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Date Posted: 10:39:58 06/11/04 Fri
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Sinus Headaches Often Really Migraines: Study
By Merritt McKinney
If you think you have a sinus headache, think again, according
to an Arizona headache specialist. You may have a migraine.
In a new study, almost nine out of 10 people who thought they
had sinus headaches actually had migraines, according to
Dr. Eric J. Eross, an associate consultant in neurology at the
Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.
Eross and his colleagues studied 100 people who thought they
had a sinus headache. After evaluating the patients, however,
the researchers concluded that 63 percent had migraines and
another 23 percent had probable migraines.
Eross presented the results of the study in Vancouver at the
annual meeting of the American Headache Society.
Misclassification of migraines as sinus headaches is a problem
of "guilt by provocation, location and association," Eross said
in an interview with Reuters Health.
In many cases, headache symptoms were provoked by changes
in weather, seasonal changes and exposure to allergens, Eross
explained. Headache sufferers often assume that these triggers
cause sinus headaches, but they can all trigger a migraine,
Eross explained.
Also, the location of headache pain can often confuse people,
according to Eross. When people experience pain over their
sinuses, they often assume it is caused by a sinus headache
when, in fact, migraine can cause pain in that region, too,
Eross noted.
Migraines often affect just one side of the head, so people
believe that a headache that affects both sides is not a migraine,
according to the Arizona researcher. But migraines can affect
both sides at once, he said.
Headaches are sometimes mistakenly classified as sinus
headaches because they occur along with symptoms that are
associated with allergy and sinus trouble, including a runny nose
and watery eyes, Eross said.
But in most people in the study, the headache pain itself triggered
these symptoms, he found. And in a smaller group of people,
symptoms of allergic rhinitis, such as a runny nose, actually
triggered a migraine.
The misclassification of headaches can have a long-term impact
on quality of life, as people are less likely to receive the most
effective treatment, according to Eross.
In the study, over-the-counter pain relievers were the most
commonly used medications, followed by non-prescription
antihistamines. Only about 10 percent of headache sufferers
had been prescribed drugs called triptans, which Eross
described as the "gold standard" for treating migraine.
Although triptans were used the least, people who took them
were most satisfied with the treatment, according to Eross.
He noted that people in the study had been experiencing what
they thought were sinus headaches for an average of 25 years.
Eross encouraged people who think they are having sinus
headaches to ask their doctor if they might have a migraine.
In many cases, it may be a good idea to see a headache
specialist, he said.
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Jan de Vries: Migraines are a real pain
By Jan de Vries
featureseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
07 June 2004
"Mother, why do I always have a headache
every time I have a day off?"
I can still hear my mother's reply: "Oh well, you are not the only person
who suffers from Sunday migraines." The expression 'Sunday migraines'
was not unusual in the country of my birth - the Netherlands. Indeed,
I came to recognise the symptoms myself.
When I had been busy with my studies and holding down a part-time job
in my spare time, often on Sundays at about mid-afternoon these
dreaded headaches would start.
Usually, I would have looked forward to a day of relaxation, satisfied
that another busy week had passed and then I would end up with
one of these hated migraines.
Even when I was younger, the early signs had been present and
although it may have been termed a classical migraine, it was not
until much later that I realised what was at the root of it.
I still thank God for the day that these migraines were cured because,
although they had started out as more-or-less a 'Sunday migraine',
they were constantly increasing in number as well as intensity.
At the end of the Second World War I had become a typical product
of the war. As a result of the extreme shortage of food, my bowels
had suffered, my kidneys had taken a beating and my whole
metabolic system was in a mess.
However, although I had been on the verge of dying, I was lucky and
survived. As a result I was left with what at first were considered
headaches, but which later developed into full-blown migraines.
I still clearly remember the day a young Chinese practitioner looked
at me and said: "Headaches, migraine, kidneys?" Despite his
poor grasp of the language he managed to relate to me that my
migraines were the result of the various health problems I had
suffered in my youth.
He applied acupuncture treatment and gave me some sound advice.
In those days acupuncture was largely unknown in the West and I
found it quite frightening initially. Since the two treatments at that
time I have never suffered another migraine attack.
Only occasionally do I still get a headache and am the first to
admit that this is usually self-induced; I will have overdone things,
and the resulting stress sets the alarm bells ringing.
I do know, however - again from personal experience - that a
classical migraine is much more intense than a common migraine
and that it can last for quite a few hours. I also know that I used to
pray for them to stop and I always felt sick during these attacks.
I certainly remember that the intensity of these migraines adds up
to something you would not wish on your worst enemy.
Classical migraines vary and the symptoms or, as they are
sometimes collectively called, 'the aura' of the migraine,
can cause rapid changes of mood.
Sometimes memory or speech may be affected and even
hallucinations can result. I remember well, that if an attack
started during the night, I would consider that the worst
possible luck, because then it would last for the best part
of the following day.
I also remember experiencing cravings for certain foods.
Certainly the foods I wanted would be the worst possible for me
under those circumstances. Especially as a child, when I knew
next to nothing about what was good or bad for me, I am sure
that I must have unwittingly aggravated my condition.
The same problem appears when a classical migraine is
influenced by hypoglycaemia - a low concentration of sugar
in the blood. People who suffer from low blood/sugar will find
that when they eat a lot of carbohydrates, the problem will
grow worse.
Not long ago I attended a special course on hypoglycaemia
at the Basingstoke Clinic in southern England. It was a very
worthwhile course and I certainly learned much about the dietary
management of hypoglycaemia patients prone to migraines.
It concluded that patients who have a tendency to migraines
will often become nervous, irritable, dizzy, nauseated and
anxious.
When the pancreas is over-active, sugar enters into the
bloodstream. If this is not controlled by insulin, too much sugar
will be removed from the bloodstream. If a large amount of sugar,
or even honey, is eaten, over-compensation takes place
and the vicious circle is established, the problems of which
can lead to a migraine attack.
There are more hypoglycaemic patients who suffer regular
migraine headaches than one might think, and a
glucose-tolerance test often reveals that here we find
the true cause of the migraine.
Hypoglycaemia occurs mostly as a result of allergies to
particular foods, although it can also be induced by the use
of certain drugs, for example large doses of progesterone.
The correct treatment in mainly found in the use o f unrefined
carbohydrates in limited quantities, as well as fats, and proteins
which the body can break down into glucose. These will not
produce such a high blood-sugar level that the pancreas is
slowed down on its production of insulin.
My favourite remedy for use in combination with such treatment
is Dr Vogel's Molkosan. Many of my patients who are
hypoglycaemic or suffer migraines due to hypoglycaemic
problems can vouch for this. Unless there are exceptional
circumstances, I will advise them to take half a dessertspoon
of Molkosan in a glass of water at breakfast, because the
symptoms of hypoglycaemia or hypo- glycaemic migraines
mostly manifest themselves within a few hours of eating
breakfast.
It is certainly not impossible for a migraine to be triggered off
by another meal, but it is more unusual. Breakfast seems to be
the worst culprit. Emotional stress is also guilty.
The neurological aspects of these problems usually
manifest themselves as either a sever migraine of headaches,
accompanied by feelings of dizziness, numbness, blurred
vision, blackouts, light sensitivity or, possibly, convulsions.
Also noticeable could be a feeling of extreme fatigue,
abdominal pains, backache, cold sweats, muscle
and/or joint pain, or even cramps.
Large meals should be avoided, as it is better to take six
small meals a day rather than three big meals. In between
meals, eat some nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,
sesame seeds or a piece of fruit (except citrus fruits).
Feverfew and Butterbur are also great remedies to use.
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MIGRAINE: More Stress, Less Pain