Posted by Vince S. on June 06, 1999 at 18:05:14:
In Reply to: A different water treatment posted by Phil D. on June 06, 1999 at 12:24:59:
Phil,
I’ve tried the “cold shower” treatment before, sometimes with success. Usually, I have to be on
the verge of giving up on anything else by the time I’ll resort to that. I think the shock to the
system is what aborts the headache. I get the same effect by soaking a washcloth in a bucket of
ice and water, then alternating applications of the cloth between my face, forehead, and neck.
When the ice-cold washcloth is positioned right across the back of my neck and I apply pressure,
I can normally make the headache go away rather quickly. However, there are those “special”
headaches that seem to get worse with each method of relief I try. Last night I was having one of
those, and decided to try my Maxalt prescription for the first time. Well, I felt the drug hit my
head just moments after it dissolved on my tongue - but that was about all it did. The pain didn’t
decrease one bit. Eventually, the cold rag did the trick, or I would have been in the cold shower
shivering and shaking, hoping the monster would just go away for the night. Incidentally, I’ve
aborted a cluster attack by jumping into a swimming pool before, so there is sound validity to
your cold water method. --Vince