SURPRISING CAUSES OF HEADACHES
Headache expert Professor Paul Booton on what could really be at the root of your pain
CLINIC
PROFESSOR PAUL BOOTON is a clinician at The National Migraine Centre (national migrainecentre.org.uk), a London-based charity that has been treating patients with headaches and migraines for 37 years
Dehydration, tension and hormone fluctuations around menstruation and menopause are all well-known headache and migraine triggers, but many myths pervade. Poor eyesight is often incriminated, but rarely causes a problem and there’s no good scientific evidence to prove chocolate is a cause, though it frequently gets blamed. What we do know is that many people with migraines get symptoms before the headache starts – things such as excessive tiredness, the munchies and a desire for sugar – which indicate that things have started shifting in the brain.
But if you grab some chocolate to satisfy your craving, develop a headache and assume chocolate is the culprit, you can miss what’s really responsible. If you get recurring headaches, keep a diary for three months to document what’s happening around the time it starts, to help nail down potential triggers. Here are some causes you may not have considered.