In online discussions about migraine in the unfiltered depths of the internet, the subject of daith piercings as a form of treatment comes up again and again. This unconventional approach, while rooted in the same principles as acupuncture, is a hotly debated route to relief that some migraine patients swear by. The question everyone wants to know is if this treatment method holds any water. In short, the answer is no. But there are few authoritative sources that go into detail to explain why. Here’s everything you need to know about daith piercings, plus some feedback from our Facebook community on the piercing.
A daith piercing is a piercing through the smallest fold of cartilage in your ear, right at the point where the outer ridge that runs along the top of your ear connects to your inner ear, just above the ear canal. Because it’s a small, curvy piece of cartilage, it can sometimes be hard to pierce, and once it’s done, most people don’t change the jewelry often. It can take months to heal and can easily become infected if not pierced or cared for correctly. Still, some people with migraine have reported that their daith piercing resulted in reduced pain during migraine attacks, leading others to seek out the piercings exclusively for their potential to reduce migraine pain. It’s important to note, however, that any reported results are widely believed to be placebo.
Acupuncture is a common treatment for migraine, and some claim there is an acupuncture pressure point on the same spot in the ear that corresponds to the digestive system. This theory first spread on social media and was popularized on Facebook and Pinterest. Dr. Will Foster, an acupuncturist in Knoxville, Tennessee, confirms that this is a pressure point associated with digestive organs in that part of the ear. The belief is that wearing an earring in your daith provides constant compression to that pressure point, which many believe can relieve pain, especially if acupuncture in the same spot has been effective for you in the past. But Foster noted that this theory hinges on a piercer puncturing a very precise pressure point, which is unlikely to be achieved without an acupuncturist’s guidance, and even then, could not guarantee relief.
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According to the leading headache specialists, researchers, and advocates in the United States, the risks of a daith piercing far outweigh the reward. Any “results” from the treatment are believed to be attributable to the placebo effect, meaning they are temporary and psychological rather than physical. In addition, the piercing itself is often painful and carries a high risk of infection. It may even make migraine symptoms worse in the long run. The Cleveland Clinic says there is no evidence to support the claim that daith piercings help relieve migraine. In addition, the American Migraine Foundation firmly believes that seeking piercing from a nonmedical third party is not a solution to migraine pain. Please visit our website to learn about alternative treatment options.
No. While some people with migraine say they have experienced relief from their symptoms after getting a daith piercing, the only evidence that supports this is purely anecdotal, and there is no research that supports that theory. The American Migraine Foundation believes that many results are temporary and may be a product of the placebo effect, so it does not recommend daith piercings as a treatment strategy in light of potential risks like infection and pain. For more discussion about daith piercings and what others who have tried them say, visit the Move Against Migraine Facebook group.
Reviewed for accuracy by the American Migraine Foundation’s subject matter experts, headache specialists and medical advisers with deep knowledge and training in headache medicine. Click here to read about our Editorial Board members.
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The treatment of migraine is evolving to include non-traditional approaches, as pharmacologic therapy alone is unsuccessful in many patients. Daith piercing, a cartilaginous ear piercing, has become popular as a potential nonpharmacological treatment option for migraine. However, there are no systematic data on the utilization and efficacy of these piercings. Therefore, we investigated the perceptions of pediatric patients regarding Daith piercing and gathered initial retrospective data for patients who had already received it. Patients presenting to a pediatric neurology clinic were invited to complete a questionnaire to assess knowledge about and attitudes towards Daith piercing and their willingness to undergo such a treatment. For those with a Daith piercing, the effects on headaches, function, and mood were evaluated. Of the 171 respondents, 61% had prior knowledge of Daith piercings, 27% knew someone with a Daith piercing, and 60% of patients presenting with headache were willing to undergo piercing. Of the eight patients (5% of respondents) who had already undergone piercing, six (75%) reported improvement in headaches, five (62%) had missed fewer days of school or work, and seven (87%) reported mood improvement. The high proportion of pediatric patients willing to undergo this form of treatment speaks to the desire for and acceptance of nonpharmacologic treatments. Although based on a small sample, the data from children who have already undergone Daith piercing is promising and supports a need for further systematic investigation into this treatment approach.
Daith Piercing For Migraines: Does It Work?
Headaches are some of the most common diseases in the world, with the most common types of headache (tension-type headache and migraine) comprising two of the top causes of years lived with disability in the world [1]. In children and adolescents, migraine affects approximately 5% of boys and 7.7% of girls and leads to moderate to severe disability in 28% of those affected [2]. Chronic migraine in particular, defined as having greater than 15 headache days per month (at least eight of which are migraines), occur in 2% of adolescents, and can significantly affect a child’s physical, social, and emotional development [2]. The level of disability in children with migraines has been found to be similar to children with rheumatological diseases or cancer [3].
Preventative pharmacological therapies are used to decrease the frequency and intensity of headaches [4]. However, despite the widespread prevalence of pediatric migraine, there is only one preventive medication (topiramate) which has been aproved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in pediatric patients (ages 12 and over). Off-label use of other medications to treat headaches in children is common [5]. Overall, however, a large percentage of headache patients do not get complete relief with pharmacologic therapies [6]. Further, certain medications such as opioids or butalbital that are sometimes used (against recommendations) to treat pediatric migraine can lead to worsening headaches and disability in the future [7, 8, 9].
The high prevalence of headaches in children and low efficacy of medical therapies for at least a subset of patients may lead some families to seek nonpharmacologic treatments. Data from two national health surveys have shown that 30% of respondents aged 10–17 years with headache reported using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities, compared to 17% in those without headache [4]. Similar interest in CAM modalities has been reported in other studies of youth with chronic pain. In one study using data from the National Health Interview Survey, over 1 in 5 youth
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