Science catches up with 'ouch mouth'
Posted at: 10/23/2012 8:54 AM
By: Joseph Lynch, KOB Eyewitness News 4
Attention impatient hot-food eaters or scalding-beverage drinkers - science might have caught up with "ouch mouth."
It was part of Saturday Night Live's laughs this weekend, but researchers here at the University of New Mexico are serious.
Jason McConville, who helped develop the strip, felt validated by the laughs.
"Honestly I feel I've made the big time now. even though my name wasn't mentioned."
It might seem laughable-- but for the last year, a project involving University of New Mexico pharmacy researchers and University of Texas biomedical engineers has been trying to solve a problem as old as cavemen cooking over fire.
"I actually was very impressed with the Saturday Night Live skit because they hit the nail on the head- I've developed this oral burn strip to treat a burned mouth," said McConville.
The strip is applied directly to the burned area of the tongue, cheek or roof of the mouth. It sticks on the burned area and dissolves for instant pain relief and promotes healing.
McConville says there's plenty of interest.
"I"ve had e-mails from as far away as india wanting to start production straight away. It really depends on on how quickly this can be approved for human use and we have people lined up to manufacture this."
McConville says the strips are at least a couple years away from being available to consumers.
Patience is the key.
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