Headaches : Fun Facts

Here's just a list of fun facts about headaches :p
You might find some of them lame but hey, I can write whatever interests me - this is My-Graine you see ! (Sorry about that, had to crack that graine up since it's mine ;;) )

1. Coffee is actually an Anti Migraine substance ! It helps in vasodilation of cerebral vessels since it contains Caffeine and  Theobromine (Compare : Theophylline) which are PDE Inhibitors.
There are drugs that combine Caffeine with Aspirin for this purpose ! Who would've thought ! Surprisingly, through mysterious mechanisms , Caffeine may Trigger migraine in few people.
(Go figure.)

2. Telcagepant is a novel drug being tried for treatment of Migraines. It's a CGRP Antagonist - Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide - Which is said to be a molecular mediator for Migraine headaches.

3. Constipation was said to cause headache. There's no evidence to prove this but old timers might still prescribe laxatives to treat headache.

4. Oxygen therapy helps treat Cluster headache !

5. Migraines may sometimes occur without headache ! Yeah , who would've thought.
So the patient would experience all other symptoms : Aura , Photo-phonophobia with vomiting and nausea , a mild headache And the post headache weakness !
It may actually become a stroke mimic at times as the weakness is pretty severe.
It's called "Acephalgic migraine"

6. Bickerstaff Migraine is a type of migraine where brainstem features are prominent. Also called Basilar migraine.

7. Tension type headache is the most common type of Primary headache ! But it may not have anything to do with being stressed at all.

8. People with cluster headaches may get so worked up and agitated they may actually want to bang their head and beg you to kill them , it's so severe ! (Talk about banging your head against a wall?)

9. There is a type of headache called 'Analgesic Overuse Headache'. The person with a known headache disorder begins to abuse NSAIDs to such an extent that taking the NSAID causes the headache ! So the solution is simple right ? STOP the NSAID?! BUT NO. IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE.
There is a sort of Physical dependence on it. And the withdrawal period is also characterized by headaches for a couple of of days/ weeks till the headaches finally stop. (What a pain!)

10. A subarachnoid Hemorrhage may be preceded by a series of minor headaches called 'Sentinel Headaches'. They can be warning signs in a known hypertensive and must be taken seriously.

That's all!
Hope this helps.
Happy Studying!
Stay awesome!
~ A.P.Burkholderia