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Journalism of Courage
IF ONLY SCORCHING SUMMERS were about sweat and bad tans. For many of us these hot months bring added headaches. Literally. While migraines aggravate with sea-son change and a burning sun, other milder forms of headaches also occur on a regular basis all through sum-mer. Here8217;s an expert guide.
Migraine This one, of course, you have heard of, even if you are among the lucky ones who have never experienced a migraine attack. Migraine is a severe and the commonest headache type and can have a considerable impact on the everyday life of sufferers. Estimates say about 17 per cent of women and six per cent of men suffer migraines. 8220;It8217;s most common in young women,8217;8217; says Dr Anshu Rohatgi, consultant neurologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi. At-tacks last from four to 72 hours and the pain can ei-ther be unilateral on one side or pulsating. In severe cases, it is aggravated by routine activities. Patients are free of any kind of symptoms between attacks. Accompa-nying symptoms are fatigue, the need to lie down, photophobia extreme sensitivity and aversion to light, phonophobia extreme sensitivity and aversion to noise, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, numbness and 8220;word salading8221; mixing up words.
Cluster Headache This frequent short-duration headache, typically recurs every six to 12 weeks. 8220;Usually once during the day, mostly late in the night when a patient suddenly wakes up in pain,8221; says Dr Rohtagi. This headache affects at least one man in 1000 and one in 6000 women; most of whom are in their twenties or older. The pain lasts for about 15 minutes to an hour, can occur between one to eight times a day, and is accompanied by red and watery eyes, running or blocked nose. Cold Food Headache The young and the mid-dle- aged are prone to this: as a short piercing pain, like a flash of lightning. It lasts from seconds to min-utes and may occur several times a day. Cold foods usually trigger the pain. Sometimes the patient has multiple attacks per day.
Facial Headache, Or sinusitis, is caused by infec-tion of one or more of the cranial skull sinuses. Acute si-nusitis lasts upto three weeks. The site of the pain varies according to the location of the infection. Max-illary sinusitis pain is mostly in the cheek, gums, teeth and upper jaw. When it hurts between and around the eyes, it8217;s ethmoidal sinusitis. Frontal sinusitis pain at-tacks the forehead and sphenoidal sinusitis the crown of the head.
Just painkillers should do when headaches occur. 8220;If they are frequent, then preventive treatment must be taken. Migraine and sinusitis have specific treat-ments,8221; says Dr Rohtagi. 8220;For tension-type headaches, though, a psychological evaluation might be required to get to the root of the problem.8221;
TRIGGER FACTORS
raquo; Emotional or physical stress
raquo; Missed meals
raquo; Smoke and strong odours
raquo; Too much or too little sleep
raquo; Weather changes
raquo; Hormonal changes: menstruation, oral contracep-tives, pregnancy.
raquo; Eye strain, head injury,
raquo; Food/ingredients. Alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, ma-ture cheese, monosodium glutamate, nitrates in cured meats, sugar, sulphites.
