‘Brain freeze’ breaks migraine cycle
Q. Holy cow! I can’t believe ice cream is a legitimate treatment for headaches.
I just had three migraines right in a row and didn’t know how I was going to take care of my 3-month-old baby all day if the cycle kept going. I ate an ice-cream bar, and my migraine was gone almost instantly. I figured it was coincidental, but I’m glad to see from your website that I’m not nuts!
A. Ever since one reader reported migraine relief from eating chocolate peanut-butter ice cream, we have heard from many others that ice cream can help stop these horrible headaches. It is possible that the “brain freeze” from quickly eating something very cold may interrupt the migraine process.
So far as we know, this has not been studied scientifically. On the other hand, it is inexpensive and low-risk.
Q. I have been on omeprazole for years. It relieved my severe reflux, but unfortunately, it caused my bones to thin. My hip socket cracked, and I needed hip-replacement surgery. I am worried about another fracture.
A. There is growing evidence that long-term use of powerful acid-suppressing drugs may increase a woman’s risk of a fracture by 35 percent to 45 percent. These data from the Nurses’ Health Study were presented at this year’s Digestive Disease Week conference (May 9, 2011).
Getting off such medications can be challenging, however. When people stop drugs like esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec), the rebound reflux can be very uncomfortable.
We discuss the pros and cons of acid-suppressing drugs and ways to stop taking them in our Guide to Digestive Disorders. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (64 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons’ People’s Pharmacy, No. G-3, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.
You will be glad to learn that the risk of fracture drops within two years of stopping such drugs.
Q. I volunteer at a local high school in the theater department. Acne is a constant issue for the kids.
I suggested that the students try the MoM (milk of magnesia) treatment, and it worked! One parent even told me it was a lifesaver for his son. They had spent a small fortune on treatments with a dermatologist. When the father told the dermatologist that MoM worked better than prescribed medications, the physician was not happy.
MoM even cleared up my rosacea.
Thanks for helping so many young adults.
A. Thank you for sharing your success stories. We suspect the physician was unhappy because there isn’t any good research to show how (or even whether) applying milk of magnesia to the skin affects acne-causing bacteria or the body’s reaction to them.
We were able to find one letter published in a medical journal decades ago from a patient reporting success with topically applied MoM (Archives of Dermatology, January 1975).
In addition to acne, readers of this column also have reported success with topical applications of milk of magnesia to control underarm odor. Other topical uses include drying up a poison-ivy rash and easing seborrheic dermatitis.