Getting a Daith Piercing for Anxiety

Can Daith Piercings Help With Anxiety?

The ear is home to several pressure points and is often a target of acupuncture — a traditional Chinese medicine that aims to improve the flow of energy across the body. It involves penetrating the skin with thin needles.

The daith piercing aims to target one of these pressure points called the vagus nerve. It’s one of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves that make up the autonomic nervous system that controls involuntary body functions. 

The vagus nerve extends from the bottom of the brain throughout the rest of the body. It’s responsible for mood control, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. One of its pressure points are located in the, you guessed it, crus of the helix.

Putting pressure on the vagus nerve can aid in the following:

So far, the information we have about daith piercings for treating anxiety is unscientific. There aren’t any clinical trials or scientific studies on its reported effects. Most doctors attribute the results of daith piercings to a stimulation of endorphins, reduced tension in the muscles and improved circulation.

However, migraines, depression and pain can all interlink with anxiety. Improving these conditions might result in an elevation of anxiety. One study concluded that auricular — ear — acupuncture showed positive results in patients suffering from anxiety after 10 sessions. 

FAQs

Since daith piercings aren’t backed up by science as an effective treatment for anxiety, there’s a lot of chatter going around. We’ve scoured the internet to answer your questions with the most valuable information we could find.

Is It a Placebo Effect?

A placebo effect is a result you get from a treatment by simply believing that it’s working. Depending on the severity of the ailment, this could actually be beneficial. It can result in avoiding treatments that include dangerous side effects, yet reaping similar outcomes.

For example, a study showed that a placebo pill given to patients with depression improved their symptoms. Sometimes even when they knew it was a placebo. This freed them from the side effects of antidepressants. Note that we recommend seeking professional help first if you show any signs of depression or mental illness.

Some believe that the daith piercing is a placebo effect. This doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. If there’s a large enough community that swears by their claims, there must be some truth to it, whether it’s a placebo or not. 

All we’re saying is that you should take this for what it is — an alternative treatment. Something that you pursue when proven methods don’t benefit you. Don’t expect miracles.

Does It Matter Which Side It’s On?

In theory, yes. Some believe that you should get the daith on the side where your anxiety-related pain is concentrated. Assuming the anecdotes hold true, a daith piercing should help with these symptoms.

What Are the Dangers of a Daith Piercing?

As with any piercing, there’s the risk of infection. Cartilage piercings have a higher risk of getting infected than lobe piercings. This is because your hair regularly sweeps over them, and they’re more likely to get tugged.

Keeping your piercings clean, especially a new one, is imperative, since pierced cartilage become infected 30 percent of the time. If you notice redness and swelling, you’ve caught it early on, and treatment should be simple. 

The History of Daith Piercings

The daith piercing was thought to have been invented by Erik Dakota in 1992. His first client was a Jewish woman who proceeded to name the piercing “da’at,” which is Hebrew for “knowledge.” She believed that a piercing near an orifice was akin to a guardian at a gate, guarding the entrance. Soon it was pronounced as “daith” in English.

At this point, it was merely an aesthetic that gained popularity in the goth and punk fashion scenes. This might have had something to do with Fakir’s Body Play Magazine. The magazine published information, images, and commentary about body modification. Unfortunately, it was discontinued in 1999 after the mainstream media was hesitant to market alternative lifestyles. 

The daith piercing lived on, nevertheless, and is now more popular than ever. It’s gained traction in the alternative medicine movements for treating anxiety and migraines.

If there’s pus coming from the cartilage, however, you might need to be admitted to a hospital to have the infection surgically drained. Avoiding treatment and allowing an infection to fester can result in permanent deformation of the ear, illness and, in some extreme cases, death.

Allergic reactions to jewelry are common, especially nickel. We suggest staying away from this material unless you’re sure you aren’t allergic. Gold or nylon jewelry pieces are a safer option.

Another downside is that it’ll hurt. If you don’t have a high pain tolerance, you might want to bring something you can bite down on. Don’t take anything that contains aspirin several days before your appointment. It thins the blood and may, therefore, cause severe bleeding.

Final Thoughts

If you’re someone who doesn’t benefit from proven treatment for anxiety, a daith piercing might be worth looking into. Perhaps you simply want to try something different. We can’t guarantee that you’ll see any results, but we can assure you that you’ll look very stylish! Remember to take all the safety precautions.

Wenn du sicherstellen möchtest, dass dein Piercing so gut wie möglich heilt, ist es wichtig, die Nachsorgeanweisungen deines Piercers genau zu befolgen und in ein hochwertiges Nachsorgeprodukt zur Unterstützung der Heilung zu investieren.

Das beste Nachsorgeprodukt für Piercings, das ich bisher mit Zufriedenheit verwendet habe, ist das After Inked Piercing Nachsorge-Spray. Es ist nicht nur vegan, sondern auch völlig frei von Alkohol und Zusatzstoffen. Die Lösung eignet sich für alle Hauttypen, einschließlich empfindlicher Haut, und wird in einer großzügigen Sprühflasche geliefert, um die Anwendung zu erleichtern.

Die Verwendung des Sprays von Beginn des Heilungsprozesses an hilft, die Heilungszeiten zu verkürzen und zielt darauf ab, eventuelle verbleibende Schmerzen oder Empfindlichkeit zu beseitigen.