Patch it up
Transdermal patches can help in pain management. But there is not enough awareness about them in India, says Hemchhaya De.
You have heard of nicotine patches — those Band Aid-like strips that help people quit smoking. But those are just one variety of what is broadly known as transdermal patches. The latter play a crucial role in pain management in several parts of the world. But in India, doctors say, awareness of the use of transdermal patches in relieving pain is abysmally low. What’s more, these are not widely available in the country.
“Indian companies started manufacturing these patches only half a decade ago. But awareness is still quite low,” says Dr G.P. Dureja, director, Delhi Pain Management Centre, who started pain management services at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences in 1986.