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Migraines: hot weather is a trigger

March 10th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

If you’ve suspected that the weather influences your migraines, you’re right. It turns out that a day of hot weather can trigger a migraine attack a day later.

BBC NEWS | Health | Hot weather a migraine ‘trigger’:

“Dr Brendan Davies, consultant neurologist and spokesman for the Migraine Trust, said: ‘This adds scientific validity to what we have suspected for some time. Up to 50% of patients believe weather may trigger their migraine.
‘It looks like it is the change in the air temperature, and to a lesser extent the change in air pressure that is important.”

If you’re on prescription medicine for your headaches, carry it with you during hot weather.

Common causes of headaches

August 13th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

It’s normal to experience the occasional headache. There are literally hundreds of possible causes for headaches. Some are the result of underlying medical problems, such as (in rare cases) brain tumors or cerebral aneurysms. But the most common headaches have common causes.

In many cases, simple eyestrain (such as from working too long at the computer) can produce a headache. In other cases, ordinary inflammation of the sinuses (due to head cold or allergy) can be the cause. Overuse of certain prescription medicines can produce a headache of a type labeled, appropriately enough, MOH (medication overuse headache).

Though the exact cause isn’t known in every instance, constriction of blood vessels is thought to be the culprit in a range of cases. Pain-sensitive nerve fibers in the head line blood vessel walls. When they contract (or dilate) the nerves are activated, sending signals to the brain. Ironically, the brain itself can’t feel pain since it has no pain-sensitive nerve cells within it. Tension-type headaches or cluster headaches are the result.

But blood vessels can dilate as well as contract. When they do, so one theory goes, migraines and cluster headaches can be produced. Current research suggests that there are other, perhaps more important, factors at work in migraines.

Tension headaches can result from other causes, such as tension in the muscles of the neck, shoulder and even the jaw. Those who’ve experienced TMJ disorder (a condition resulting from tension of the temporomandibular joint, in which the jaw tightens against the skull) are familiar with this last.

In more serious cases, headaches are the result of some underlying disease, where they are labeled ’secondary headaches’. This happens when a patient suffers from encephalitis or brain cancer, for example. But the list of diseases that can cause headaches is also lengthy. Everything from irritable bowel syndrome to rabies or scarlet fever can be the culprit.

In many cases, environmental factors are at work. Carbon monoxide poisoning, resulting from a gas of the type produced by automobile exhaust, can cause severe headaches. In fact, headache is one of the chief symptoms of the condition. Allergies, such as sensitivity to pollen, are the problem for some. Lead poisoning is a potential cause of headaches, though less a problem these days. Food poisoning is still fairly common, though.

Even when food isn’t actually toxic in general, such as being laced with a bacteria, certain individuals may be sensitive to compounds that won’t affect people in general. Such common foods as chocolate or cheese can cause headaches in some. Caffeine has long been known to produce headaches when taken in too large a quantity. Some preservatives, such as monosodium glutamate, can produce headache pain. Red wine, even in moderation, does it for some.

But position, posture and other controllable factors may well be some of the most common causes, especially today. As more and more people use computers on a daily basis, more people are producing neck tension, jaw stress, eyestrain and facial tightening. Any of these can produce a headache if the circumstances persist, as they often do for information workers.

Approximately 85%-90% of headaches are common tension headaches, and they are typically the result of one or more of the above. That means, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the cure is simple and within your control.

Headaches: Pain Relief With Acetaminophen

July 29th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

One of the commonest forms of pain relief for headaches is acetaminophen (paracetamol).

Acetaminophen is an analgesic (pain reliever). Also like aspirin it has been used to treat headaches since the late 19th century. Yet there are interesting differences as well.
Aspirin works by interfering with the action of a type of natural hormone called prostaglandins. These biochemicals come into play during inflammation, such as occurs during injury. Hit your thumb with a hammer and the swelling starts. Prostaglandins stimulate signals through nerve cells that we perceive as pain, and stimulate the swelling. That swelling is the body’s reaction to increase blood supply and surround damaged tissue.

But acetaminophen is not an NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) like aspirin or ibuprofen. Consequently, it does not reduce pain from conditions caused by inflammation, as aspirin will. Yet, unlike ibuprofen, it’s safe to use during all stages of pregnancy. Ibuprofen is particularly to be avoided in the third trimester.

Acetaminophen has another advantage over aspirin in some cases. In certain diseases, such as Reye’s syndrome, acetaminophen can be taken safely. Aspirin is unsafe for those afflicted. It also has many fewer side effects for a wide variety of people.

At proper dosages, acetaminophen doesn’t irritate the stomach lining as aspirin can. It also does not carry the same risk of kidney damage as its pharmacological cousin. Aspirin thins the blood, which accounts in part for its use as a heart attack preventative. But clotting can be useful if one is subject to nose bleeds or gets cut. Acetaminophen does not interfere with clotting.

The reasons lie in the similarities and differences between the two closely related compounds. Aspirin interferes with prostaglandin production by inhibiting an enzyme called COX. Though acetaminophens don’t reduce those inflammation hormones, it does, paradoxically, inhibit the COX enzymes used to produce them.

On the other hand, there is some risk associated with acetaminophen when taken at improperly high dosages. Daily use can lead to so-called rebound headaches, and at high enough dosages can cause liver damage and even death. Such risks are low, but are increased by, for example, taking it in conjunction with alcohol.

Some more common side effects to watch out for include bloody or black, tarry stools, skin rash and sore throat (not present before beginning treatment). In rare cases, lip ulcers or white spots in the mouth have been reported.

It is generally safe to take acetaminophen in conjunction with other over-the-counter pain control medicines. In fact, Excedrin contains aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine. Any persistent fever or headache should be diagnosed by a physician.

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