DEVICE CHILLS MIGRAINE PAIN
67 year old Audrey Rabinowitz loves playing with her grandchildren. But, debilitating migraines have stolen her precious time spent with them.
"You feel so sick, you can't open your eyes, it's just awful. You can't sleep, if you fall asleep you wake up, the pain wakes you up. It's just horrendous, says Audrey."
Searching for relief, Audrey has been to numerous doctors and has been on several different medications. "I have tried everything, I had acupuncture, I did homeopathic medicine, I had botox.
But, thanks to the FDA approved intra-oral vasoconstriction device, Audrey has not had a migraine in months.
"I often noted those tender spots in the back of the mouth and eventually I realized that those people seem to have a headache history," says dentist, Dr. Mark Friedman.
The intra-oral vasoconstriction device, also known as the IVC device, is based on the idea that many headaches are associated with inflammation in the maxillary nerves, which are behind the cheekbones above the upper molar teeth. IVC employs hollow tubes containing circulating ice water that the patient holds against the upper molars.
"The inflammation is caused by excessive blood flow, so this constricts the blood vessels," says Dr. Friedman.
This in turn stops the pain. After about thirty minutes, the inflammation in the back of the mouth is reduced. After a few in-office chilling sessions, patients are given an anti-inflammatory cream they apply daily to the sensitive area.
"Because it's an anti-inflammatory it's reducing blood flow to reduce the swelling and we get the excess tissue fluid which is the swelling to go back into the circulation where it came from," says Dr. Friedman.
Research published by Dr. Friedman in Headache, The American Headache Society Journal, found that the IVC device and cream are just as effective as migraine drugs, without the side effects.
Today Audrey is symptom free and enjoying her grandchildren.
"I feel perfect, I don't even thinking about taking a pill. It's a miracle, it really is a miracle."
Additionally, in a prior study, when used for severe migraine and tension headaches, even in pregnant women, the IVC device allowed relief and dismissal of 80% of patients in less than an hour.
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