Placebo effect is a well-documented phenomenon, which is particularly pronounced when treating migraine headaches. Intravenous (IV) infusion of saline water is a placebo commonly used in studies where placebo is compared to a medication also given IV.
It is baffling why a group of Canadian physicians decided to test the effect of (IV) fluids on migraines in children and adolescents seen in an emergency room (the study was just published in Headache). They compared a group of children who were told that they will get only IV fluids with another group who was told that they might also get a medication with the IV fluids. The second group actually watched a nurse add something to the bag of IV fluid, but the children were not told that it was just more of the saline water. The researchers thought that the expectation of getting a medicine will help relieve their migraine headache. In fact neither group, the one who received IV fluids without expecting any medicine and the group who thought that they may be getting medicine had much relief. Strangely, the doctors concluded that additional studies using larger volumes of IV fluids are warranted. As if there is a chance that giving more fluids will stop a severe migraine. Sadly, intravenous fluids are often used in emergency rooms as a treatment for migraines in adults and children and we did not need this study to show that it is an ineffective approach. Doing more such studies seems unethical. Imagine a parent getting up in the middle of the night, taking a sick child to an emergency room where the child receives only intravenous fluids and is sent home with the child still in pain.
Emergency rooms, even in the medical mecca of New York City, are notorious for using ineffective treatments for migraine headaches. If not intravenous fluids, patients often get narcotic (opioid) pain killers, tranquilizers, or antihistamines, such as Benadryl. Some patients are just given a tablet of ibuprofen and are sent home after waiting for hours to be seen and treated. Here is a previous post on what to ask for if you end up in an emergency room with a severe migraine. Obviously, some doctors will not comply with your request, but it is worth asking.
