Ibuprofen Skin Patch Review

You know that sense of pain relief you get after taking a tablet of ibuprofen? A new skin patch promises to deliver those same effects over 12 hours. Here’s our review of the new ibuprofen skin patch.

What is the Ibuprofen Skin Patch?

The Ibuprofen Skin Patch promises to deliver all of the benefits of the over-the-counter painkiller in a more convenient way.

The skin patch was created by researchers at the University of Warwick in England. Their skin patch delivers a concentrated dose of ibuprofen directly through the skin. Understandably, the treatment is being called the “world’s first ibuprofen patch”.

We’ve seen patches for all sorts of health benefits in the past, including antismoking patches and scopolamine patches to cure motion sickness.

This patch, however, is unusual because it can carry a high dose of ibuprofen. According to a statement released by the researchers on December 8, the effects of the patch can last for up to 12 hours. That means the patch can hold a drug load (which is the weight of the drug compared to the total contents of the dose) as high as 30%, which is 5 to 10 times the drug load currently found in medical patches and gels.

The ibuprofen skin patch is an exciting development because it will allow users to apply the pain-relieving sensation of ibuprofen directly to the party of their body that needs it most.

How Does the Ibuprofen Skin Patch Work?

One of the unique characteristics of the ibuprofen skin patch is that it’s transparent and designed to be “cosmetically pleasing” according to the researchers.

The patch can be surreptitiously placed on your skin to deliver its benefits over 12 hours. You can easily wear it in public without worrying about getting too many awkward stares.

The transparent patch itself is made out of a specially-developed polymer matrix. That matrix is sticky enough to stick to your skin in spite of its high drug load (30% of the weight of the patch is made up of the active drug).

One of the key benefits of the patch is that it can deliver the highest dose of the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory painkilling effects directly to the area that needs it. The ibuprofen is absorbed over the course of 12 hours directly into that area.

This can ultimately make it easier to treat chronic conditions like back pain or arthritis without risking problems like heart and stroke side effects – problems that typically come with taking high dosages of NSAIDs.

As you may already know, there are ibuprofen gels that can offer similar benefits: you apply the gel to the area of your skin that needs it most, and the gel absorbs over time.

There are also products like the IcyHot patch, which is applied to your skin for topical pain relief. This patch uses menthol to soothe pain instead of NSAIDs.

The ibuprofen skin patch has an enormous advantage over both of these supplements primarily because of its strength. With a drug load of up to 30%, the ibuprofen skin patch may be the most effective topical ibuprofen treatment soon to hit the market.

Who Makes the Ibuprofen Skin Patch?

The ibuprofen skin patch, as mentioned above, was developed by a team of researchers at the University of Wardwick in the United Kingdom. That university has a spinoff company called Medherant that promises to release the NSAID skin patch onto the marketplace in the near future.

Medherant May Use the Skin Patch to Deliver Other Types of Medicine

Medherant has plans to use the skin patch for more than just ibuprofen: the manufacturer claims to be looking at incorporating other types of medicine into the polymer patch technology.

Here’s what Nigel Davis, CEO of Medherant, had to say about the technology behind the ibuprofen skin patch and its potential for further medical uses:

“Our transdermal patch technology expands the range of drugs that can be delivered via skin patches and can significantly increase drug loading capabilities, whilst retaining adhesion and being thin and flexible. Thus our patches provide a better experience for patients, enhance safety and deliver increased efficacy, which will lead to economic benefits to the healthcare system.”

The company’s first products will be over-the-counter pain relief patches, with the possibility of adding further patches in the near future.

How to Buy the Ibuprofen Skin Patch

Don’t get your hopes up about the ibuprofen skin patch too quickly: the patch is a long way away from hitting the marketplace.

Expect to see the patch arrive on the market within “about two years” according to a press release from Medherant.

Pricing and other details for the ibuprofen skin patch remain unknown.