Does The Daith Piercing Work For Migraines or Headaches?

August 22, 2016February 7, 2023 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Our blog on daith piercings for headaches and migraines has been by far our most popular blog. So many people have asked us about the piercing or shared their story in the comments section of the blog. In fact, we’d go out on a limb and say that the comments section on the original blog is one of the best places on the internet for honest reviews about the success of the piercing.

Instead of forcing you to sift through all the comments, we thought we’d share some personal stories in a blog so it’s easier to learn what people have to say. We did something similar to this in a blog a few months ago, but we’ve received so many new comments that we wanted to do it again. So without further adieu, here’s what people are saying about the daith piercing.

Stories About Daith Piercings

My 23-year-old daughter had her right daith done and I had my left done two weeks apart this summer. Neither of us has had a significant migraine since. She’s had virtually none and I’ve just had a couple of smallish headaches and felt some pressure. I’m a 10-15 a month migraine person and she’s on a daily preventative and used to get 6-7. I hope this stays helping. It was so totally worth it. ~N.C.

I have had my daith and tragus pierced foe just over 10 years now…and was always super skeptical when I would read articles like this and how the daith piercings helped with migraines…..however….last week I had to take my earrings out to play indoor netball (I forgot to cover them up at home)….. I couldn’t get the earrings back in at the end of the game so I decided that I would leave them out permanently (being a good role model to my babies)… In the week that I had them out I had horrendous migraines and over ten spasmodic and intense nose bleeds…. I decided to put the earrings back in because I missed having them in my ear…and to be quite honest…this week I’ve had no severe migraines and zero nosebleeds…could just be a coincidence..but might not be … ~ J.R.

I had it done on February 13th and it is the best thing I ever did. Have only taken my Maxalt 4 times and today is July 16th it has truly made a difference in my life with my migraines and headaches in general ~ H.S.

I just recently received my Daith Piercing and was able to wake up migraine free after more than 10 years of crippling migraine pain. Not only do I have multiple sclerosis but I also suffer from a large chairi malformation. I have tried every intervention and medication out there to receive little to none relief from my migraines. Since getting my piercing, I have actually had the blessing of waking up migraine free (something I truly couldn’t remember the last time it had happened). Not to mention, the piercing was next to nothing in cost when compared to other treatments I have tried so this was worth the try for me. I would recommend the piercing for anyone who suffers enough migraines that interrupt their lives for days at a time. The piercing itself was about 10 seconds of pain and nothing compared to a 5-6 day migraine. ~ V.E.

I live in MN. I went to a place today called The Holy Mackerel to get my daith pierced. I highly recommend it. I actually was getting a headache prior to my piercing and within hours it went away. I’m praying that’s a sign that it is going to work. The piercing itself doesn’t hurt that much and Verno at the Holy Mackerel is great ~ H.M.

Have had mine 4 months and no migraine. A few dull headaches but no migranes! ~ T.L.

Chronic Pain and Depression

August 17, 2016 / Thomas Cohn, MD

The majority of people will deal with chronic or nagging pain at some point in their life, and new estimates suggest that 1 in 10 adults will be diagnosed with chronic pain every year. Even though these numbers are really high, as a society, we’re not doing a very good job of solving the problem of chronic pain.

Even when chronic pain is managed and controlled, it can lead to other issues. When you’re constantly dealing with physical pain, it can be mentally and emotionally exhausting, and the same can be said in the inverse. If you aren’t in the right mindset, it can be difficult to stay active and really work towards preventing chronic pain.

Recently, a new study decided to take a closer look at the connection between chronic pain and mental health – more specifically, depression and chronic pain. For their study, researchers out of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom examined physical and mental health assessments of more than 100,000 individuals.

Depression and Pain

After looking at the findings, researchers uncovered:

People who have partners with depression were more likely to experience chronic pain.

A person whose spouse was depressed had an 18.7 percent increased risk of suffering from chronic pain.

Also of note, having a parent with chronic pain increased a person’s likelihood of developing chronic pain by 38.4 percent.

“We hope our research will encourage people to think about the relationship between chronic pain and depression and whether physical and mental illnesses are as separate as some believe,” researchers wrote.

At the end of the day, this research shines a little more light on another potential avenue for chronic pain management. Sometimes we need to go beyond the root source of the pain and look at environmental and other contributing factors. If we can improve our mental health and the mental mindset of those around us, we might be able to reduce the number of people who have to battle chronic pain on a daily basis.

Minnesota Expands Medical Cannabis To Chronic Pain Sufferers

August 4, 2016 / Thomas Cohn, MD

This past Monday, Minnesota expanded its medical cannabis program to include individuals who are suffering from severe, chronic and intractable pain. Opening the doors to these patients could bring relief to thousands of people whose pain has not been quelled by traditional treatment techniques.

Before the program opened up to intractable pain, the Office of Medical Cannabis announced that they had 1,827 active patients receiving medical marijuana. Although the numbers haven’t been released yet, likely because it will take some time to sift through all the applications and medical material, state planners project that the number of participants may jump to 5,000 or more.

Proponents hope that the influx of patients will ensure those in pain will get the treatment they need, while current members hope their presence will help lower what some feel are extremely high prices.

Minnesota is one of 25 states that have legalized medicinal marijuana, and the vast majority of those states list chronic pain as a qualifying condition. Studies have also shown that overdoses have fallen in those states with medicinal marijuana, and doctors in those states are writing fewer prescriptions for potentially dangerous opioids.

Hopefully those who truly need relief will be approved and find help through the state’s medical marijuana program. I hope the state reinvests some of the profits into future studies to ensure we are doing everything in our power to keep our patients safe, and so we can better understand how cannabis and pain are related.

For more information about the program, including a list of eligible conditions or how to apply, click here.

Women and Elderly With Pain At Elevated Risk For Opioid Abuse

July 25, 2016 / Thomas Cohn, MD

A nationwide survey of alcohol and substance abuse uncovered that chronic pain oftentimes plays a big role in why individuals begin to abuse opioids. The study revealed that individuals with chronic pain are 41 percent more likely to develop prescription opioid use disorders or to become addicted to opioids, according to the new report.

For their study, researchers looked at reported opioid use disorders and demographic factors, including age, gender, family history and other behavioral factors in more than 34,000 adults. The data was collected in two segments over a three-year period.

“These findings indicate that adults who report moderate or more severe pain are at increased risk of becoming addicted to prescription opioids,” explained Mark Olfson, Professor, Columbia University Medical Center in the US. “In evaluating patients with pain, physicians should also be attentive to addiction risk factors such as age, sex and personal or family history of drug abuse.”

Who’s At Risk?

After examining the results, researchers uncovered:

While men or younger adults remain the ones at higher risk for these disorders, women and older adults who became addicted to opioids are observably the ones who also reported chronic pain.

Participants who reported chronic pain with prescription opioid use disorders were also those concurrently suffering from mood and anxiety disorders.

Researchers concluded by saying that the results show physicians need to be more aware of the opioids they’re prescribing and to whom they are prescribing them to. They believe enhanced monitoring of some patients at greater risk for abuse can help prevent people from abusing opioids.

Prescription pain pills can certainly help provide relief for patients with chronic pain, but they should never be viewed as a solution. Exercises, physical therapy and even some surgeries can help provide temporary and permanent relief. Instead of managing pain, we need to keep treating it and solving the problems.

Short Takes on Electricity For Chronic Pain

July 18, 2016 / Thomas Cohn, MD

Electricity is used in many areas of medicine. Most of the time it is used to power medical equipment, but a newer trend is to use electrical currents to treat pain. From old techniques to new ones, electricity is being used more and more as an alternative to treat many pain conditions. Below is a look at how electricity is being used.

TENs

A TENs unit is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. This technique uses a small battery powered pack to transmit an electrical signal between skin patches. Usually two or four patches are used and a variety of electrical signals can be programmed. The patches are placed around the painful area, often the neck, shoulders, or low back and the signals are used to block the transmission of pain sensation. Pain related to tight muscles and sometimes spine pain can be effectively managed with TENs unit. Computer chips and miniaturization has allowed a small battery pack to deliver a wide variety of electrical signals superficially to block pain.

Cefaly

This is a trade name device for cutaneous electrical nerve stimulation of the head for migraines. It is a headband type device that is battery powered and available by prescription only. It has been approved by the FDA. The device is supposed to generate a small current that will stimulate the trigeminal nerve peripherally. The unit runs for 20 minutes and stops automatically. Trials over in Europe indicated that the frequency and intensity of migraines were reduced by using this device.

Alpha-Stim Aid

This is another prescription cranial electrical stimulation device. This device has electrodes that attach to the earlobes and it passes a low level current between them. Apparently studies have shown the device to help decrease pain, improve moods and sleep quality. The device is used at night and the low level currents affect the brain’s normal electrical signals, and according to the manufacturer, studies have shown reduction in pain, anxiety and improved sleep after only five treatments.

Spring TMS

This is a transcutaneous magnetic stimulator used by prescription to treat migraine headaches. At the onset of a migraine headache, the magnet stimulator is placed on the back of the head, at the top of the neck. When turned on the unit delivers short magnet pulses to the back of the head, to the occiput region of the cortex. Within 2 hours, this affects the electrical activity in the brain and in about 38% of those treated, the migraine is gone.