Headaches and Migraines

(Part One)

 It feels like being stabbed with an "ice-pick in the eye" or my "head's in a tightening vice".  These a few of the many painful sensations those with migraines experience.  Who hasn't had a headache, maybe just a cocktail headache from too many mojitos?  Many headaches feel like migraines but probably aren't.  Ninety percent of adults have one or more headaches a year.  Eighteen percent of adult women have migraines, which is more than twice the rate of men.  Even children, 4-10% have migraines, although they may not have headache pain.(1).  Surprisingly, children that have motion sickness symptoms are likely to have migraines as adults.  Migraines are genetic.

The Science Buzz Cafe is a group that meets weekly in Sebastopol, sometimes at the French Garden and sometimes at Coffee Catz, to "bring science and curiosity back in culture" according to the event founder, Daniel Osmer.  The US has more than 60 science cafes where scientists make presentations, kind of like an informal TEDtalk, to the general public or those of us that are just curious, like me.  Some of their recent talks were on Horse Lessons for Humans, Medicinal Plants, the Science of Extinction and Permaculture--Farming and Economics.  

Last week I attended the talk at the French Garden Restaurant, where I could take my vodka and freshly squeezed grapefruit cocktail to hear Neurologist Allan Bernstein talk about headaches.  Well, at least I didn't have red wine, which is a classic precursor to headaches (for some).  Dr. Bernstein, accompanied by his Powerpoint presentation, provided informative facts enhanced by questions from the crowd. The Science Buzz Cafe group is informal, so the attendees were encouraged to interact with the lecturer.  He loosened up the crowd with a question:  What is the largest cause of headaches?  Turns out, kids!   

One of the first questions was what is the difference between a headache and a migraine?  There are many.  As compared to other types of pain, migraine pain causes more and more migraine pain, versus a headache which fades with time.  The migraine starts on one side of the brain and travels across the brain until it's gone.  Here are some of the symptoms of a migraine as it differs from a headache:

1.  Episodic (They usually have a pattern of occurrence)

2.  Throbbing

3.  Nausea and vomiting (usually not with a headache)

4.  Light sensitivity

5.  Aura

6.  Moderate to severe pain

7.  Can last 4 to 48 hours.

There is a link between just about everything and headaches--it can be altitude, food or lack of food, smells (good and bad), barometric pressure, stress, sleep, sex, neck irregularities.  OK, I'll stop, but the list goes on.  It's different for everyone.  Most of us, I assume, just reach for the pain reliever, which is fine if it's once a month.  But, those that have regular headaches need to find the trigger.    

Most helpful is to keep a detailed record about what transpired before you got the headache. That means food, stress level, exposure to smells, altitude or barometric pressure changes, alcohol consumption, excessive computer work (head forward position), visiting in-laws, as well as evaluating the prescription or non-prescrip drugs being taken. Dr. Bernstein related a story of a study done in the East Bay on children who experienced headaches.  After keeping food logs, it turned out the food that was causing the headache was pork.  When the kids eliminated pork (try Kosher hot dogs) from their diets, their headaches stopped.  

(1) Nice article by Oliver Sachs on having migraines as a child.