Two Different Types of ReliefBand

EDITOR'S NOTE: Several months ago, I received a press release from Woodside Biomedical Company in California introducing a new product called ReliefBand to the fishing market. Woodside claimed that this device had the ability to stop the nausea and discomfort associated with seasickness. Although extremely skeptical, I tried it on my next fishing trip.

During a week-long period in the summer of 2000, I fished with three different groups of people in the Gulf of Mexico and tested the ReliefBand on five different individuals. I found that every one of them recovered from his or her seasickness within 20 minutes of using it. On another trip several months later again at the Gulf of Mexico, eight people on our boat became sick. Five of the eight had their symptoms relieved by wearing the ReliefBand.

To learn what makes this watch-like pulsating device stop seasickness for 80 to 85 percent of the people who try it, I interviewed Dan Rutledge of Sugarland, Texas, the vice president of corporate sales for Woodside Biomedical.

Question: I understand that there are two different types of ReliefBand. What are they?

Answer: We sell two types of ReliefBand without prescription. A third type is sold by prescription only. The first two types of ReliefBand that don't require a prescription are the disposable unit and the non-disposable unit. The disposable unit has a limited battery life of approximately 48 hours. Once the battery life has been depleted, you simply throw this unit away. The disposable ReliefBand operates much like a flashlight battery in that you can turn the unit on and off to preserve battery life. The reusable unit allows the consumer access to the battery, a lithium photocell battery, available at any drugstore or supermarket where watch batteries and camera batteries are sold. The two batteries last for 144 hours before they have to be replaced. Another advantage to the reusable unit, the Adventurer, is it's water and shock resistance. This ReliefBand is built of a more durable material in a solid-state form, making it much more user-friendly.

Question: Who uses the ReliefBand the most?

Answer: Individuals who own boats and planes have sizable investments in these vehicles. They often have problems getting friends, relatives and business acquaintances to travel with them because they fear seasickness. These individuals keep a couple of ReliefBands on board so that if a person does begin to feel the symptoms of motion sickness, they can put the ReliefBand on and relieve some or all of those symptoms instead of cutting the trip short or having to turn back.

Question: How do you get a ReliefBand?

Answer: Several retail stores carry the ReliefBand, including the Sharper Image, West Marine, Blue Water and many coastal stores. Several catalog houses also carry the ReliefBand. If you have a problem locating one, go to our website at www.reliefband.com, and click on the how-to-buy online hotlink. You will see several different distributors from which you can choose.

JOHN'S NOTE: My daughter who is a drug rep has felt so badly for a nurse she knows at one hospital where she calls. This nurse has a high-powered job but is pregnant and has been vomiting and not keeping anything down for some weeks now. The nurse and our daughter started talking, and my daughter told the nurse about the ReliefBand. My daughter took her one to try, and the nurse was so thankful. She quit vomiting immediately, and her stomach straightened out. The nurse won't take the ReliefBand off because she's afraid she'll get sick again. Every time she starts feeling nauseous, she turns the ReliefBand on and goes on with her work at the hospital.

To learn more about the ReliefBand, write to Woodside Biomedical at 1915 Aston Avenue, Carlsbad, California 92008, (760) 804-6900, or visit the company's webpage at www.reliefband.com.