Aside from medication, I've only found three things that help me feel better when I have a headache or migraine:
- Hot black tea
- Sleep (but sometimes this makes it worse)
- Ice
I've tried a few different types of ice packs, but my go-to one was the kind made up of what looks like clear ketchup packets filled with liquid; I used to use this in my lunchbox for school many, many years ago. It worked pretty well, but then some of the packets leaked so the ice pack had a few gaps. I wanted something with full coverage, so I decided to purchase
FrozenPeaz. Clever name, right?
You'll see on their
products page that the Face & Eye Wrap is for migraine headaches, among other things. Well, eye wraps don't do much for me, and plus since I have two contract jobs working from home, I need to be able to work at the computer which requires seeing! So I purchased the Large Single Wrap, which was $35. Since I
follow them on Twitter I found out about a discount that was going on at the time, so that pretty much covered shipping.
First, some pics I took:
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| Large Single Wrap with PeazPod cover and straps |
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| How it looks when it's not frozen |
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| Back |
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| Close-up of glass "peas" (I'm so proud of my camera) |
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| Frozen |
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Size compared to my big head
Note: Don't use without cover (see below) |
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| Strapped on...sexy, right? |
Summary: This is a high quality ice pack - I also used it once as a heat pack just to test it out (works great). But it's not good for all headache and migraine sufferers. I think I'm going to keep looking for something else, but this works in the meantime.
Positives:
- Non-toxic
- Good quality - I can see this lasting for years
- Stays cold at least 30 minutes as long as you keep it in the cover. I was worried that the cover would prevent it from being as cold as I wanted, but that was not the case. Once it starts to warm up, I take it out of the cover and continue using it.
- Flexible, even when it's completely frozen
Negatives:
- Heavy. The glass peas make it pretty heavy for something to put on your head when you're in pain. My migraines already make my head feel too heavy, and when I use this, the weight actually makes me dizzy. I'd prefer dizziness over pain though. *EDIT: FrozenPeaz has acknowledged that the Large PeazPak was heavy, and they have addressed the issue! The new packs are at least 75 grams or 2.65 oz lighter in weight. These lighter weight packs will replace the current packs and should be available later this summer.*
- The rubber tabs/logo on the cover (where the velcro closure is located) and on the straps smell strong (to me), even after washing the cover in the washing machine. I can't handle any smells when I have a migraine, but it's too cold to use right out of the freezer without the cover, so I've been putting the tabs at the back of my head so at least they're not right above my nose (it doesn't help much). If you're sensitive to smells, this will probably bother you. I may end up cutting off the tabs and sewing on my own type of closure.
- While the strap did an excellent job hiding my double chin, it's not comfortable at all. I realize that this particular ice pack isn't meant to be worn on the head, but I was hoping it would work so I wouldn't have to balance it on my head. But it's actually pretty easy to balance because of the weight and flexibility - it somewhat molds to your head.
If the negatives don't bother you or you want to try the eye wrap or one of their other products, FrozenPeaz gave me a special promotional code for my readers. Please use the code MIGRAINE (caps or lowercase) at checkout to receive a 15% discount. This code is good through the end of June.
Disclosure: I purchased this product with my own money. However, if two or more readers use my promotional code to make a purchase, FrozenPeaz will refund my original purchase price. I'm not including this to pressure anyone to buy it, I'm including it to be honest and abide by disclosure laws. My review is 100% unbiased.
