Daith Piercing for Migraines – One Year In

For years, I had frequent headaches. I thought they were just sinus headaches but after speaking with a specialist, I realized they were actually migraines. In August of 2019, I suffered the worst migraine I’d ever had. It lasted 18 hrs. I could not eat – everything came back up. I could not sleep. I took Tylenol with Codeine and could not get relief. Any sliver of light was like a sledgehammer to the head. I actually couldn’t talk because it hurt so badly. My husband was at work, so I resorted to texting my children and asking for things like popsicles and water. The next day I called my doctor and she said I should be seen. Apparently, I probably should’ve gone to the ER with that bad of a migraine but there was no way I was moving.

My migraines were increasing in both frequency and pain. My doctor ordered an MRI to be done. I am SUPER claustrophobic but that’s a post for another time. I survived my MRI. I didn’t have any tumors, but they located areas of white matter areas common to individuals who suffer migraines. Basically, the MRI told us that I was suffering from migraines. So glad I paid money for a test to tell me what I already knew…

The docs had me try a couple different meds. I changed my diet. I was going to a chiropractor and even had some massage therapy sessions. I was still not finding significant relief. You have to realize I was having approximately 2 migraines a week and daily headaches. I was near tears every day. It was like living in a brain fog. I started doing some research on my own and came across mention of a daith piercing for migraine relief. I did more research and a crap-ton of praying (Is it okay to use crap-ton as a measurement for praying???) and it all kept leading me back to a daith piercing.

On January 15, 2020, I went and saw a piercer, one who was highly reviewed specifically for daith piercings. She was amazing. She talked me through the knowledge she had (20+ years piercing experience). As luck would have it, when I showed up I was having my daily headache but she was thrilled because that allowed her to explore the pressure points in my ear to see what would give me some relief. Normally, you’re supposed to choose the side that you experience the most migraine pain. Unfortunately for me, I suffered equally on both sides. Once the right point was identified, she pierced my left daith.

I paid her, got my care instructions, and headed to my car. I got inside my car, locked my door, and started to cry. My headache was gone. It was the first time in months I was actually pain free.

I’ve kept a headache journal. In the last year, I have had about 4 migraines on the left side (even with the piercing). However, they have not reached the intensity I was experiencing before the piercing. I still get anywhere between 1-4 mild migraines a month but almost exclusively on my right side. Since getting my left daith pierced, I’ve only had 2 migraines that were REALLY bad. As I said above, I was having daily headaches and weekly migraines (usually 2-3). This is AMAZING progress. I’ve continued to research and found a great article from Medical News Today (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/tragus-piercings-for-migraine#effect-on-migraines). It discussed how tragus and daith piercings working together could help relieve and prevent future headaches and migraines. Within the first month of having both ears with a tragus piercing, I’ve noticed a further decrease in pain. I now plan to pierce my right daith to see if I can decrease the migraines/headaches on the right side of my head.

Here’s how my first year went (some pictures are kinda gross, sorry):

1/17/2020 – Day of piercing. You can see some swelling and purple ink from the marker used to mark “the spot”

4/4/2020 – I did great until about April. I had noticed some swelling about a week prior, and it progressively got worse. I know this one is gross, sorry.

4/15/2020 – I had developed a keloid or blood blister. My piercer suggested Apple Cider vinegar as a treatment. No pain.

5/13/2020 – ACV didn’t help so I used Liquid Colloidal Silver. That helped TREMENDOUSLY.

6/6/2020 – The swelling was gone and just a bit of a bump left. No pain.

8/15/2020 – It’s always been common for my ears to turn red for random reasons. Still getting goopy leakage from time to time. No infection. Just irritation.

9/29/2020 – It turns out the hoop I had in was not surgical steel and was causing irritation. My original piercer went out of business (thanks a lot, COVID) but I found another great one who replaced my jewelry with a surgical steel bar.

12/12/2020 – I added a tragus piercing. We have a nerve called the vagus nerve that runs in through the daith and tragus parts of the ear. The piercings work together to relieve and prevent migraines.

2/8/2021 – Doing better every day!

My migraines were the extreme case. Do daith piercings work? I can answer with confidence that they do. Do they completely eliminate migraine pain? From my experience with just my left daith pierced, I’d have to say no. However, my pain has decreased substantially and I believe it has helped to prevent migraines. I’ve been asked if getting your daith pierced hurts. Well, yes. It really depends on your pain tolerance, but I did not think it was too terrible. Remember, I was having daily headaches and even went to my piercer with one. The almost immediate relief outweighed the pain. It will be interesting to see what my experience is when I get my right daith pierced.

In short, if you are suffering and can’t find relief, give this a try. If you have any questions, feel free to comment down below or shoot me a message. Good luck!