If you read my review on Sainsbury's pain killers, you might remember that I went out and panic-bought lots of things for my boyfriend's migraines. One of these products was the Migraine Kool 'n' Soothe strips.

I was initially unsure about buying them because it seemed like you didn't get much for your money (£2.89) for just four strips, in a cardboard box. The strips are stuck to the forehead and designed to 'kool 'n' soothe' the onset of migraines, other headaches, general aches and pains and so on. If you (or whoever you're buying them for) has frequent headaches, neck aches, etc., then this will end up being a pretty expensive way to prevent or treat them. The strips are 4" x 1.5", so they will cover a sizeable area of head, neck, etc, and you can cut them any way you like. This is useful to have separate strips on each temple, for example, or to cut them down and get more use out of them.

To apply, you just peel off the backing, which reveals a bright blue sticky gel. You then stick the strip on where you like. It is pretty sticky, so try to gauge the positioning before using. If you are putting one on yourself, a mirror would be useful, as would a hair band if you have long hair. The other side of the strip is white and quite soft.

These are suitable for most people, as they are apparently water-based - which is great news for those with allergies. I have to say that part of me is relieved that they are more natural than they could be, but part of me thinks I could be getting more value for my money!

You can leave the strips on for up to eight hours, and it's recommended that you put them on before the migraine has time to fully kick in (from my research I found that a lot of people apparently experience 'halos' of light beforehand, and certainly my boyfriend can feel a migraine coming on). Unfortunately the migraine had fully set in before I got home, but he did experience some relief from it. He has used them for headaches at earlier stages since then, and found that they do a good job of preventing them becoming full blown headaches, and he's also used them to relieve neck pains after an uncomfortable weekend's camping.

Since then we have both used the strips, and although they are soothing, and hygienically packaged in foil/paper sachets, there are a few niggling things for me. The name is incredibly cheesy, they are very expensive (although they work fairly well), and they are extremely sticky. However, they live up to their claims - they do help to soothe (without being a miracle cure), they are comfortable to wear after initially sticking them on because you forget it's there, and somehow they do keep their cooling properties for eight hours or longer.

However, I don't suffer from migraines so that's probably why I don't think they're anything amazing. I imagine migraine sufferers will do anything they can to stop a full-blown migraine (my boyfriend's last one lasted around 3 days), so this is definitely worth a try.

Recommended if you suffer from headaches, neck aches, back aches and so on.