Rebreathing Devices – The Study Continues
“Rebreathing” refers to inhaling what you just breathed out – and it’s generally something you want to avoid. A look at the research out there focuses on ways to make sure that it’s not happening, because increasing the levels of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and decreasing levels of oxygen can cause all kinds of problems.
However, we’ve talked about rebreathing in an entirely different context. There is interest in a migraine treatment that carefully controls a certain amount of rebreathing.
The “Rehaler” is an incarnation of this concept. The device uses no drugs – it simply carefully balances CO2 and oxygen. The idea is to use it as an abortive treatment – as you notice a migraine attack coming on.
The Rehaler website explains it like this:
Rehaler works through accurately balanced partial rebreathing, meaning that part of the expired air is captured and subsequently rebreathed together with a controlled amount of atmospheric air. The net effect is an increase of the inspired CO2 percentage to a stable, adjustable level between 1.5 and 3.0%, while retaining normal arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), no matter how long the device is used.
Rehaler Official Site
CO2 has been shown to lessen migraine symptoms in some people, and there are various reasons why this may be (for more, check out this page about the science of Rehaler). This is not something you can try by just using a paper bag over your face, because the oxygen and CO2 level has to be carefully monitored. But when it is, the device seems to be safe to use when a migraine attack is coming on.
And the advantage would be that it could be used over and over – so far it doesn’t seem to have the same limits of many medications. And, you could use it along with migraine meds if needed.
Naturally, Rehaler would come with an app for your phone, which will monitor and track your treatment, as well as providing instructions.
It’s fascinating to see this research continue. It may lead to a very simple migraine treatment, but it also may give us further insight into how migraine actually works. For more, be sure to visit the official Rehaler site!