Mentho Plus Balm

Emami Mentho Plus Balm smells absolutely wonderful--better than any other menthol-type ointment I've ever come across! It is refreshing and soothing like peppermint, but smells even better. To my joy and surprise, it actually does relieve my headaches! The relief usually lasts several hours or longer. What I do is rub a small amount of the balm directly under my nostrils. Then I just breathe normally while inhaling the delightful fragrance. The balm causes a tingly sensation but is not painful unless I get it inside my nose, which stings a little. Avoid getting it in your eyes; it will burn.I am currently living in the Middle East where I am frequently exposed to strong odors, such as incense, perfume, and air freshener, all of which can give me an instant migraine headache. All the malls in Abu Dhabi burn incense, and the supermarkets and restaurants that my husband and I patronize are inside malls. It's near-impossible to avoid the fumes, so I apply Mentho Plus under my nose before entering a mall. Doing this greatly helps to counter the effect of the incense.Update on 11-10-2013: I still use Mentho Plus regularly for headaches and it still works great! It actually works faster than ibuprofen or acetaminophen to relieve my headaches--significant improvement within about 20 minutes.Ingredients (on label): Menthol 18.0%, Wintergreen Oil 10.0%, Eucalyptus Oil 7.0%, Camphor 6.0%, Turpentine Oil 1.5%, Thymol 0.5%, Clove Oil 0.5%, Base q.s.I wonder why this balm works so well for me. I know that at least one of its ingredients (menthol) has been scientifically shown to be effective for headaches. Menthol is found in lots of other balms, such as Vicks VapoRub, but they don't work as well for me as Emami Mentho Plus, so I suspect it's more than just the menthol that is effective. Mentho Plus contains wintergreen, but Vicks VapoRub doesn't. Peppermint (which contains menthol) and wintergreen have both been used for many years to treat headaches.I found a 2010 study on menthol: "Cutaneous application of menthol 10% solution as an abortive treatment of migraine without aura: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossed-over study."Results of study: "The intent-to-treat population consisted of 35 patients (80% women, 20% men, mean age: 29.6 +/- 6.2) with 118 migraine attacks. In the intent-to-treat population, the menthol solution was statistically superior to the placebo on 2-h pain free (p = 0.001), 2-h pain relief (p = 0.000), sustained pain free and sustained pain relief end-points (p = 0.008). The menthol solution was also more efficacious in the alleviation of nausea and/or vomiting and phonophobia and/or photophobia (p = 0.02). In the per-protocol population, there was significantly higher number of patients who experienced at least one pain free/pain relief after the application of menthol rather than the placebo (p = 0.002). No significant difference was seen between the adverse effects of the drug and the placebo groups (p = 0.13).Conclusion of Study: "Menthol solution can be an efficacious, safe and tolerable therapeutic option for the abortive treatment of migraine."

I had heard that this balm, specifically, would help with migraine headaches, but it has not worked for me. Not at all. I might still use it if I ever catch a cold and need a mentho balm to help clear my nose, but for migraines an Aleve or even a massage works a lot better.

This could be renamed "Pain-Be-Gone" - neck pain, head pain, any pain...Try it for headaches, sinus pain and pressure - it's the best!

the best