This week, Winter 2018, FIRST Voices in the Community welcomes Mom and Dad, entrepreneurs, and FIRST members Paul & Heather Lynn.
Paul is a passionate researcher, dedicated father, and loving husband. Heather is a loving mother, empathetic caregiver with a background in nursing education, they have a story to share about how they discovered the best and most cost-effective solution for their daughter’s Harlequin Ichthyosis. Subsequently, they developed a new medical-use device, in concert with the manufacturer, specifically designed and specified for Ichthyosis. Together, they created a company and public entity to share the device with the Ichthyosis community known as The WhiteWater Company.
In the words of her parents, “Our daughter Clarity was born with a rare genetic condition known as Harlequin Ichthyosis, which many of you know there currently is no cure or therapy for even the symptoms. Like many others with Ichthyosis Clarity has no normal skin function from head to toe and can create 20x-30x the usual amount of skin daily. Additionally, she cannot sweat and was born with bi-lateral hearing loss. The skin that she does create also has no fats, elastin or collagen.
As we began to explore treatments we discovered that current options such as over the counter skin creams and ointments, Retinoids, or bathing additives, offered very little benefit for Clarity’s condition. Most made the situation worse, we even absconded from bathing for the first 10 mos. Then, through perseverance and determination to find something that works, we discovered a suitable treatment that made a real difference –tiny nanobubbles and oxygen. My daughter’s skin never looked healthier, and we felt strongly about sharing this discovery with other families and individuals affected with ichthyosis. In fact, with a bit of research, countless hours for product development, specifications for filtration, and more than a few sleepless nights, in early 2016, we brought to market, a new product, with a new application, and a new company; the Portable Nanobubble system by the Whitewater Company.”
So, what are nanobubbles? Nanobubbles are tiny bubbles smaller than one millimeter in diameter (20NM). The unique ability of nanobubbles to respond to ultrasound makes them useful agents for contrast ultrasound imaging, molecular imaging, and targeted drug and gene delivery. The general composition of a nanobubble is a gas core stabilized by a shell. With regards to nanobubbles used in bathing, air is compressed and integrated directly into the water, using the Whitewater Company’s, patent pending, Nanobubbler. With ambient atmospheric air as the source, no additives are required. The true “nano” bubbles allow for better gas infusion, water mixture homogenization, and increased contact time to the treated surface area. The tiny size, of these bubbles, allows them to enter crevices that are unreachable by traditional methods of hydrotherapy. Anyone interested in learning more can visit our website at: www.thewhitewatercompany.com.
– FIRST member, Paul & Heather Lynn
