Health Canada recently authorised the Dolphin vagal nerve stimulator to treat symptoms in patients with COVID-19 ‘long-haul’ symptoms (long haulers). Long haulers experience a wide variety of aftereffects from the virus, including shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, joint and muscle pain, headaches, and brain fog, a press release from the Center for Pain and Stress Research states.
New research—which was presented at the annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases conference (ECCMID 2022; 23–26 April, Lisbon, Portugal)—indicates that the virus acts on the vagus nerve, and stimulation and treatment of this nerve is reported to provide relief for COVID-19 long haulers, the release adds.
Health Canada authorisation states that Dolphin vagal nerve stimulation applied to the auricular branch of the vagus nerve (ABVN) is effective for those:
- Who experience a worsening of long-haul symptoms, such as anxiety, fatigue, pain and brain fog
- In whom approved drug therapies are not tolerated or provide insufficient symptom relief as assessed by their healthcare provider
The Dolphin vagal nerve stimulator produces minute microcurrent impulses that gently relax muscles, calm the nervous system, and release endorphins.
This recent authorisation from Health Canada makes Dolphin vagal nerve stimulation the only government-authorised COVID-19 long-haul therapy available to the public, the press release also states.
“Dolphin VNS [vagus nerve stimulation] therapy could be a promising therapy to combat the lingering adverse effects some patients experience with long-haul chronic symptomology,” said company spokesperson Yulia Kramarenko. “It is a safe clinical procedure and an effective treatment for many long-haul symptoms.”
The conveniently applied Dolphin VNS enables a potentially life-changing intervention in any home or clinical setting with minimal training or supervision, according to the Center for Pain and Stress Research. The Dolphin VNS kit comes with a Dolphin device, vagal nerve stimulation accessories, a protocol manual and instructions for easy application, and may be ordered directly from the company’s website.
