Light is almost unbearable during many of my migraines. Simultaneously, I can find pressure quite painful anywhere on my body but especially my head, especially if it’s uneven. Finding a good sleep mask took some time. Many are so flimsy they don’t block out enough light or are made for people who clearly have much bigger faces than I do. Elastic straps, even adjustable ones, dig into my scalp painfully and unevenly. I tried a ton before I found one that I really liked.
This sleep mask works pretty well. The face covering is ginormous and it fits my nose bridge well, so it doesn’t let in light. The closure is a long velcro strip so it’s very adjustable and never digs in like elastic. The velcro strip is totally covered by the silky fabric so it doesn’t rasp against the pillow whenever you move or catch your hair. It’s wide all the way around so it doesn’t have edges that dig in. It doesn’t have any ridges or bumps – it’s very smooth feeling whether I’m sleeping on my back or my side. The material is soft and satiny, so it doesn’t feel abrasive or prickly when the allodynia gets bad.
A couple cons:
- It’s expensive af. I got it on sale for what I considered the exorbitant price of $45. Sometimes it’s listed on Amazon for nearly $100.
- It’s too warm. It traps heat against your face and head. I prefer to feel cool when I have a migraine, but this isn’t a dealbreaker for me because I’ve usually got an icepack on my face that compensates for the blanket effect.
I’d really like to try the Migra Cap – a hat which is combination sleep mask and icepack. It looks like the perfect combination of light blocking and head freezing I’m looking for during a migraine attack – and would prevent the careful and constant readjustment ice packs require.