The Advantages Of Transdermal Time-Release Patches Versus Oral Dietary Supplements

OK, you’ve been swallowing tablets, capsules and mixed powdered dietary supplements forever! That’s OK, because you’re in good company as 99% of the people in the World take their daily dietary supplements orally.

Is there a better way? There sure is, and medical professionals, and tens of thousands of recent clinical trials all support the important benefits of direct to bloodstream delivery of medical and dietary supplement formulas with advanced transdermal time-release patches!

The best way to understand how much better transdermal time-release patches are versus oral delivery, is to recap how each of them work:

Oral Delivery Of Dietary Supplements You’ve got your assorted pills lined up, or you’ve mixed your powdered supplement with water or juice, and you swallow them. Now what happens?

1. The dietary supplements arrive in your stomach, where they are immediately bathed in a complex of incredibly powerful digestive acid. (And we mean powerful!) 2. Depending on what else you may have eaten, the dietary supplements in you stomach stay there for 2 to 4 hours. This is the normal digestive process at work, and in those 2 to 4 hours, the dietary supplements continue to be bathed and degraded by powerful digestive acids 3. After 2 to 4 hours, the surviving supplement’s nutrient value begins to move into and through the small intestines where it is slowly absorbed into the bloodstream.

Oral Delivery Summary – 2 to 4-hours after first swallowing a supplement, about 10% (or less) of the original dietary supplement’s dosage strength survives the harsh acidic environment of the digestive system before entering the small intestine where it is absorbed into the bloodstream.

Transdermal Time Release Patch Delivery Of Dietary Supplements

OK, now you have your trans-dermal time release patch ready. You apply the patch to your upper forearm, or inside your wrist, or just below your navel, which are all locations rich in small blood capillaries. Now what happens?

1. Instant And Continuous Direct To Bloodstream Delivery - The minute the patch is applied, your body-heat activates the time-release function of the transdermal patch and the supplement formula begins to transit through the skin (derma) into the countless small blood capillaries throughout and under the skin. That’s the beginning of direct to bloodstream delivery! 2. Optimized Time-Release Delivery - Most patches (All AgeForce® patches) deliver their dietary supplement formula dosage directly into the bloodstream over several hours. This “time-release” function is optimized for each formula and the desired results. (A good example of this would be our AgeForce® Melatonin patch. The patch’s time-release function is set to deliver a 5mg Melatonin dose over 6 to 8-hours to insure continuous sleep benefit. Compare that to oral melatonin supplements where the melatonin doesn’t even begin to enter your bloodstream for 2 to 4-hours. So you would have to take an oral melatonin supplement 2 to 4 hours before bedtime. And the time-release patch continues to deliver the 5mg Melatonin dosage over 6 to 8-hours to insure a full night’s sleep benefit.)

Transdermal Time-Release Patch Delivery Summary – Long-held consumer habits die hard, as they say, and most people still take their dietary supplement orally. But that is changing quickly as millions of people learn about and experience the advantages of transdermal time-release patch direct to bloodstream delivery.

Popular Transdermal Patch Applications

• Nicotine patch
• Fentanyl for severe pain
• Estrogen patches for hormone therapy
• Nitroglycerin for Angina
• Scopolamine for motion sickness
• Anti-hypertensive
• Anti-depressant
• Attention Deficit
• Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Vitamin B12
• Testosterone

Transdermal Patch Construction - The main components to a transdermal patch are:

• Liner - Protects the patch during storage. The liner is removed prior to use.
• Formula – Supplement or medication in direct contact with release liner
• Adhesive - Serves to adhere the components of the patch together along with adhering the patch to the skin
• Membrane - Controls the release of the medication or supplement from the reservoir and multi-layer patches
• Backing - Protects the patch from the outer environment

5 – Types Of Transdermal Patches

• Single-layer Drug-in-Adhesive - The adhesive layer of this system also contains the drug. In this type of patch the adhesive layer not only serves to adhere the various layers together, along with the entire system to the skin, but is also responsible for the releasing of the drug. The adhesive layer is surrounded by a temporary liner and a backing.
• Multi-layer Drug-in-Adhesive - The multi-layer drug-in adhesive patch is similar to the single-layer system in that both adhesive layers are also responsible for the releasing of the drug. One of the layers is for immediate release of the drug and other layer is for control release of drug from the reservoir. The multi-layer system is different however that it adds another layer of drug-in-adhesive, usually separated by a membrane (but not in all cases). This patch also has a temporary liner-layer and a permanent backing.
• Reservoir - Unlike the Single-layer and Multi-layer Drug-in-adhesive systems the reservoir transdermal system has a separate drug layer. The drug layer is a liquid compartment containing a drug solution or suspension separated by the adhesive layer. This patch is also backed by the backing layer. In this type of system the rate of release is zero order.
• Matrix - The Matrix system has a drug layer of a semisolid matrix containing a drug solution or suspension. The adhesive layer in this patch surrounds the drug layer partially overlaying it. Also known as a monolithic device.
• Vapor Patch - In this type of patch the adhesive layer not only serves to adhere the various layers together but also to release vapor. The vapor patches are new on the market and they release essential oils for up to 6 hours. The vapor patches release essential oils and are used in cases of decongestion mainly. Other vapor patches on the market are controller vapor patches that improve the quality of sleep. Vapor patches that reduce the quantity of cigarettes that one smokes in a month are also available on the market.