Lifestyle| My Daith Piercing Experience

I’ve suffered from migraines for the majority of my life, so I’m not a stranger to pulsing lights and searing pain and pressure in my head. It appears to be something that I’ve sadly inherited from my mum, who gets them much worse than I do.

Being piercing mad as I am anyway, you can imagine my intrigue at the rumours that a simple ear piercing could eradicate (or at least lessen the pain) of something that has plagued my life and stopped me from being able to function on a regular basis.

I decided to jump right in and get myself the piercing last Friday – and it’s called the Daith.

How Does It Work?

So how is it that a single ear piercing can help people who suffer with this condition? I didn’t need an excuse to get another piercing, but I thought I’d still do some research beforehand,

According to the Migraine Trust, there is no cure for migraines… and they are totally right. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from researching is that the Daith piercing doesn’t work for everyone. Some still have migraine attacks whereas others still suffer from pain without the other symptoms.

However, there have been thousands of people singing the praises of this piercing. This Huffington Post article has a more general overview of the piercing and the reviews that it has received.

Ultimately, the theory is that the piercing works much like acupuncture, using pressure points to relieve pressure in the head. The placement of the piercing is the innermost fold of cartilage, just above the earhole.

The Procedure

As someone who has had various piercings done over the years, having the piercing procedure didn’t really get me nervous – if anything, I was excited to finally try and rid myself of suffering.

I had a small headache on the Friday as it was, so I thought it would be the perfect chance to see whether it worked. I had to fill in the usual forms, stating my name and that I understood what the procedure entailed, as well as acknowledging that the piercing may bleed.

The piercer was fantastic and asked me what I wanted to be pierced with; a barbell, a horseshoe or a ring. Now, from previous research when getting my nose done, I found out that hoops can help healing as they don’t restrict swelling. The only downside that I could see is that they spin round, potentially hindering the healing if you continually move them.

I initially chose a ring, but was told my ear might be slightly too small, so opted for the horseshoe instead.

She cleaned my ear and placed the clamp on the area. With a sterilised needle, she quickly pushed through the cartilage and it was done. I wouldn’t say that it was painful – more just a pressure and a little discomfort. It was over within literally 5 seconds.

Now, I’m a bleeder. I always bleed when I’m pierced and if I get a cut, it takes a while to stop. I did bleed quite a bit afterwards, but none more than I expected. I was told the aftercare I needed to undertake and I was allowed to leave!

The Road So Far

I’ve had the piercing for four days now and I can honestly say it’s the best piercing I’ve had so far. I’m cleaning with non-iodised sea salt and water every day, cleaning all the inevitable dirt off it and keeping it happy.

I can sleep on it fine, but try to fall asleep on the opposite side to reduce the amount of time that I’m resting on it to avoid irritating it. It’s a little tender to touch when cleaning,

The most important thing is that I’ve not had a painful headache so far. The headache didn’t completely go on Friday, but it did alleviate some pressure. I had another headache on Sunday, and while there was no actual pain, I could still feel a slight pressure in my head.

So, so far, it’s been a pretty good experience. It has a healing time of 12 weeks, but this can take longer. I will update again in a few weeks or months to let you know how I’m getting on! I will say this – it’s worth a shot to not have to rely on medication on a regular basis to be a functioning human being!