Skin pH following high voltage pulsed galvanic stimulation

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Dermatology
• Electrophysiology

Background:

• Prolonged electrotherapeutic treatments can lead to skin irritation under electrodes.
• Acid and base formation beneath electrodes is a suspected cause of this irritation.
• High voltage pulsed galvanic stimulators were hypothesized to avoid these chemical reactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the validity of the hypothesis that high voltage pulsed galvanic stimulators do not produce acid/base formation.
• To determine if electrotherapy using these devices causes chemical reactions on the skin.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 40 healthy subjects was conducted.
• Subjects were divided into three groups receiving stimulation with different high voltage pulsed galvanic units.
• A control group was included, and skin pH was measured before and after treatment.

Main Results:

• No significant chemical reactions were detected under the electrodes across all treatment groups.
• Pretreatment and posttreatment skin pH measurements showed no evidence of acid or base formation.
• The hypothesis regarding the non-production of chemical reactions by these devices was supported.

Conclusions:

• High voltage pulsed galvanic stimulation does not appear to cause skin irritation through acid or base formation.
• These findings suggest that electrotherapy with high voltage pulsed galvanic units is unlikely to induce adverse chemical skin reactions.
• The study supports the safety of using high voltage pulsed galvanic stimulators concerning chemical skin irritation.