of what Buzzy can do.

Finally, people who give shots a lot have gotten used to doing things the fastest way. I'd like to believe that we're all compassionate people at heart who don't want to hurt kids, and over and over I've seen that shot-givers have convinced themselves that a) shots aren't a big deal and b) that the way they give them is the best. Since your nurse may be invested in the belief that fast without numbing is best, it will be harder for her to believe that Buzzy is better.

As for your 4 year old, let them play with Buzzy before hand and get a practice "booster" (not "shot") with a toothpick. Then they can decide if they want the ice pack, or even try filling the white ice packs with water and freezing them to use the softer side instead.

Hope this helps!

Hi, Bonnie!

If you send me an email to info@mmjlabs.com I can send you the background and significance section for Buzzy which not only supports studies of Buzzy but also builds the case for why cold and vibration together work for pain.

The full text of the article I can't send, but the data is in the poster which is on our research section as presented to the IASP. Same data, different reference but both peer reviewed.

Hope this helps,

Dr. Amy

Buzzy transmits vibration intensely through bone, so it helps the soft tissue pain of a palate injection when you vibrate the face (Maxilla). If the pain is IN the bone, though, it might hurt more. If the pain is from inflammation around the bone, Buzzy and the ice should help a lot. Try it, and of course send Buzzy back for a refund if it doesn't work, or keep Buzzy for lab draws.

We have several kids (and one adult) who have fainted in the past but didn't using Buzzy. That is FAR from good scientific evidence, but it is a start. Fainting is genetic, about 3% of the population will faint. It's related to something called a blood disgust reaction, although it seems to be physiologic, not mental at all. Many scientists think in practice that the contrast between heightened sympathetic tone (high heart rate and blood pressure from conditioned nervousness) and the heart slowing reaction of the vagus nerve when a deep vein or muscle poke causes the faint.

Soooo the short answer is I don't know, but if Buzzy makes you less anxious (reducing the contrast) or prevents the sensation in the deep muscle or nerve so the slow heartrate never gets triggered, then it would make sense that it would decrease vagal syncope.

Please please please let me know if you try it, and moreover see if the medical professional can watch to see which vital sign is different from previous times. Anecdotal experience is the start of well designed medical trials. If it doesn't make any difference, that would also be very good to know for others.

Thanks for the question,
Take care,
Dr. Amy