Livia is a wearable, it is worn discreetly hooked to the waist, it is available in many colors and its estimated sale price will be around 149 dollars (about 130 euros). But no: despite its appearance, very similar to what an MP3 could have, it is not used to listen to music, but to end the punctures and pains of the rule .
And, according to its Israeli creators – engineers and doctors -,relief is immediate, something not even painkillers can. But what exactly does it consist of? In something as simple as placing two reusable electrodes in the area that hurts, in this case the abdomen, and pressing the device’s power button.
Because Livia is a machine that is based on the principles of transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS): that is,through electrical pulses, it keeps the nervous system busy, and that allows blocking the transmission of the painful stimulus typical of menstruation that, in another case, would reach the brain and make us feel bad.
Its creators, based on the theory of the gate, speak specifically of“Close the doors of pain”, of not allowing those harmful stimuli to reach the brain.
“More than 50% of women suffer significant menstrual pain, and to alleviate it, they have to consume large amounts of painkillers.Livia uses a method of pain relief that does not involve drug use. The idea is to ‘close the doors of pain,’ explains Professor Bari Kaplan, from the Rabin Medical Center and Tel Aviv University School of Medicine.
Kaplan is the doctor who has been in charge of the clinical trials, carried out with 163 women of all ages, and in which the Livia method has proven its effectiveness.Also when menstrual cramps are strong; And in those cases where menstrual pain is really “severe,” they explain, “Livia offers significant relief, reducing it by around 80%.” It can even help women with endometriosis.
In fact, the device hastwo buttons to regulate the intensityof electric shocks. But what do you feel when you start the device? Apparently women who have already tried it describe it as “gentle vibes.”
Livia incorporates, in addition to the device and the two electrodes, a USB cable with which the device is charged, which has15 hours of autonomy after each charge.
We will still have to wait a bit to see it on the market, since it is a project that is in search of financing on the website ofcrowdfundingIndiegogo. But, given that it has already obtained 185% of the financing that it required – all a success -, it could begin to commercializefrom next October, just as its creators had foreseen from the beginning.
