Questionable Headache Treatment

When it comes to treating headaches, most people would do anything just to get the pain to go away. While most opt for analgesic pills such as ibuprofen or aspirin to alleviate their pain, there has been a new headache cure trumpeted on television stations throughout the world. But all may not be as it seems; the cure is under some suspicion when it comes to its efficiency.
Known as “Head On”, this headache treatment is applied directly to the forehead in order to help ease the pain. The Better Business Bureau is skeptical about the efficiency of this product, however, since they were unable to provide any significant testing results to show that their headache treatment does anything at all. Since that fact was brought up to the company that created Head On, they’ve since removed the part of the commercial that says that the product works. And the Better Business Bureau is not alone in their assessment. Dr. Dara Jamieson appeared on “The Early Show” to speak about the product. She is definitely someone with some experience in the field of headache medication; as a matter of fact, she is the director of the Headache Center in the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She stated that while the ingredients that are found in the treatment may be effective for treating headaches, the amount of the active ingredients found in the Head On treatment is far too little to provide any type of relief. Even though these two reputable sources have stated that there are gaping holes in the pitch that’s being made by the Head On creators, some consumers readily spout off about how well the product works for them. Jamieson feels that this response is common, as many headache medications are subject to a ‘placebo’ feeling in which the patient feels like something is helping to ease the headache pain, but it’s really all in their head.
The gateway theory of psychology may offer some sort of explanation as to why those who try the product feel that it helps them out. The gateway theory states that the body can only be subject to a certain amount of touch-stimuli before it has to discard some of the sensations. That is why after you hit your shin on something, you may rub your shin. This helps due to the fact that the rubbing sensation overloads your senses into partially forgetting about the pain that it is experiencing. When Heads On is applied, many consumers report that there is a cool, tingly feeling present in the place where they rubbed on the treatment. This feeling may distract them from the pain that they are experiencing due to the headache, but it in no way means that the treatment is working to alleviate the headache.
To that end, consumers are advised to take normal analgesics under consideration to ease the pain of their headaches. If the situation merits further medication, you should speak to a doctor to work towards finding a proper solution. Heads On seems to be just another snake-oil cure that is sold through effective marketing with no true real-world application.

Source: Migraine Information.org

http://www.migraineinformation.org/migraine-treatment/headache-treatment.htm

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