Doctor: 'Head On' No Headache Cure

Subject Of Popular TV Ad Nearly Useless As A Medicine, She Says

(CBS)  "I would recommend, first, that you talk with your doctor to figure out why you have headaches. Most are not troubling. They're worrisome to the patient, but don't indicate an underlying, significant disease, but some could, and you need to figure it out.

"Once it turns out you have tension-type headaches or migraine headaches, then there are specific medications that have been scientifically shown to work for treatment, and those can be used. But to use a product like this is not going to give you any relief.

"The issues with a product like this are that, sometimes, headaches come, last for a few hours, and go away. And if you rub this on your head for a few hours, your headache may go away as part of its natural history. But there's no scientific basis for using this product."

She added another slam, saying, "Some people say they get tingling, or a sense of coldness when you put it over your forehead. You'd be better off wrapping a towel around a bag of frozen vegetables, putting that on your forehead and then sensing tingling."