No Pain with Buzzy Giveaway
We are giving away a Buzzy® for boo-boos!
This review is from Community Member Sylvia
A couple of weeks ago, Julia sent me a message asking if we would like to test and review a new product that might help with the blood tests and IV meds the kids both have to have on a frequent basis. His name is Buzzy, and he is a cute little bumble bee that helps with what we call “pokes”! I jumped at the chance! Jennifer, 3, was the first to test it. She needed to have blood drawn for allergy testing, and knowing that she loves getting mail and would be more interested in trying him out if he was “hers”, I asked Julia to have the package addressed to Jennifer. When it arrived 2 days later, Jennifer was thrilled. At first, I didn’t tell her what he was for, just let her check him out. Then I introduced his cold wings. He comes with two kinds. A reusable, gel filled one that you freeze and then wipe with a disinfectant wipe (or soap and water wash) after use or single-patient disposable wings that you add a bit of water to and then freeze. The disposable ones can be refrozen, but since they have an absorbent side, should only be used for a single patient. It came with two pair, so I marked each one with a kid’s initials so I know which one is which.
The way Buzzy works is twofold. The cold wings help to numb the area and he vibrates, which helps block the sharp pain of a needle stick. He comes with an elastic and velcro band that holds him in place just above the site of the intended needle stick. You do need a small cooler bag and two ice packs to keep his wings frozen for more than 10-15 minutes, we used her lunch bag and frozen juice boxes.
We do a lot of medical role play before any procedure so that Jennifer is more comfortable with what’s going to happen. So we did it with Buzzy too. We discovered that she prefers the disposable wings because they’re not quite as cold, so I knew which set to take with us to the lab. She also likes to turn him on herself. Being a typical 3.5 year old, she did NOT want to have her blood drawn, and still panicked when it was actually time for the test, but she was able to calm down enough to turn Buzzy on and it did a good job distracting her during the blood draw. He also came with a kazoo, which would have been a great distracting tool if I’d remembered to bring it with us! I will definitely use him again when she has to have an IV for her MRI next week, and we’ll be using him with Micah (17 months old) for his routine blood work in two weeks. Both kids like the feeling he makes when he vibrates on their arm, it doesn’t scare them at all now that we’ve done it a few times. It spooked Micah the first time but then he liked it the next time we tried it.
Overall, I’d say Buzzy definitely helped, and I’m very happy Julia asked me to review this product for her! Jennifer gives him two thumbs up! She said it was the first time her poke didn’t really hurt (although she did complain about the band-aid afterward LOL).
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Thanks Sylvia! I also tested it out on my kids (enthusiastically) because they get a lot of labs. I think I added it up once (because I’m crazy) and they’ve had labs over 200 times? More? So we’re always looking for ways to help with the pain. The kids go in an out of being compliant. They go in and out of compliance and needing encouragement to need full-mama restraints and Buzzy did work! It worked for my girl (“It really didn’t hurt! That is weird!” weird that it worked) and not completely for my boy. But he’s 11 and he was extra grumpy and he knew I wanted him to test it so he was being a tad difficult. We’re also 2 thumbs up here! Anything that helps!
~ Julia
Our community members can take advantage of a $5-off coupon for Buzzy by entering the coupon code “SFSNBUZZY5” at checkout. The code is effective immediately and expires September 30, 2010.
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What to win a Buzzy? If you’re a community member leave tip you’ve found helpful or tell us why you want one!
Tips on using Buzzy
from the inventor of Buzzy, Amy Baxter, M.D.
Buzzy was developed with input from nurses and doctors to ensure that medical procedures wouldn’t be compromised, and feedback from healthcare workers has been overwhelmingly positive. When it’s time for shots or any other prickly procedure, let the nurse or technician know you’ll be using Buzzy. Explain that Buzzy will be turned on during the needle stick, but will be placed above the place where the needle goes, and won’t get in the way. Most importantly, at least from the standpoint of the person administering the shot, it won’t cause any delay: turn it on, and 10 seconds later the nurse can give the shot.
Be sure to watch one of our instructional videos on our website and familiarize yourself with Buzzy’s instructions so you’ll know exactly where to place Buzzy for optimal pain relief, depending on the type of procedure. Always remember that Buzzy is placed between the brain and the pain. You can find Buzzy instructional videos on YouTube or Vimeo.
Let your child have as many choices as possible, including choosing whether they press the switch or you do and whether to watch the shot or not (believe it or not, up to 25% of kids prefer to watch!). Buzzy stops sharp pain, but light touch sensations are transmitted on different nerves. If your child is scared and focuses intently on the shot, they will be able to feel the touching sensation of the needle, and may translate this as distress and fear even though the sharp pain is controlled.
Use distraction cards or other distraction techniques during the shot while Buzzy is still on or in place. You can use any of the distractions listed on www.buzzy4shots.com (blow out a puff of air, add numbers, do a task) or have them use the optional Bee-Stractors™ distraction cards (find a color, watch it move, answer an age-appropriate question).
For best results, let the child feel how the combination changes sensations beforehand by scratching the arm under the ice pack/vibration source. “See how cold this is, and see how now you can’t feel so much any more?” Seeing for themselves and agreeing with you helps the child feel in control.
One recent study even found a vibration source on the opposite arm from the shots along with the suggestion, “This may make your arm confused about what [is] sharp and what [is] not” effective as part of a multi-sensory distraction.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP3_j1Lru9I
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About The Author
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts is founder of Support for Special Needs and has been a regular contributor since its inception in May 2010. A mom to two kids with special needs, she didn't want other parents to feel what is the often isolating world of raising a child (or two!) with disabilities. Her kids had kidney transplants at the age of eight and will need liver transplants in the future as a result of ARPKD/CHF. They both have vision disorders and learning disabilities.
Would LOVE to win one beacause our daughter (4yo) has to have labs drawn every 3-6 months (plus often some in between). They have such a hard time finding a vein that she often requires multiple pokes. This has led to full blown panic attacks at the mere mention of blood work. ANYTHING that we can do to minimize the trauma and pain would be awesome.
I’ve heard only good things about Buzzy from other parents and would love to try it! Thanks so much for the chance to enter!
I’m with PsychMamma.
I’d love to win this for my 3yr old. She has monthly blood draws for her meds level checks, and I’ve really been wanting to try this out.
Our 2-year-old already panics at most doctors’ offices; he has to have blood gasses drawn regularly (which are done as a capilary draw for him), and he will likely get synagis again this year because of his trach. Since he’s big, he gets 2 shots at once for that. I’d love to get one of these to try!
We’ve found a portable DVD player with a favorite video to be a great distraction for many medical things (though we haven’t tried it with shots or blood draws yet)
Some tips for shots from Webmd
Attitude plays a big role. If the parent AND the medical provider are supportive and calm, the child will feel confident and will not nearly be as frightened.
What’s in a name? The word “shot” is really a scary word for kids under age 7 or so. Bad guys are “shot”. I use the word “booster” when they need to get a vaccination, or sometimes I call them “power boosters” since the vaccinations help them get strong. Booster is a much nicer word.
Choices. Children tend to like choices. If a child is going to get one injection, I ask them if they “Would like a shot or a booster?” “Would you like a big needle, or the little, tiny needle that we use for babies?” Or, “Would you like it in your arm, leg, or EYE!” When given those choices, they will pick booster, with the baby needle, and in the arm or leg, NOT the eye.
Honesty. Will it hurt? I always answer honestly and say, “Sometimes. But, if it does, all you need to do is tell the nurse, and she will take it out right away!” Think about it.
Empathy. Tell them that you understand that they don’t want any shots but in order to stay healthy, you have to have it.
Distraction. Do what you can as a parent to distract them from any anticipated pain from the injections. Hold your baby or child snuggly; reassure them that you will be help. Babies who are breast fed while they are getting vaccinations tend to cry or react less, or you can nurse the baby afterwards to calm them down. When I have to inject a toe for a toenail removal on a teenager, it can be quite painful. I have noticed that the ones who bring their music on iPods have less pain response.
Order of Shots. Nurses need to give the least painful shot first. A new Canadian study found that when you must give the DTaP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) and the Prevnar (pneumococcal conjugate) vaccine at the same visit, giving the less-painful DTaP first is much easier on the kids.
Give a little sugar. Newborns boys getting circumcised require an anesthetic injection in the penis (ouch!). Several studies have shown that a sweet liquid (sugar water) placed in a nipple, that the babies are unusually calm. Under six months old, a pacifier can be dipped in a sweet liquid for a sweet distraction. A sugar-free lollipop, usually after the injection, is a good bribe for younger kids.
Numbing medicines. EMLA cream (lidocaine-prilocaine) or cooling sprays can be used to temporarily numb the skin for injections. These are particularly helpful for planned blood draws or when a child may need an intravenous injection. EMLA needs to be put on an HOUR before the injection, and of course, applied to the site where the injection will be made. The cooling sprays only last precious seconds, so the nurse needs to be fast – very fast.
Direct Pressure. A little plastic device called a Shot Blocker creates a bit of “neurological confusion” to those pain sensors on the skin. There are some tiny spikes on the back of the device that will block much of the pain of an injection. And, of course, rubbing a recently injected site can also help afterwards. I once saw an old nurse slap a teen’s butt real hard before giving a gluteal injection. It worked, although he was a bit surprised.
Tylenol? Many parents will give a dose of Tylenol (acetaminophen) before coming in for routine vaccinations. Personally, if I were getting five shots, I don’t think that Tylenol would really help my pain, but many parents feel that it does.
Not all vaccines are “shots”. The FluMist influenza vaccine is a good example of an effective vaccine that does not require a needle. It is expected that more and more vaccines will have non-injection alternatives in the future.
Use Combination vaccines. More vaccines in one syringe; one needle is really the goal. We now routinely use a five-in-one vaccine containing the DTaP, Hib, and polio vaccines. My dog and cat gets a seven-in-one vaccine, but of course, animals are not children. More combination vaccines are on the horizon, but they need to be well-tested before giving them to our children.
Becky, we’ll also be running some more tips tomorrow when we interview Dr. Baxter who invented Buzzy! 🙂
Sounds like a promising product! We give our 16-month-old shots at home 3x/week along with regular lab draws as we prepare for nephrectomy, dialysis and transplant. The moment the technician walks in our daughter starts to scream…it’s traumatic for her and for us. She’s not yet at an age where she understands why these pokes are necessary. Glad to hear the positive reviews on the product from the community members!! Would have never known about this product without it being featured here. Thank you!
Oh, baby! This would be SO cool to win for our son with severe hemophilia! He has to have an IV push at home 3 times per week, sometimes more if he has a bleeding episode. Right now he uses LMX-4 to numb the site, but it takes at least 30 minutes to work and I’ve heard parents say that it makes the skin thin and papery over time. The Buzzy looks like an awesome solution!
I would love to win this for my daughter. She was born with severe heart defects and, at 19 months, has already had 3 surgeries and has one more coming up at the end of the year. Not looking forward to that since now she understands exactly what’s going on and starts kicking and screaming the moment we enter an exam room. She regularly gets blood draws and, during the winter, receives monthly injections to guard her against pnuemonia, since she’s at higher risk for developing serious complications from it. I can even see how Buzzy might help provide distraction during her regular x-rays, echos, and EKGs.
During blood draws, the thing I’ve found most helpful for my daughter is to hold her close, sing her bedtime song, and rock her while she’s getting the draw. The phlegbotomists at the children’s hospital are really good about giving me the flexibility to do this. At the peds office? Not so much. I wish they would let me hold her, but they usually want her held down and lying on the table. NOT GOOD. Reading all of this is giving me new resolve to advocate more strongly on her behalf the next time she gets shots. At the peds, I usually do Tylenol before we get to the doc, give her a paci and just follow up with lots of love.
Would love to win one to trial it on my daughter. Buzzy would be great for so many of our vent kids! My daughter had daily injections of Neupogen, and weekly infusions of Hizentra. She also has frequent procedures requiring IV’s, but very poor venous access due to SVC syndrome. I’m also wondering if Buzzy would help distract form the pain of trach changes and J-tube changes?
How do you purchase Buzzy? And, is there a website for it? I’d like to post a link to it on my blog for parents of Kids with Vents http://kids-with-vents.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
Hi Patricia! You can get a Buzzy here: http://www.buzzy4shots.com/ And be sure to use the coupon code SFSNBUZZY5 to get $5 off until September 30th!
Also I hope you will join our site (only members can win our giveaway so please do!) and you are welcome to create a kids with vents group, too, if your readers would like a place to meet. Our groups not only have forums attached, they also live chat channels. 🙂
What a great idea! Jared still gets a lot of blood work done. He is getting better at handling them, but I am sure that he will have plenty of moments of non-cooperation as he continues to develop his independence!
I always hold Jared and talk to him calmly. He once called the needle an airplane because of the little wing looking things that are used to insert the needle. We now talk about the “airplane” each time. What color is it, where is it landing, etc. Since he loves all forms of transportation, this is right up his alley. And the best part is that he came up with it himself!