I am back after a long absence. Not getting CHs at the moment but saw this article in the Oregonian newspaper.
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                                Rich

Interesting article. I lived in Coos Bay for six years and was around a lot of Myrtle trees. The odor never had an effect on me. Somewhere around the house there is a large coffee can full of Myrtle nuts that I picked up because my wife wanted them.
   

My Mom gave me the paper yesterday to read.  Any research could be good I guess but the article connects the act of smelling "Oregon Myrtle" with a CH attack.  I was curious if this meant it started someone's cycle or just triggered a headache within their current cycle. 

Several botanical smells have started an attack during my cycles in the past and I avoid like the plague during my cycles since: hedge nettle and catnip.  Eating stinging nettle raw has done it too.  Yes, you can eat stinging nettle raw without getting stung (barehanded picking too).

I figure these smells act in the same ways as alcohol or the trigger foods that we all avoid.  So more research?? sure why not.  I didn't come away from the article thinking I will soon know the great mysteries of the world.

I was also curious about the latin name of the plant.  There are so many myrtles and laurels that look similar to the photo that I am not really sure what plant it is.  Not to bag on the article....jus' sayin'.

OK, just wiki'd it, seems like Oregon Myrtle is a close smelling relative of bay laurel.  I really like the smell of bay laurel and sniff it whenever I see it.  Maybe I am actually smelling the myrtle thinking it is the laurel.  So complex my friends.

--Shaggy

It wasn't a real information filled article, but it caught my attention because it referred to cluster headaches. I spent some time in that area where these trees grow (Southwestern Oregon) many years ago. They don't grow real tall but are dome shaped with branches that spread from near the base and they seem to grow along creeks. The wood is prized by woodworkers for making things like bowls, lamp bases, etc and there are many Myrtlewood shops in the area. Yes, they are related to the bay laurel. There are also lots of stinging nettles in the area.....I was stung by them more than once. I've heard you can relieve the stinging by rubbing the area with Horsetails, a plant that grows along creeks in much of Oregon. Don't know if it is true.
                             Rich

I'll give the horsetail remedy a try the next nettle session I get into.  We usually relieve the nettle sting by rubbing the juice of the nettle on the sting.  That helps but doesn't totally alleviate the sting.  Usually the stings are pretty tame compared to our other encounters like poison oak or hornets etc.

--shaggy