How tickling your ear can beat indigestion

A device that stimulates a nerve in the ear can treat chronic indigestion. Stimulating the nerve with a gentle burst of electricity reduces some symptoms by a third, according to a new study.

The clip device targets the vagus nerve, the largest in the body, which runs from the brain to the colon and plays a role in regulating digestion, mood, blood pressure, and breathing.

Stimulation of this nerve has previously been used to address conditions such as hypertension and depression.

This usually involves placing a matchbox-sized generator in the chest and connecting it to the nerve that runs from the chest to the neck. The patient starts the generator by passing a handset over it.

The advantage of the ear tickler is that it does the same job without the need for doctors to surgically insert a device.

Scientists at Nanjing Medical University in China used the device to treat 36 patients with functional dyspepsia, a form of chronic indigestion believed to affect 10 to 30 percent of adults at some point in their lives.

Symptoms include stomach pain, bloating, excessive belching or nausea after meals, and a feeling of early fullness while eating.

While it’s unclear what the cause is, women seem to be at greater risk. Common triggers include ibuprofen, smoking, and pain relievers such as anxiety or depression.

The stomach is meant to relax and expand to accommodate food, but this can be reduced for people with functional dyspepsia.

Signals that tell the stomach to empty food into the small intestine may also not work properly, causing food to back up and build up of gas.

Diagnosis is usually made by excluding other causes such as stomach ulcers. But the lack of an obvious explanation means that many may have long-term symptoms. Treatments include prokinetic drugs that stimulate the stomach to pass food into the intestines.

During the latest study, the scientists attached an electrode to the crease of each ear—just above the ear canal—and a gentle current produced by a portable generator was passed through the nerve for up to three seconds for two seconds at a time. distance. Each session lasted 30 minutes.

Another group had attached a current-generating electrode to one of their limbs where the vagus nerve did not reach.

The results, published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, showed that food digestion and anxiety were improved by up to 30 percent in the ear restraint group, while reducing symptoms of satiety, gas, and nausea. There have also been improvements in how food moves through the digestive tract, and the volunteers also reported increased appetite as their depression scores were cut by half. Those who received arm stimulation did not see such improvements. Dr. John Mason, gastroenterologist at Trafford General Hospital in Manchester, said: “This group of patients can be very difficult to treat and medications often don’t help much.

“It’s very interesting that non-invasive nerve stimulation like this can change the way the stomach moves and has the potential to be a cure if more research is done.”

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Developed by an ophthalmologist, Blepha EyeBag is a reusable warming mask to relieve sore and dry eyes.