Vibrating Pill Travels Through Your Body And Alleviates Constipation

Doctors define constipation as a bowel movement that occurs less than three times a week. Often it is brought on by diet, something a patient ate, traveling, or stress.
 
The first line of defense might be to add fiber to your diet, increase water intake, or use a laxative that could encourage you to go to the toilet. But not everyone would want to rely on medication all the time.
 
‘Vibrant’ could be the answer for those looking to wean off medication. The pill pulls water into the colon to soften stool, just as an over-the-counter laxative, sans the need for drugs in your system.
 
Vibrant is shaped and made from the same medical-grade materials as regular pills, but it won’t break down inside your body. Instead, it will navigate through your digestive tract, vibrating. This motion helps stimulate nerve cells that trigger peristalsis, which controls muscle contractions that push waste through your system.
 
The pill vibrates in three-second intervals for two hours upon first swallowing, then rests for six hours before starting up again for another two.

Vibrant Gastro, the company behind the pill, encourages patients to take Vibrant just before sleeping. However, before taking it, you must activate it by placing it in its pod, which is connected to an app.
 
Hopefully, this will encourage one’s bowel movement to be more frequent, where it will pop out on your next journey to the toilet.
 
The pill was first tested on a group of 200 people who suffered from chronic constipation. The group took Vibrant every night for eight weeks, and 40% of those participating noticed that they had at least one other bowel movement every week.

It should be noted that a small portion of the study could feel it vibrating as it traveled through their body. Thankfully, the sensation was not strong enough to deter them from taking it daily.
 
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the treatment last August, and it is now just making its way to clinics where you will have to go through a doctor’s prescription to get your hands on them.
 
 
 
[via Gizmodo and CNN, images via Vibrant Gastro, Inc.]