Meet the Patches That Claim to Fix Your Health (and Love Life)

The Trend: Skin patches used to be reserved for purposes like quitting smoking (nicotine), quieting local nerve pain (lidocaine), and preventing unwanted pregnancies (hormonal birth control). Now, you can slap a patch on your wrist to boost energy, increase focus, and calm your nerves — purportedly. Dozens of companies are producing stick-on patches that claim to replace oral supplements and work even better.

What People Are Saying: Importantly, as Elise Zheng, a health-technology researcher at Columbia University, points out in an interview with The Atlantic, we can ignore any claims about such patches being more effective than pills and powders. “There’s no proof,” she stated plainly, reminding that not only are supplements only loosely regulated, but patches can’t even be regulated as supplements because they aren’t ingestible. Among those sporting the patches, the most common reason for doing so appears to be simply that they are an alternative to taking pills.   

What to Know: At this point, remain skeptical of any bold claims made by wellness patch companies. They’re likely “leaning more on placebo than pharmacology,” writes Michelle Spear, professor of anatomy, in The Conversation. That said, if you have the disposable income to enjoy them and they make you feel good, that’s worth something — even if it’s all placebo.