May you live as long as you are fit to live, but no longer! or, may you rather die before you cease to be fit to live than after! Philip Dormer Stanhope, 1749
Headaches - Who Is At Risk?
Are there types of people that are at a greater risk of getting headaches? Scientists have yet to identify a definitive cause of headaches, but the studies do identify likely triggers. The triggers are different depending on the type of headache, cluster, migraine, and tension headaches all have different triggers.
Tension headaches are so-named because they are believed to be the result of (and to produce) different kinds of muscle tension. The risk factors for that are, not surprisingly, related to the different ways that can happen.
Something as simple as holding a phone for an extended period between the ear and shoulder, for example, can contribute to causing a headache. The muscles are stretched and compressed in a fairly unnatural position and the result is inflammation, constriction of blood flow, stretched fascia and tendons, and so forth. The end result is often a headache.
Or, in those who have the chronic habit, teeth clenching or grinding are common risk factors. This is similar to TMJ disorders in which the temporomandibular joint connecting the jaw to the skull is irritated. This can often happen at night during sleep when the person has no conscious control.
But more subtle and surprising risk factors are at work as well.
Family history is one of the clearest indicators of who is at risk, for all types. Migraines have a strong tendency to run in families, while 40% of those with tension headaches share a family history with sufferers. Genetics is clearly a factor.
Depression, whether genetic or environmental is a factor. Which is cause and which is effect can be difficult to sort out, but depression is correlated with 70% of those who suffer chronic daily headache. In all likelihood there is a reciprocal relationship. Those who suffer from anemia, more often women (who tend to need extra iron), are at greater risk of headache.
Those who suffer from insomnia or sleep apnea are more prone to headaches. Though both may be the result of underlying factors (more so than one being the cause of the other), they are frequently associated. Anxiety, whether during the day or at night, often accompanies the pair of causes.
Gender is a factor, in all types of headaches. Women are at greater risk than men for both tension headaches and migraines. In the latter case, around 17% of women get them, while only about 6% of men, according to one large study. Cluster headaches, in which pain occurs for short periods every day for weeks, more frequently affect men, however.
The reasons, the precise differences that produce the different percentages are unclear. But differences in lifestyle can largely be discounted these days, with women in the workplace as often as men.
Some lifestyle differences that can be common to both sexes are definite risk factors, though. Skipping meals, drinking excess alcohol (especially red wine, though 'excess' varies from person to person), stress and sometimes even excess exercise can increase the risk of headache.
There are some aspects that contribute to headaches that cannot be changed. Gender and family history are beyond the control of the headache sufferer. Some activities in a person's lifestyle can act as headache triggers. Changing the lifestyle factors that are within the patient's control will have beneficial results. For people who consistently suffer from headaches, getting a medical evaluation from a physician is a key starting point in treatment.
Sinuses are cavities within the facial bones, above the eyes and behind the nose and cheekbones.
Transit Tips: Getting to the Airport
More travel tips...
http://www.petergreenberg.com
Getting to the airport can be a royal pain. But in a growing number of cities, there are fast, easy mass transit solutions that might save you time, money, and headaches.
Author: PeterGreenberg2
Keywords: travel transportation airports transit chicago milwaukee new york cabs trains amtrak public
Added: April 25, 2008
Picket at Granville and Sheridan
Location: Granville & Sheridan, the Edgewater neighborhood on Chicago's far north side.
Date: Friday May 23, 2008 at approximately 10:15am
My wife and I noticed this on the way home from her weekly trip to Diamond Headache Clinic. So naturally I walked the dogs down to see and find out what was going on. I saw, I talked, they petted my dogs.
I must say... I'm impressed they got the inflatable rat to stay in place in the wind. I was afraid my butterfly dogs (papillon) were going to take flight and become kites!
As usual, the full video is available for download via Voeh, Google Video, and on my bog's video page.
The full 720x480 stream is also available through Veoh.
Author: Tourtruco
Keywords: edgewater Chicago strike union labor picket
Added: May 23, 2008
Video 5. The ion currents that trigger spreading depression
Spreading depression is basically an electrical change of brain, much like a seizure in that it is transient. Like a seizure, spreading depression is may not be evident in normal brain activity (1). But then, a flurry of increased neuronal activity (2) can result in synchronized neuronal firing over an expanse of brain that evokes the spreading depression (3). Unlike a seizure that shows a transient increase in brain activity, spreading depression triggers a transient loss of brain activity (4) before al returns to normal. The ion current changes responsible for spreading depression are shown as 1-4 and show the key change -- a loss of inhibition. In the brain, synapses are areas where neurons communicate and there are two key types at play in migraine: The excitatory and inhibitory synapses. Excitatory synapses increase brain activity by directing ions into cells (blue). Inhibitory synapses decrease brain activity by directing ions out of cells (red). This in-and-out flow among neuronal dendrites (D) makes brain activity (1) which can be increased by various triggers of migraine (2). The ion flow of normally is outward at cell bodies (CB). Importantly with triggering of spreading depression (i.e., the most likely cause of migraine), this normal cell body outward ion movement is reversed for seconds (3). This means that spreading depression begins because of a loss of neuronal inhibition that makes the brain more excitable. Then, spreading depression moves across the brain with slow, normally distributed in-and-out ion currents (4) not associated with typical communication between synapses (gray) before all returns to normal. (This video was created with the assistance of Mr. Dale Mertes from the University of Chicago.)
Author: rkraig
Keywords: Migraine aura migraine headache spreading depression seizures
Added: April 2, 2008
Sam SHOUTOUT to MILBY MOB
This was at THE HEARTTHROBS concert in CHICAGO back in MARCH 22, 2008.
it cuts off the beginning...pero he asked for ATE LEN and looks out in the audience.
we scream OVER HERE!!
SAM looks at our row, but the light was in his eyes..
SAM: DID YOU GUYS GET YOUR LUGGAGES YET?
US: NO!!!!! NOT YET!!!
SAM: I'LL SEE YOU GUYS AFTER THE SHOW!!
For me and 2 others MILBY MOB/KISMETS it was a pretty bad experience getting to CHICAGO..the airlines cancelled our flight because of storms and so we stayed in the airport for almost 8 hours looking for an open flight. WE FINALLY DID and we were happy, but then they couldn't find our bags. *SIGHS* headaches! pero SAM made it WORTH IT ALL with his wANNEderful KINDNESS by hanging out with us for 3 hours after the show! THANK YOU SAM!!
Author: gotkatzy
Keywords: sam milby shoutout KISMETS mob
Added: April 28, 2008
When the headache is the result of misalignment, it's possible to correct the condition surgically. But contemporary research sees that as less likely. These are a set of symptoms, such as flashes of light or loss of vision, that are precursors to a migraine episode. Get plenty of rest. This can often go on for months or longer.
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