MY BEAUTIFUL BATTERY OPERATED BUDDY (TENS Pain Relief Unit)

Member Name: indigojade

Product:	TENS Pain Relief Unit
Date:	20/09/01 (3788 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: relieves pain, is non invasive, doesnt hurt

Disadvantages: non

Nothing is so delightful as to be able to walk down the street, feeling the pleasurable ‘tingle’ from my battery operated buddy and not a soul in the world knows apart from me!


I can well imagine what kind of ‘battery operated buddy’ a lot of you are thinking about, well stop it now! My new battery operated buddy is a TENS for those of you that don’t know what that is, it stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nervous Stimulation. This means that an electrical pulse is sent to a certain part of the body to block, reduce or eliminate pain sensation, by encouraging the bodies production of natural pain killing drugs – endorphins and encephalins. The action of TENS also increases blood flow to the affected area promoting healing.



My first experience of using TENS was whilst I was in labour, I wanted to be brave and not have drugs (stupid fool) and opted for this ‘natural’ method of pain relief. The midwife showed me how to use it, and applied the pads. Now this was NOT going to work I thought. On came the contraction – I pressed my button and believe it or not, it didn’t feel half as intense as the previous one – WOW! This was an excellent pain reliever the only sensation I felt was a slight tingling on the surface of my skin, the kind of sensation when someone lightly draws silk or a feather across your skin.

TENS has been around for a long time; in fact it has been discovered that the ancient Egyptians used a similar kind of treatment. Some carvings from around 2500BC show an electric fish being used to treat pain.


TENS come in a variety of shapes and sizes, most of them are unintrusive and nobody is aware that you are using one. You can spend a little or a lot on TENS, a minitens will set you back £57.58. The Boots own version will cost you around £29.99. However much or little you choose to spend, you will get your money back by saving on your pre
scription charges.

I have been using my TENS now for over a year and am amazed and thankful as are both my doctor and my bank balance, that my many prescription painkillers are no longer required on a day to day basis.

The Beautiko ‘digital watch’ is a recent acquisition, it cost me the princely sum of £4.99 yes less than a fiver and has been every bit as good as my old Boots one, which was £25 more and 25% bigger!

The Beautiko TENS is 2.5 inches in length and 1.5 inches in height and can be worn easily on the wrist looking similar to a watch (hence the name). The casing is a little tacky, being a powder blue colour and there are 4 small rubberised buttons on the face. The buttons are easy to operate, even with the most arthritic fingers. You have a ‘power’ button – turns it on and off, a ‘+’ and ‘-‘ button to increase or decrease the intensity of the impulse, and finally a ‘mode’ button – which allows you to scroll through the 9 different modes the TENS has. The digital Watch has four massage programmes and five TENS pain relief programmes to choose from.

Along with the actual ‘watch’ part you get 4 small gel TENS pads, 4 large TENS gel pads these are excellent in size and can cover a large area if required. There is also a gel pad holder, to store your pads once you have used them. There is also the cable to attach the pads to the TENS machine itself and wrist and body straps to hold the TENS is place during use.

To use the Beautiko digital watch, peel from the protective backing apply the sticky gel pads either side of the painful area ( NOT the face or head) and either attach the button fastening cable to them, or attach the machine directly onto the pads, using the press stud style fixing. Select the programme using the ‘mode’ button and let the programme commence. You can adjust the intensity to suit your particular need.
Each programme lasts for 10 minutes, after which you can restart the programme again. To let you know your time is up, an alarm will sound. I generally use mine for 30 – 40 minutes per day and the relief is enough to last for the remainder of the day. Using the TENS I have found I rarely require any pain killers at all and my intake of DF118 has reduced sharply!

The nine programmes that the digital watch TENS boasts are

~ 1 TENS shoulder pain relief programme
~ 2 TENS back pain relief programme
~ 3 TENS joints/leg pain relief programme
~ 4 TENS sole pain relief programme
~ 5 TENS arm/hand pain relief programme
~ 6 TENS automatic massage programme
~ 7 Pushing massage programme
~ 8 tapping massage programme
~ 9 kneading massage programmes


I have used all the above programmes over the time I have had the digital watch and found all of them to be most effective in relieving aches and pains. As previously stated the digital watch is so unobtrusive and easy to use. I carry it around in my bag now – just in case I should need it during the day.

So what conditions can TENS be used for, the ones that spring instantly to mind are
 Rheumatoid and Osteo-arthritis
 Back pain
 Menstrual pain
 Labour pains
 Shingles
 Headache and migraine
 Pain associated with cancer
 Sciatica
 Aching joints
 Post op pain
 Sports injuries
 Muscular pain
 Repetitive strain injuries

Any pains however that you are not sure of the cause of, do not use TENS, if in doubt consult with your doctor. The body's reaction to something wrong with it is the pain sensation, get it checked out first!

Contra indications of using TENS

 Not to be used if you have a pacemaker/heartcondition
 Not to be used if you suffer from di
abetes or epilepsy
 Do not use on recent scars, cuts or inflamed or sunburnt skin
 Do not use on varicose veins
 Do NOT place the gel pads on the face or head
 Can be used during labour, ask your doctor about using during pregnancy.

The Beautiko digital watch and assessories can be obtained from Hummingbird Products, 5 Egham Business Village, Crabtree Road, Egham, Surrey. TW20 8RB.

Summary: