Can a piercing relieve migraine pain? And other unhinged migraine hacks from TikTok

Every now and then, a migraine hits, causing intense pressure and pain that just won’t go away. Sometimes, it feels like the pain is throbbing behind my eyes. Other times, it makes me dizzy and sick.

If you’ve never experienced anything like this, count yourself lucky. Those who experience migraines like me would agree that they’d do whatever it takes to stop the pain. 

But what do you do when paracetamol just doesn’t cut it anymore? Well, it seems like many are heading to TikTok in search of ways to cure their migraines. 

Here are some of the wildest migraine hacks TikTokers swear by—from daith piercings to potato forehead patches. But before trying any of them, we recommend checking in with your doctor first.

1. Potato forehead patches

On TikTok, there’s a niche community that swears by applying potato slices on the part of your head that’s hurting the most as a natural headache remedy. For example, if the pressure is most intense around the sides of your head, you should place the slices on your temples. 

Then, the most important part is to go to sleep with the slices still on you. When you wake up, your headache might be gone, or your family might be laughing at you. Either way, maybe it’s worth a try?

2. Get a daith piercing

One of the more extreme suggestions, users have said that getting a daith piercing has helped make their migraines go away permanently. 

For the uninitiated, a daith piercing is one that passes through the innermost cartilage fold in your ear, just above the ear canal. 

Currently, research shows that relief from the piercing probably stems from a temporary placebo effect, so do with that information what you will.

However, in a worst case scenario, one user, who went to get a daith piercing to cure her migraines, said that getting the piercing caused her to have one.

3. Lay on the cold kitchen or toilet floor with the lights turned off

The idea behind laying on the kitchen or toilet floor is to distract yourself from the painful sensation in your head by focusing on other sources of discomfort, like the cold, hard floor.

Perhaps a more sanitary option would be to crank up the AC in your bedroom and sleep on that floor instead.  

4. Give yourself a brainfreeze

Similar to the one before this, the rationale is to give yourself a different sensation to focus on while your migraine (hopefully) goes away. 

Heads-up though, some commenters said that the brain freeze made their migraine worse. 

5. Pulling hair

When you have a migraine, all you want to do is relieve that tension. One of the most popular ways of doing that is by wrapping your hair around your fingers and then pulling it till your scalp “pops”. Pulling your hair supposedly creates another point of discomfort that can hopefully distract you from your migraine pain. 

While this can provide relief for some, wrapping your hair tightly and tugging it too often can lead to hair damage and hair loss. Instead, you can try to grab a small section of hair near your roots and pull delicately for a gentle scalp massage. 

6. Eating salty foods and drinking a large coke

This one kind of makes sense — hear me out. A few users said that eating salty french fries and drinking iced coke instantly cures their migraines. 

Apparently, the salt and fat from the fries and carbonation from the coke (which has to be regular, not diet) is the perfect recipe to soothe nausea and reduce migraine pain.

If your headache is caused by dehydration, eating high sodium foods and replenishing your electrolytes could help, but for others, salty fried foods can be a trigger for even worse pain. 

Perhaps a healthier option would be to sip on some high-sodium broth for comfort. 

7. Wearing a migraine relief cap

This might be one of the few hacks that could actually help relieve your migraine headaches. Migraine relief caps help to constrict blood vessels and reduce inflammation, which can reduce migraine symptoms. 

On top of that, these caps can be put in the freezer to provide a cold sensation that helps numb the area to give you additional relief. 

You can find them on sites like Shopee and Amazon. For those who want an at-home alternative, users have suggested wrapping a child-size belt or finding a tight beanie to achieve the same results.

8. Build an at-home sensory deprivation chamber

Sensory deprivation basically eliminates all potential migraine triggers that might aggravate your pain. 

By getting rid of triggers like bright lights and loud noises, hopefully you’ll be able to drift off to sleep and wake up migraine-free. 

9. Go to the chiropractor

There’s no shortage of satisfying neck-cracking ASMR videos that claim to provide instant migraine or headache pain relief on TikTok. But do they really work?

Some commenters say yes, while others say that spinal manipulation, particularly for the neck, only works at alleviating the pain for a couple days at best. 

10. Quit your job

Perhaps the most extreme of the bunch, a TikTok user shared that they quit their job and their migraines instantly went away. While it was probably work stress that manifested as headaches, other users commented that it could have been a sensitivity to intense fluorescent lights.

Many migraine sufferers have been found to have increased light sensitivity, or photophobia, and exposure to light is linked with more severe migraines. 

Furthermore, fluorescent lights have invisible pulsing, which can be a migraine trigger for some. 

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. The tips presented do not constitute medical advice, and are not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.