May 21, 2005
*Please note: URLs may wrap onto the next line. To visit the website, cut and paste the entire URL into your address bar on your browser*
In this month's issue:
Spring Away from Headaches Contest Wrap
Play it cool
Say what?! Bruxism
HeadWay subscribers - contact the author any time with ideas for topics or feedback! Just visit the HeadWay Mailroom and enter your passoword - nomoache. This is a subscribers-only service.
Spring Away from Headaches Contest Wrap
Before we get on to other topics, let's talk about what everyone wants to hear - who won the Spring Away from Headaches Contest? This contest has been running since the last issue of HeadWay. Contestants had to answer 5 questions based on entries in the Headache and Migraine News Blog. Those who answered correctly were entered in a draw, and the winner is...Congrats, Dee! You'll be contacted by email, and your prizes will be shipped to you next week. Dee has won a copy of the exclusive Relieve-Migraine-Headache.com Headache Diary, as well as a copy of Elaine Magee's brand new book, Tell Me What To Eat If I Have Headaches And Migraines (Nutrition you can live with). Known as the "Dear Abby" of cooking, Magee is a contributer to WebMD, and has written a number of books. This book, focused on migraine and headache, features new tips for grocery shopping, suggestions for how to eat when you're at the restaurant, a survey of current artificial sweeteners, and some delicious recipes.
For a full review of the book, visit the headache cookbooks page.
Play it cool
In the March 2004 issue of HeadWay we discussed one of the best non-drug therapies for headache, heat and cold. Personally, I never had a lot of success with cold packs; they seemed to turn a bad headache into a VERY bad headache, even though the ice felt good at first. But a couple of recent experiences have caused me to take another look at cold therapy.You see, there are many different ways to cool off, and nothing works the same for everybody. Here are some of the solutions you might want to look into.
Drugstores are selling the more simple cold patches, such as the WellPatch Migraine, to fight the heat. These patches are very inexpensive. Then there are eye pillows and various types of cooling pillows. There's a review of two types of eye pillows on the website. A popular pillow you may have seen advertised is the Chillow Cool Comfort Device, which is filled with water and put on your pillow. Many people love them, others find them heavy and awkward.
Getting up on the more expensive side are caps to cool off a greater portion of your head. The Elasto-Gel Cranial Cap covers the head and the neck, very helpful many types of headache. It's available from amazon.com in small/medium and large/x-large sizes. Then there's the very popular Migra-Cap, which claims a very high success rate for migraine - 81%.
But let's go back to the cheaper end of the scale. Here are a couple of quick tips to try out cold therapy for under $5.
1. If you're in a cool climate, go outside. You'd be surprised at what that alone might do for you. A walk in fridge might also work, but don't get locked in!
2. Try a slurpee/slushee/snow cone/etc. With certain headaches, this could provide a great deal of relief. Are you afraid of "brain freeze" when slurping something cold? If you can get one of those straws with a spoon on the end (7-11 has them), put the spoon end in your mouth with the opening toward your tongue. It will help keep away the ice cream headaches.