It’s something that many women do every day, but putting on your earrings could soon also help to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new technique for administering contraceptive hormones through jewellery, including earrings, rings or necklaces.
The hormones are contained in tiny patches that could be applied to the parts of jewellery that touch the skin, allowing the drugs to be absorbed into the body.
While the jewellery is yet to be tested in humans, initial tests suggest the technique could deliver enough hormone to provide contraception.
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Professor Mark Prausnitz, who worked on the study, said: “The more contraceptive options that are available, the more likely it is that the needs of individual women can be met.
“Because putting on jewellery may already be part of a woman's daily routine, this technique may facilitate compliance with the drug regimen.
“This technique could more effectively empower some women to prevent unintended pregnancies."
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While contraceptive patches are already available, the researchers hope that pairing them with jewellery could provide a more discreet way to administer the drugs.
Professor Prausnitz added: “There is a lot of experience with making and using conventional transdermal patches.
“We are taking this established technology, making the patch smaller and using jewelry to help apply it.
“We think that earring patches can expand the scope of transdermal patches to provide additional impact.”
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In practice, the researchers believe that earring backs would be the most practical jewellery to incorporate the contraceptive patch in.
Professor Prausnitz explained: “The advantage of incorporating contraceptive hormone into a universal earring back is that it can be paired with many different earrings.
”A woman could acquire these drug-loaded earring backs and then use them with various earrings she might want to wear.”
The team now plans to carry out further studies to understand the safety and efficiency of the technique.
