Migraines Demystified
When sinuses throb and ache, most people think it’s a sinus headache. But migraines cause sinus pain, too. And while one-sided migraines are common, a headache that affects both sides of your head may still be a migraine.
Location of pain often confuses people, says Mayo Clinic headache specialist Eric J. Eross of Scottsdale, Arizona. After evaluating 100 people who thought they had sinus headaches, Eross found 63% had migraines and another 23% had probable migraines. Almost nine out of 10 people who thought they had sinus headaches actually had migraines, according to the study presented at the American Headache Society 46th Annual Scientific Meeting in Vancouver, BC. (June 10-13, 2004).
People also mistake a migraine for a sinus headache when they have runny noses and watery eyes. But headache pain itself can trigger these symptoms. So can exposure to allergens, seasonal changes, and changes in the weather. It isn’t so much the weather as the change that causes the trouble, says Marcelo E. Bigal, MD, PhD, director of research at the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut. The brains of migraine sufferers are extremely sensitive to change, Bigel explains.
In Bigel’s study, 34 percent of migraine sufferers were sensitive to changes in temperature or humidity; 14 percent were sensitive to changing weather patterns; and 13 percent were sensitive to changes in barometric pressure. While a whopping 51 percent had weather-related symptoms, researchers say any change or fluctuation can trigger a migraine –including changes in sleep patterns, hormone levels, or weather.
For relief, most headache sufferers take over-the-counter pain relievers or non-prescription antihistamines, with only 10 percent of headache sufferers taking the more effective prescription drugs called triptans.
More to the point
Acupuncture also relieves headache pain, which can help if you’re trying to cut down on meds. Chronic headache sufferers who had acupuncture had fewer and milder symptoms than those taking conventional treatments, according to a large randomized study reported in the British Medical Journal.
Early in the study researchers found little difference between acupuncture and conventional treatments. But by the end of the year-long trial, acupuncture worked much better, especially for migraines. Patients in the acupuncture group experienced the equivalent of 22 fewer days of headaches per year, used 15 percent less medication, made 25 percent fewer visits to general practitioners, and took 15 percent fewer days off sick.
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