Oxygen Therapy for Cluster Headaches and Migraines?
A recent study in The Cohrane Library published in the Land of Oz (Australia, of course) concludes that oxygen therapy may significantly help those suffering from cluster headaches or migraines. 210 human guinea pigs volunteered to participate in nine small studies around Oz in order to compare treatments. Cluster headeadche patients, in partuicular, did much better than placebos after 15 minutes of breathing in an oxygen chamber.
Normobaric and Hyperbaric Therapy
There are two kinds of oxygen therapies. Sadly, just breathing in and out like usual doesn’t count. Anyway, normobaric oxygen therapy refers to breathing pure oxygen from an oxygen tank. Buy hyperbaric oxygen therapy (the one considered so promising) involves going in a chamber and breathing pure oxygen. Why the chamber? The chamber is put under pressure.
No, I have no idea what this means, either.
Which Leads Us To The Problem
Finding an oxygen chamber is just about as hard as trying to comprehend oxygen therapy. Critics of the Oz study point out that the migraine or cluster headache might even be over before the patient can begin snorting the pure oxygen. Also, oxygen tanks are highly flammable (not that this hasn’t stopped us from driving cars). However, this could be a first step in finding a far more practical solution.
Meanwhile, keep on taking your usual medicine.
July 26th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
[...] of the most promising treatments is called oxygen therapy, which Anthony refers to [...]
August 1st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
[...] headache. This only makes sense, as there is growing proof that breathig pure oxygen (called oxygen therapy) can help abort this excrutiating [...]
September 16th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
[...] known treatments for cluster headache are injections of sumatriptan you have to give yourself and oxygen therapy, which insurnace companies won’t cover in America and requires running to a hospital with an [...]