Applying Heat to Soothe a CH Attack

One sufferer of episodic CH says: For 11 years I had no medications to prevent or abort CH pain. My only means of soothing this agony was the application of heat.

While some prefer a treatment with ice or cold air, I cannot even tolerate thinking of something cold. If my hair is wet and a breeze blows through it, I am likely to get an immediate attack if in cycle. Out of cycle, (and long before I had CH) any contact with something cold might produce rather severe pain over my entire head - concentrating around the ears.

If you have ever had an "ice cream headache" where excruciating pain shoots through your forehead for a minute or two, you know a little about the pain of CH.

While the former is short-lived, the CH attack can last for 30-45 minutes in my case (much longer in others). If eating something cold can produce extreme head pain, it seemed logical to me to counteract that type of pain with heat. It is difficult to hold hot coffee (or other liquid) against the back of the roof of the mouth - but this will sometimes soothe the pain, especially if I begin my treatment early in the attack.

I have a strange, very small swelling on the upper gumline on the affected side (always on the right on my case) before an attack starts. I can press this flat - it is not sensitive. It often helps to hold a hot liquid in my mouth where the small swelling exists. In fact, heat is usually so beneficial that it has become my first line of defense when an attack starts. Less effective, but sometimes more practical (in public, for example), is holding the hot cup against my cheek.

Most effective is the application of hot air from my hair dryer. If the back of my neck and head are too sensitive to be touched even by a strong current of air, I direct the hot air over and around my entire head. At the same time I hold the hot liquid along the upper gumline. Sometimes I can sit and carry out these procedures - sometimes I must "dance."

It also helps me to breathe steam from a cup or pan of hot liquid, to run hot water over my wrists, and to stand under a hot shower (but only if the room temperature is also warm).

Even in the summer I seek a source of heat to abort a CH attack. I have used the car heater in July when necessary. I might be smothering from the high temperature of the air outside, but this discomfort seems minor compared to the pain of the CH attack. I turn the heat on high and direct the flow of air toward my right ear.

Sometimes, when I am applying the hot air I wrap my arm tightly around my head and squeeze. At first, the pain is made worse, but gradually this pressure seems to ease the CH pain which seems to be deep inside my head. Usually I get relief within 20-30 minutes.

Perhaps all these measures are merely distractions and soothe very little, but they are my "security blanket" for surviving an attack. I do know that without the application of heat the pain will last a much longer time.

I have never tried oxygen and have had only 5 Imitrex injections over the years. (The Imitrex works within 5-10 minutes to stop the pain, but it is not always available.) The application of heat causes no adverse side effects for me (if I am careful not to burn myself), and it is free, so it will probably remain my first line of attack whenever I must engage in a battle with the "demon."

Last modified: 2001