The inventions developed with the intention to reduce menstrual cramps are varied. There’s your standard pain medication like Midol or Pamprin, there’s cannabis cocoa butter (yes, really), and now, there’s a tiny, colorful robot that claims to stop cramping without any medication involved. Introducing Livia.
The device is currently on Indiegogo with about a month left in its campaign—even though it’s already earned $150,000 more than it has asked for by backers. So, what is it, really? Livia is a small version of an electrical stimulation machine, which pulses to fight against pain sensation messages before they travel up the spinal cord and get processed by the brain, chief medical advisor Bari Kaplan explained to Cosmopolitan.com. With a 15-hour battery, Livia can be worn at night and can be easily re-charged with a USB cord. Plus, it’s silent so you don’t have to worry about any judgmental looks in public.
Since it’s possible to build up a tolerance to medication that doesn’t always fully get rid of cramps, Livia offers a pill-free solution to the monthly ailment that keeps many period-havers in serious pain. The devices will start shipping out in October 2016, and once they arrive, PMS might not be so bad after all.
