The Ritalin Patch – Relief From Oral Medication for ADHD
The Ritalin patch is the latest breakthrough in the search for more effective medication for children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Right now, children have to take pills to help them behave and act properly, but the Ritalin patch will eliminate the need for these pills. The Ritalin patch has been developed by Noven and Shire pharmaceutical companies and when they receive approval for the sale of this Ritalin patch, it will be called Daytrana.
Parents of ADHD are anticipating the release of the Ritalin patch because it is effective for up to twelve hours, as opposed to giving children medication two and three times a day. Another advantage of the Ritalin patch is that the dosages of the patch can be fine tuned to suit individuals. Parents also have more options with the use of the Ritalin patch in that they can remove the patch after nine hours, or they can choose a shorter or longer time frame for the use of the Ritalin patch. In this way, if the parent notices the child having side effects to the Ritalin patch they can remove it.
During the testing of the Ritalin patch, children wearing the patch were able to concentrate on their schoolwork and achieve higher scores, as opposed to children who were given a placebo Ritalin patch. The Ritalin patch also helped to improve their behavior throughout the day.
There are side effects associated with the use of the Ritalin patch, just as there are with the oral medication. Some of the side effects found with the Ritalin patch include increased onset of sleep and a decrease in appetite. Since Ritalin patch is applied to the skin, there is a possibility of skin irritation when children first start using it. It is important to apply the Ritalin patch to a different area each day and not use the same patch of skin day after day.
There are other benefits for children in the use of the Ritalin patch. Children that have to take their oral medication during the school day have to visit the office to receive the dosage and then the other children know what is happening. With the use of the Ritalin patch, only the child and the parents know the patch is there and that there is medication involved. Children hate taking medicine, so they will want to wear the Ritalin patch rather than have to take pills, thus reducing the stress of the parents in getting them to take their medication.