Do Daith Piercings Actually Have Wellness Benefits?
There are a lot of potential locations for body piercings, and multiple ear piercings, in particular, have gotten a big boost in the beauty world of late. Apart from achieving a certain look, there are many piercings that are said to come with health benefits for those who receive them. This is mainly due to their correlations to acupuncture points. One such piercing that has become popularized for this reason is the daith piercing, a piercing of the cartilage toward the inner ear (not to be confused with the tragus, which is the cartilage just below).
Some of the health benefits that have been attributed to daith piercings include reduction of anxiety and migraine headaches, per Healthline. There have also been claims that daith piercings can aid in weight loss. Before you get pierced in search of these benefits, however, it's important to know what medical experts have said about daith piercings and whether or not they're right for you.
Daith piercings probably won't significantly benefit you
If you're looking to get a daith piercing primarily because you've heard that it can treat anxiety, migraines, or another condition, you might end up disappointed in the results you receive. According to the American Migraine Foundation, there isn't any evidence to suggest that daith piercings will alleviate migraine headaches. WebMD supports this view, additionally writing that daith piercings may lead to complications, which are not exclusive to daith piercings alone.
Likewise, One Medical internal medicine physician Hemalee Patel, DO, told PopSugar, "While it is an acupressure point and the idea is that keeping pressure on a point like that can stimulate that area and reduce pain and anxiety, there is no medical evidence to support it."
A 2020 journal article published in Cureus on the subject of daith piercings for migraine treatment reveals that the daith piercing may lead to a placebo effect, which may explain the anecdotal evidence in support of the supposed health benefits.
The possible risks of daith piercings
While a daith piercing might not cure your anxiety or your migraines, you can still choose to get one if you like how it looks. Having said that, there are some other risks attached to daith piercings that you'll want to keep in mind first.
Neurologist Dr. Kiran F. Rajneesh, MD, advised Women's Health that cartilage piercings such as daith piercings can carry greater risks than less invasive piercings, saying, "Cartilage does not have blood vessels, so it is more prone to infection, death of tissue, and increased pain compared to muscles which have blood vessels." Per Insider, a daith piercing can also lead to a headache following the piercing, which might defeat some of the purpose of getting it to reduce headaches.
Healthline also advises that people with certain medical conditions, including diabetes, should not get a daith piercing. If you are worried that a medical condition may affect your ability to get pierced safely, discuss the subject with your doctor — and a professional piercer — first.