If you follow blogs or subscribe to any online news sources that are likely to deliver content that may be related to body art, you’ve likely seen Daith piercings in the last few years. Daith is pronounced “doth.” A story reappears online every once in a while alleging this piercing is a cure for migraine pain. The basic idea is that this particular part of the ear is a pressure point acupuncturists use for clients with migraines. You can read the Snopes report here. Please note that the original article claiming this piercing was a remedy for headache relief has been removed from the website where it first appeared.
There are tons of online journalists who have written about this topic, and they tend to over-simplify acupuncture and provide poor information about body piercing. This is because these authors don’t truly understand either field. Acupuncture sees a person’s ailments as a result of imbalances to the body’s many chemical systems, and then treats these specific systems.
Ten people may have migraine headaches for ten different reasons and need ten different treatment types. To say that a single point on the body is for a single purpose isn’t exactly how it works. Especially since acupuncturists will use several points during a treatment. Also, if we accepted that this one piercing had an effect on the body, what about other piercings? Would they not have an effect on the body as well?
What about the risk of negative effects? New Flower Studio piercer John Johnson has been an acupuncture patient since 1994 and has discussed the relationship between these treatments and body piercing many times with professional acupuncturists and has always been assured there is no application of piercing in any way related to acupuncture.
To start a diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncturists do a series of observations to discover imbalances, like pulse, tongue features, and emotional states, and develop a strategy of needle placement across the whole body, head to toe, and prescribe herbs to help achieve desired effects. Body piercers only care about the site of the piercing and the specific anatomical features that may contribute to the success or failure of a piercing over a long period of time.
A Daith piercing isn’t placed by a piercer who has training in acupuncture, that’s not what we do. A piercer would need to know which side of the body to pierce, the very precise placement necessary, angles, and depths. These are things acupuncturists do. Piercers care about aesthetics and long term wear of jewelry based on the contour of the ear. These are two very different practices. At the very least, consider that acupuncturists are licensed to practice their craft. Ask your potential piercer where they received their acupuncture training.
The reason we’re talking about this is because of the increase in requests for Daith piercings at New Flower body piercing in Long Beach. We’re very happy to pierce you. But, we have to be clear, there is no evidence at all to support any claims of pain relief. A client who loves piercings and thinks this is a fun one with great jewelry options will be happy. But if you’re looking for something more please be cautious, Until there’s a body of scientific evidence supporting the claim that Daith piercings can offer migraine relief, no studio, piercer, blogger, or anyone else should be reporting otherwise.
We do wish you well, but if you’re looking for non-medical pain relief we suggest visiting a qualified acupuncturist. If you’re looking for a great piercing please visit a qualified piercer. New Flower can assume no responsibility for helping people with their headaches. If you enjoy reading content like this about body piercing, please subscribe to our monthly email below.
