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The effect of inhaling green apple fragrance to reduce the severity of migraine: A pilot study

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Abstract

Objective: Since certain ambient odors reduce anxiety - one such odor, green apple, affects emotions positively in other contexts - we hypothesized that if the patient sniffs its fragrance during an at- tack, the severity of migraine symptoms may be reduced. Design: For three headache episodes, 50 patients with chronic cephalalgia were asked to rate the severity of their head- aches at the onset and 10 minutes later. The first and third episodes served as controls. During the second, subjects sniffed green-apple fragrance from an inhaler. Setting: Outpatient clinic. Patient selection: Fifty chronic headache patient volunteers. Main outcome measures: Patient's subjective ratings of severity of pain at onset and 10 minutes later. Results: Those patients with normal olfactory abilities and who liked the fragrance, judged that it slightly reduced the severity of their symptoms (p < 0.03). Conclusion: These data indicate that green apple odorant may be useful as an adjuvant therapy in managing chronic headache.

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