For most of us, the blustery, teeth-chattering months of winter are just about over, and we've got to say, we're pretty happy about that. While ice skating from your house to your mailbox can be fun once or twice, it tends to lose its charm after one too many slips and bruises. But even though the sun may finally be shining, you can enter your own winter wonderland any time you like: Just slip on a pair of virtual-reality goggles to step into a land filled with icicles, flurries of snow, and maybe even an errant penguin or polar bear.
For most of us, the blustery, teeth-chattering months of winter are just about over, and we've got to say, we're pretty happy about that. While ice skating from your house to your mailbox can be fun once or twice, it tends to lose its charm after one too many slips and bruises.
But even though the sun may finally be shining, you can enter your own winter wonderland any time you like: Just slip on a pair of virtual-reality goggles to step into a land filled with icicles, flurries of snow, and maybe even an errant penguin or polar bear.
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Okay, so it doesn't sound like the most appealing alternate universe – we wouldn't blame you for choosing a Jamaican beach over an Arctic tundra. But for Loyola University Hospital burn victim patients, the new SnowWorld virtual reality video game can serve as the most effective pain medication around.
While in SnowWorld, burn victim patients can play a variety of games, including snowball wars against a group of snowmen. While their wounds are treated, the game helps them escape from the agonizing sensations they'd otherwise experience.
"The theory is solid. Think of a toothache," Dr. Richard Gamelli, chief of Loyola's Burn Center, said in a statement. "During the day it's less painful because you have more demands on your attention. However, when night comes and things quiet down, your pain can flair up because you have far less to focus on."
"Young people frequently anticipate the pain of therapy and cry and yell even before they're touched," said Melissa Drews, an occupational therapist at Loyola. "Since this system blocks all outside sights and sounds, it takes them completely out of what is to them an anxiety-inducing setting and transports to a fun place with fun things to do."
The ultra-cool game has also proved as a successful alternative to pain medication in physical therapy, dentistry, and urological procedures. Wonder if it might come in handy on a blind date, too?
