Pill Treats Constipation By Vibrating Its Way Through Your Body
A new pill could help alleviate constipation by delivering vibrations that "help kickstart the body's nature processes for getting rid of waste," reports Gizmodo. From the report: Vibrant still comes in the form of a pill, but before swallowing (around bedtime each night), it first needs to be activated by inserting it into a smartphone-connected pod. The pill makes its way through the body the same way food and other orally consumed medications do, but it isn't dissolved or broken down by stomach acids. Vibrant capsules are made from the same medical-grade material as pill cameras and are engineered to be durable enough to survive even accidental bites. Instead, it delivers relief by making small vibrations in three second intervals (three seconds on, three seconds off) to help stimulate nerve cells that trigger peristalsis: the wave like muscle contractions that push food and waste through the body. After being swallowed, the pill vibrates for about two hours, goes dormant for around six hours, and then vibrates once again for another two hours. It remains completely intact until it exits the body (hopefully along with the blockage causing the constipation), when it's then flushed away. It doesn't sound like the motorized mechanism inside the pills is rechargeable -- not that you'd want to reuse one after its first fantastic voyage. The pill's efficacy was tested in a study where 200 people dealing with chronic constipation took it every night for eight weeks, with 40% of the group reporting at least one additional bowel movement every week. Only 23% of an additional group of 149 people who took a placebo during the study reported having at least one more bowel movement per week. Unlike most laxatives, Vibrant doesn't cause side effects like diarrhea; however, a small minority of test subjects were actually able to feel the pill vibrating inside them. But it wasn't uncomfortable enough to stop them from taking it on a daily basis.
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