Quarter of an hour's oxygen therapy 'can ease cluster headache pain'
Those who suffer with cluster headaches could find pain relief with oxygen-enriched air, Australian researchers suggest.
According to a review by Michael Bennett, of Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, both hyperbaric and normobaric oxygen therapy could benefit patients.
The study, published in the Cochrane Library, found that cluster headache sufferers experienced significant relief from the pain after 15 minutes of breathing oxygen-enriched air compared to sham therapy.
Mr Bennett and the research team concluded that hyperbaric treatment can benefit those who suffer with migraine headaches, while pure oxygen is successful for patients with cluster headaches.
They added that the poor availability of hyperbaric chambers meant that the treatment is not a solution for many, although they may wish to consider investing in home oxygen equipment instead.
According to a study at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than three quarters of cluster headache patients said they were pain-free within 15 minutes, compared to 20 per cent of those who only received air.
Posted by Stewart Elliott
22/01/2010 15:31:13
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