headaches

I've always wondered if weather-induced headaches are an old wives' tale, and I'm not the only one. A group of medical researchers in Boston recently conducted a study of 7,000 emergency-room patients to see if weather really could cause migraines. Turns out, it can, but differently than you might think.

According to NPR, a study published in the new issue of Neurology found that spikes in temperature often cause headaches. The researchers studied 7,000 patients suffering from both migraines and unspecified headaches, and for both groups, a big uptick in temperature correlated with a higher incidence of headaches. But what about that other common headache culprit, barometric pressure? To find out, read more

Migraine sufferers take note! In an odd twist of hormone level functions, it looks like your pain might be protecting you. A new study discovered that women who have a history of migraines also have a 30 percent lower risk for developing breast cancer. Cancer researchers know that high levels of estrogen in the blood can increase a woman's risk for breast cancer. The thing about women who suffer from migraines is that they generally have low levels of estrogen. Even though the low levels of this hormone may trigger these agonizing episodes, it may also act as protection from the disease. This new data doesn't do much to help stop migraines, but it may help point researchers in new directions when it comes to finding ways to preventing certain types of hormone-related breast cancer.

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Pain pounding at your temples can stop you in your tracks, make you grouchy and interfere with keeping up with your healthy lifestyle. To avoid headaches you need to avoid some common but unexpected triggers. WebMD has compiled a list a five surprising headache causes and here are highlights:

1. Perfume: Strong odors may activate the nose’s nerve cells, which stimulate the nerve system associated with head pain. Ironically, the offending scents are often pleasant. To remedy the situation look for scent-free products and when a perfume-induced headache strikes try aspirin or acetaminophen, but avoid pain relievers with caffeine.
2. Weather: Studies show that the headache prone are especially attuned to changes in barometric pressure, rising temperatures, high humidity, lightning, and cloudy skies. The meteorological shifts are thought to trigger chemical and electrical changes in the brain that irritate nerves — sometimes causing fairly dramatic pain. Try ice packs or take pain reliever before predicted weather changes.
3. Earrings, headbands, and ponytails: The muscle groups around your scalp don’t have pain fibers, but their connective tissues do. “Ponytail headaches” result when tightly pulled hair irritates the muscle system. And your swingy up-do isn’t the only thing contributing to your pain: Tight-fitting hats, headbands, and heavy earrings are also culprits.

There are two more reasons – one involves your belly and the other involves your sex life. Curious to see how these can cause headaches? Then read more

Getting a headache could be more related to your weight than you may have thought.

Recent studies from the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut have found that being overweight may be contributing to getting headaches. It also claimed that overweight adults are twice more likely to suffer from headaches than non-overweight adults.

Why? Headaches are triggered by constricted blood vessels caused by inflammation. The research connected the dots since being overweight contributes to both inflammation and vascular diseases.

Interestingly enough exercise helps ease headaches and exercise also helps one lose weight. Talk about hitting two birds with one stone.