The Effect of Inhaling Green Apple Fragrance to Reduce Migraine  

Objective:

Certain studies document the fact that specific odors aggravate migraine. In a study by researchers Blau and Solomon, 50 migraine patients were interviewed. Many of them reported that specific smells triggered their migraines. Dr. Hirsch and Dr. Chil Kang theorized that the opposite could also be true. Perhaps certain odors could reduce migraine symptoms. They chose to investigate green apple, since previous studies had revealed its ability to reduce anxiety.

Methods:

1) 50 chronic headache patients, 33 women and 17 men ranging in age from 18 to 67 years, volunteered for this Institutional Review Board-approved study. Their headaches, based on the subjects’ histories, were classified according to the Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society.

2) Dr. Hirsch and Dr. Kang used Amoore’s Olfactory Threshold Test to determine the minimal concentration of a standard odorant that volunteers were able to detect.

3) A pen-like device, its tip impregnated with an odorant that smells like green apples, was provided to each volunteer to be used as an inhaler.

4) Following administration of the test, each volunteer was asked to complete a survey sheet at home during three consecutive migraine attacks.

5) At the first attack, the volunteers rated the severity of their headache on a scale of 1 to 10, from least to most severe. Then they would lie in a dark, quiet room for 10 minutes after which they again rated the headache.

6) During the second episode, the volunteers would also rate the headache and once again lie in a dark, quiet room. But this time, they inhaled the green-apple fragrance from the pen-like device, breathing normally and holding the pen approximately 2 cm from their noses. They rated whether the scent was pleasant or unpleasant, then waited 10 minutes and rated their headache again.

7) During the third episode, the volunteers followed the same procedure as the first headache attack and did not inhale the green apple odor.

Results:

Out of the 50 headache patients, 35 of them did not like the green apple odor. Among these, inhaling the green-apple device while suffering a migraine did not produce any statistically significant improvement in the severity of their headache. However, among the 15 volunteers who found the green apple odor to be pleasant, they did experience a significant reduction in the severity of their migraine.

Conclusion:

The effectiveness of the green apple odor seemed to be dependent on whether the volunteer found the scent to be pleasant. Various other studies, such as those on learning speed, weight loss and product appeal, have made such connections between a person’s like or dislike of a scent and its effect on their perception or behavior. It is unclear whether the green-apple scent produced an effect only among those 15 volunteers who felt a positive difference when using the odor during a migraine attack. However, the fact that the effect was tied to hedonics suggests that future research in aromatherapy devices for migraine should be determined after assessing the specific odors that patients deem to be pleasurable.