By Marie Duquette
Beth Barbeau is a healer, and a teacher with 40+ years of midwifery and natural family health experience. Barbeau has recently added a new therapeutic device to her robust set of therapeutic options at Indigo Forest, her online and in-person business designed to help people of all ages achieve optimum health.
The AVACEN, is a non-invasive, drug-free, FDA-cleared device that helps reduce chronic pain. AVACEN uses dry heat therapy to increase oxygenation at micro-circulation levels, resulting in decreased systemic inflammation and pain. It treats the whole body through the palm of the hand.
I visited Barbeau recently to experience an AVACEN treatment myself. The machine itself is small—not much bigger than an eight-slice toaster. Barbeau put a simple hygenic mitt on my hand. The mitt is a custom made HDPE mitt which was biocompatibility tested for cytotoxicity, skin sensitization and irritation. After warming up the machine, which took just a few minutes, she had me place my hand into a round opening up to my wrist, resting my arm on a table. My hand was warm, and the position was comfortable, almost soothing. She set the timer for twenty minutes (the length of a typical treatment). The sound of the machine produced minimal white noise; It was easy to forget about the treatment as we conversed.
When the timer went off, signaling I could remove my hand from the AVACEN, I was surprised. The treatment had been comfortable and easy. Since I hadn’t begun with any pain, I did not immediately notice any difference in how I felt. I asked Barbeau, “Does the AVACEN alleviate pain anywhere in one’s body, even if it is not in your hand?” She explained, “Yes! It is a head-to-toe treatment that uses your hand to improve circulation. Some of the conditions it can help treat include arthritis, plantar fasciitis, and neuropathy. Its claim to fame is that it increases microcirculation and reduces inflammation.” It is also a Class Two Medical Device that the FDA has cleared specifically for the relief of pain.
Since I wasn’t feeling anything noteworthy after my treatment, I asked her to tell me more about how others had found relief from the AVACEN. One story was especially memorable.
She told me about a pregnant client whose baby wasn’t growing well. Barbeau and the mother had been working closely to make sure she was getting the right nutrition. Although the baby had a steady heartbeat and movement could be felt, it had not grown in the last two months of pregnancy. The University of Michigan confirmed Barbeau's suspicion of a IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) diagnosis. If IUGR continues, it commonly ends up being treated by inducing labor, delivering the baby early, and hoping the baby continues to better grow outside the mother. Barbeau said, “I had this machine that improves microcirculation, and in a way, what's a placenta but microcirculation? I was concerned about using any device with pregnancy, but the company assured me that it was FDA-cleared with no contraindications to its use. The mother took the AVACEN to start using it daily at home. Within about 10 days she reported that the baby’s movements were stronger in her belly, and the ladies at church were commenting that she looked bigger too. Five weeks after she started the AVACEN treatments, her 5 lb. 12 oz. baby girl was safely born at home! The baby had gained over a pound and a half in that time, which is pretty much unheard of for those IUGR babies—you just don't ever see that.”
Barbeau is a licensed homebirth midwife who has been helping mothers birth babies at home for over four decades. Last summer Barbeau retired from “catching babies” (as it is called in midwifery) to focus more on teaching and writing, while continuing to consult with pregnant women and expectant families throughout their journeys. “There is a huge generational loss in our culture today,” she said. “Emotional, spiritual, and health care support used to be something we entrusted to grandmas and the women in the neighborhood. Now there is a void because those support systems are not as prevalent as they once were. I feel that as a society we've kind of lost the rhythm of honoring time for integration and recalibration. That is part of what we need to relearn and recreate. We need time to process the transitions in our lives; our families and circles of support need to learn anew what it looks like to do that.”
Before I left, we had discussed a wide variety of healthcare issues, the poetry of Shel Silverstein, the effect of art on the psyche, and the wisdom of Winnie the Pooh. As I was leaving, she said to me, “Let me know how you sleep tonight.”
I not only slept well that night, but for several nights to follow. My sleep came easily, and I woke up naturally eight hours later feeling more rested than I had in months. It felt like I could inhale more deeply. These were subtle, though tangible changes in what I was accustomed to accepting as sleep.
The AVACEN machine is available to rent or for periodic treatments. The first treatment is free.
If you or someone you know has issues with chronic pain, I recommend you give the AVACEN treatment a try. Beth Barbeau is the right compassionate, experienced, healthcare professional to introduce it to you.
For more information go to AVACENmedical.com/BethBarbeau or call (734) 807-9909 to make an appointment.
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