Dietary supplements are a multi-billion dollar business in the US. Millions of Americans take oral supplements to fill gaps in their diet. Popular supplements include vitamins B12 and D; minerals like iron and calcium; herbs like garlic and echinacea; and supplements like probiotics, fish oil, and glucosamine. These are usually taken in pill form by mouth. But a recent trend of transdermal vitamin patches has people taking notice. Please keep reading to find out if a vitamin patch can be used to treat nutrient deficiencies.

What is a vitamin patch?

A vitamin patch is a transdermal patch (adhesive sticker) that can be applied to the skin to potentially treat a vitamin deficiency or fill gaps in your diet.

Skin patches have been in use in medicine since the late 1970s. Adhesive patches are easy to use and transport medications through the skin directly to the bloodstream. For example, transdermal patches are commonly used to treat motion sickness. Birth control patches and nicotine patches are also common.

Now, vitamin patches are being marketed with the promise that they can deliver vitamins and optimize your nutrition and health without the need to swallow supplement pills.

How do vitamin patches work?

Vitamin patches work like a dietary supplement, except they deliver nutrients through the skin, which is the body’s largest organ. The nutrients go directly to the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive system. Vitamin patches may contain a specific vitamin or have additional ingredients included for more comprehensive nutritional supplementation, similar to a multivitamin.

Can vitamins be absorbed through the skin?

The challenge in delivering vitamins through the skin is overcoming the physical skin barrier. Studies have shown that using microneedles to pre-treat the skin can result in better absorption. Research has also shown that pre-treating the skin with ethanol and using chemical penetration enhancers such as dodecylamine increases the absorption of nutrients such as vitamin D.

How effective are multivitamin patches?

Multivitamin patches are not very effective. Vitamin patches have been studied in people who have undergone bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) and were found to be ineffective in preventing nutritional deficiencies. Comparisons between the pill group and patch group found that people in the patch group were more likely to have nutritional deficiencies, including vitamins B1, B12, and D.

Do wellness patches actually work?

There is little evidence that vitamin patches can be used to treat deficiencies of specific vitamins and minerals. For example, clinical evidence shows that skin patches deliver suboptimal amounts of iron compared to oral supplements.

What are the benefits of vitamin patches?

Some of the potential benefits of vitamin patches include:

People who have difficulty swallowing pills can simply peel and stick a patch onto their skin and absorb nutrients in this manner.
People with digestive issues that prevent nutrients from being absorbed may do better with vitamin patches compared to oral vitamins.
Transdermal patches are less likely to cause unpleasant side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and upset stomach.
Vitamin patches are non-invasive and easy to use at home. Unlike vitamin shots, they do not require needle pricks or visits to the doctor’s office.

If you decide to use vitamin patches, talk to your healthcare professional first. They can help you find patches that meet your nutritional needs. Keep in mind that the effectiveness of vitamin patches is questionable. A healthy, balanced diet and oral vitamin and mineral supplementation, if needed, is still the best way to optimize your health.

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