Posted by Tracy Gordon on July 17, 1998 at 14:09:22:
In Reply to: Re: Dealing with pain posted by Julie on July 16, 1998 at 09:22:49:
Here's a med-less technique that has been very effective in quickly eliminating the pain of my episodic clusters. It's based on the homeopathic principle, "like cures like." If the affected side of your head feels hot, try soaking a towel in water as hot as you can tolerate and press it against your noggin on that side. If the CH is vasoconstrictive, the heat tends to dilate the vessels back to normal. If that doesn't work in under 15 minutes, try the converse, i.e., a very cold towel since the CH may be vasodilative, in which case the cold tends to constrict the vessels back to normal size. It's hardly high-tech, but sometimes the simplest, most straightforward solutions are the most effective.