Nearly two-thirds of all Americans suffer from chronic habitual headaches. From migraines, sinus and cluster headaches, to ones induced by stress and hormones.
It can matter which type of headache the patient sufferers with, in order to treat them properly and get fast relief. Some of the most common headache types experienced by sufferers include:
Tension Headaches:
Felt by more than 80% of the adult population, tension-type headaches are the most common headache, and seem to be slightly more common among women, than men.
Believed to be caused by a chemical or neuronal imbalance in the brain, tension headaches have also been linked to a tightening in the back, neck and/or scalp. The pain is a pressing or tightening of both sides of the head, temple and neck, and feels much like a vice. Pain from this type of headache can be very mild, or excruciatingly severe.
Daily recurrences of tension-type headaches have been linked to depression, and other emotional problems. Changes in sleep patterns or insomnia, as well as ongoing fatigue can also cause tension headaches.
Symptoms usually begin early in the morning or late in the day, and last for several hours. Analgesics seem to help the mild sufferer, but chronic and severe tension headaches may require a stronger prescription therapy.
Migraine Headaches:
Migraines, are the most severe of all headaches, and are experienced by 13 percent of the population. Their throbbing head pain, usually located on just one side of the face, neck and head, characterizes them.
The combination of disabling pain and associated symptoms such as nausea, auras (bright lights, blind spots, etc), dizziness, and more, can seriously impede the quality of life for the chronic sufferer.
There are many treatment options now available to migraine sufferers including daily preventative medications, massage therapy, relaxation techniques, as well as a myriad of homeopathic remedies now on the market.
Organically Caused Headaches:
The most serious of all the headache categories, organically caused headaches is not a disease itself, but rather, a symptom of a more serious disorder.
This type of headache can be caused by high blood pressure, diabetes, tumor, blood clots and aneurysms, to name a few. When headaches become progressive with the pain worsening with each attack, a sufferer loses consciousness, is confused, or is taking over the counter medications on a daily basis.
Prompt medical attention is required to rule out an organic cause.
Hormone Headaches:
More than 60% of female migraine sufferers have linked their attacks to their menstrual cycle. Fluctuations in hormone levels during menstruation, pregnancy and menopause can all trigger mild to severe headache symptoms.
As estrogen spikes and dips throughout a woman's monthly, as well as life, cycles, headaches may become more frequent and more severe. Hormone therapy seems to work best for post-menopausal migraine sufferers.
Sinus Headaches:
Caused when one or more of the body's four sinus becomes infected due to blockage from a cold, allergies, the flu or some other physical ailment, sinus headaches generally cause a gnawing pain over the nasal area, and increases in severity throughout the day.
A feeling of pressure and fullness is often accompanied by fever as the infection worsens. Treatment includes antibiotics, analgesics and nasal sprays. Chronic sinusitis may require surgery to remove polyps that continue to block nasal passages, or to repair a deviated septum.
Allergy Headaches:
Most commonly experienced in earl spring and late fall, allergy headaches are typically accompanied by nasal congestion and watery eyes. Antihistamines are most commonly prescribed to help alleviate symptoms.
No matter what type of headache a sufferer experiences, it is always important to seek medical treatment if they persist or worsen, as this may be a sign of an underlying cause that needs further treatment.
May 9, 2007
What Kind Of Headache Do You Have?
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May 1, 2007
New Early Clue to Autism
Autism Possible in at-Risk 1-Year-Olds That Don't Respond to Their Names.Babies that don't respond to their names by age 1 likely have a developmental abnormality -- perhaps even autism, a MIND Institute study shows.
"Failure to respond to name at the well-child 1-year checkup may be a useful indicator of children who would benefit from a more thorough developmental assessment," suggest Aparna S. Nadig, PhD, of the University of California Davis MIND Institute in Sacramento, and colleagues.
Even so, not all of these children will fail to develop normally. And just because a 1-year-old can respond to his or her name doesn't mean that child won't develop autism.
But the study marks a big step forward as researchers look for ways to identify autism -- in all its many forms -- as early as possible. That goal has become vastly more important in recent years. Researchers have found that autism can be far less severe in kids who get early treatment, says Geraldine Dawson, PhD, director of the Autism Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.
“The really exciting thing is that by beginning early we are able to prevent the full-blown autism syndrome," Dawson tells WebMD. "If we can work with a baby at the time those brain systems are developing, we think they will be much more responsive to treatment."
The Nadig study and Dawson's editorial appear in autism-themed April 2007 issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Babies at Risk of Autism
Nadig and colleagues studied 55 6-month-olds and 101 1-year-olds considered "at risk" of autism because they had an older brother or sister already diagnosed with autism. They also studied 43 6-month-olds and 46 1-year-olds not at risk of autism as a control group.
They gave the babies a simple test. The child sat at a table, either in a baby seat or in its mother's lap. As the baby played with a toy, a researcher stood behind the child and called its name in a normal voice. If the child did not stop playing with the toy and turn to make eye contact with the stranger, the researcher called the child's name again. Each child got three chances to respond.
At age 6 months, 82% of the babies in the control group responded to their names on the first or second call. By age 1 year, all of these kids responded to their names on the first or second call.
It was a different story for the at-risk kids. At age 6 months, only 66% of the kids responded to their name on the first or second try. And at age 1 year, only 86% of the at-risk kids responded on the first or second call.
Can this really mean anything? At age 2, developmental problems appeared in three out of four kids who had failed the name test at age 1.
The researchers note that this test can by no means identify all children who will experience developmental problems. And as it cannot rule out such problems, Dawson says it isn't, by itself, a sure sign of trouble.
“There are a lot of reasons why a child might not turn to its name," Dawson says. “The idea is to develop a variety of behavioral indicators, such as failure to imitate, failure to communicate through babbling, failure to make eye contact, and failure to respond to name, that should come online in the last half of the child's first year. If they don't, these are good indicators that a child may have autism."
Behavioral tests are only one possibility. Dawson's team is using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to look at how infants' brains respond to certain stimuli such as speech or social interactions. Other researchers are looking at genetic factors that may predict autism.
Soon, Dawson says, it will be possible to identify very young children at risk of autism. When that happens, she hopes to be ready to treat them.
"We have been developing interventions for 12-month-old infants. And this summer we will initiate a trial of children at 8 months of age," she says. "We are trying to stay ahead of the curve, because down the road these babies are going to be identified, and it is imperative we have something to do for them."
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Apr 28, 2007
Exercise May Boost Memory Through Brain Blood Flow and New Brain Cells
Want a sharper memory? Lace up your sneakers. Exercise may boost memory, and a new study shows how.
The researchers found that exercise boosts blood flow to a brain area involved in memory -- even in people who aren't in top shape.
Three months of exercise was all it took for people with low levels of aerobic fitness to increase blood flow to that part of their brain and improve their scores on memory tests, the study shows.
Additional tests on mice show new brain cells growing in the same memory-related brain area after two weeks of exercise.
Add it all up, and you've got a good reason to get moving, says researcher Scott Small, MD, of Columbia University in New York.
"I, like many physicians, already encourage my patients to get active and this adds yet another reason to the long list of reasons why exercise is good for overall health," Small says in a Columbia news release.
Studying Exercise and Memory
The new study appears in the early online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
First, Small's team put running wheels in the cages of 23 mice. For comparison, another 23 mice had no access to running wheels.
As expected, the mice with the running wheels in their cages took full advantage of their exercise gear. They ran on the wheels without any training or encouragement.
Two weeks later, the scientists gave the mice a dye shot to mark new brain cells in the memory-related brain area. After four more weeks, the scientists checked the mice's brains.
The exercising mice had more evidence of new brain cells and more blood flow in the memory-related brain area. The mice with no running wheels in their cages had no new brain cells and no increased blood flow in that brain area.
From the Couch to the Treadmill
Next, the researchers focused on people. They recruited 11 healthy volunteers aged 21-45 (average age: 33) with below-average levels of aerobic fitness.
First, participants completed memory tests and an aerobic fitness test. They also got brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Next, participants shed their sedentary ways. The researchers assigned them to work out for an hour, four times weekly for three months, at Columbia University's fitness center.
The workout routine: Warm up for five minutes at a low intensity on a stationary bike or treadmill, stretch for five minutes, do 40 minutes of aerobic training (on a stationary bike, treadmill, stair machine, or elliptical trainer), and cool down and stretch for 10 minutes.
Work Out, Boost Memory
After three months of exercise, participants repeated the memory tests, aerobic fitness tests, and MRI brain scan.
Those follow-up tests showed an increase in blood flow to the memory-related brain area, better scores on the memory tests, and improvements in aerobic fitness.
The researchers didn't use a dye test to check for new brain cells in the exercisers' brains. So the study doesn't prove that exercise boosted human brain cell production, though exercise apparently had that effect on mice.
The next step is to figure out what exercise regimen is most beneficial for memory, Small notes. He suggests that doctors may one day be able to prescribe specific types of exercise to improve memory.
Meanwhile, be sure to check in with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you've been physically inactive for a while.
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Apr 27, 2007
Dancing Your Way to Better Health
Ballroom Dancing May Help Mind, Body, and Spirit
Tangos, waltzes, sambas, and foxtrots are gliding across America's TV sets on the hit ballroom dance show, Dancing with the Stars.
Do you tap along with the beat as you watch? Or shimmy during the commercial breaks? This may be one time when health experts won't fret if you follow in the footsteps of prime-time TV. Ballroom dancing could help the mind and body, they say.
Shall We Dance?
You're not likely to practice for hours with a world-class dance partner as on the show. But you also won't face live national TV and the judges' barbs.
Will you get a good workout? What about those two left feet? And how can "twinkle toes" benefit your brain?
WebMD posed those questions to science, dance, and fitness pros. Here's their spin on ballroom dancing's health perks.
Is It Exercise?
The TV show's contestants are often winded after their routines. One dancer from last season said he lost 15 pounds.
How typical is that? It depends on the type of dancing and your skill level, says exercise physiologist Catherine Cram, MS, of Comprehensive Fitness Consulting in Middleton, Wis.
"Once someone gets to the point where they're getting their heart rate up, they're actually getting a terrific workout," says Cram.
Dance is a weight-bearing activity, which builds bones. It's also "wonderful" for your upper body and strength, says Cram.
Would-be dancers should consult their doctors first, especially if they have any health problems, says Cram.
Calorie Check
How many calories will you burn? That depends on your body and how vigorously you dance.
Dance is a "moderate activity," say the USDA's physical activity guidelines. Adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily, according to the guidelines.
It can be easier to stick to that with fun activities, says Cram.
Muscles Worked
New ballroom dancers may feel muscles they didn't know they had. That often happens with a new activity, says Ken Richards, spokesman for USA Dance, the national governing body of DanceSport -- the competitive version of ballroom dancing.
Ballroom dancing often means moving backward, especially for women, says Richards, a professional ballroom dancing veteran.
"If you're dancing the foxtrot, you're taking long, sweeping steps backwards. That's very different than walking forward on a treadmill or taking a jog around the neighborhood," he says.
Ballroom dancing works the backs of the thighs and buttock muscles differently from many other types of exercise, says Richards.
Core Experience
The legs and arms often do the flashy dance moves. But they're sunk without a strong body core.
The "core" muscles -- the abs and back -- are also used in Pilates, says Janice Byer. A lifelong dancer, Byer is group exercise director of The Courthouse Athletic Club in Oakland, Calif. Byer and her husband (whom she met through dancing) are avid swing dancers.
Brain Teaser
Dance can challenge your mind as well as your muscles.
At least one observational study has shown sharper minds with ballroom dancing.
The study appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine two years ago. Joe Verghese, MD, and colleagues studied 469 people who were at least 75 years old.
At the study's start, they answered surveys about mental and physical activities, like doing crossword puzzles or dancing. Back then, none had dementia.
Five years later, 124 had dementia. Frequent dancers had a reduced risk of dementia compared with those who rarely or never danced.
Of 11 physical activities considered, only dancing was tied to a lower dementia risk, Verghese tells WebMD.
Most dancers did ballroom dancing, says Verghese. He's an assistant neurology professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
The Dancing Brain
How might ballroom dancing help the brain? Verghese outlines three possibilities:
* Increased blood flow to the brain from the physical exercise
* Less stress, depression, and loneliness from dancing's social aspect
* Mental challenges (memorizing steps, working with your partner)
"Dance, in many ways, is a complex activity. It's not just purely physical," says Verghese.
An 'Exciting' Option
No one is prescribing ballroom dancing, and Verghese's study doesn't claim dancing drove the results.
To get real proof, a study could assign one group of people to ballroom dancing, comparing them to inactive people.
So says Carl Cotman, PhD. He directs the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California, Irvine.
"There aren't any experimental models in animals that would be equivalent to ballroom dancing, that's for sure," says Cotman. His rat studies have shown brain benefits from voluntary running.
If dance is aerobic enough, it could aid the brain, says Cotman. The social and mental aspects could also help.
"You've got togetherness, and … training the brain to do a new motor skill," says Cotman. "I think it's pretty exciting."
No one knows how much or what kind of exercise the brain needs, says Cotman. He'd like to see such studies done.
Meanwhile, "there's no evidence that it's going to hurt anything," says Cotman.
Check Your Ego at the Door
Here's some advice for beginners from New York dance therapist Jane Wilson Cathcart, LMSW, ADTR, CMA:
* Look for a good teacher who emphasizes what you can do, not your limits.
* Don't be a perfectionist about it.
* Don't worry about your size. Dance is for everyone.
* Get into the music, as well as the movement.
"Take in all the good feedback you're getting and give your inner judge a couple of dollars to go to the movies," says Cathcart.
"We are usually our own worst critic," says Cathcart. "Think of how many other times your critical judge has limited you from doing something."
New skills can bring confidence. At parties and social events, dancers may head to the dance floor feeling good about themselves without a martini's encouragement, Richards jokes.
"Lay the pathwork of positivity through it," says Cathcart. "The coolest dance begins with one step. The rest will follow."
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Apr 25, 2007
Sunburn
Sunlight can help our mental outlook and help us feel healthier. For people with arthritis, the sun's warmth can help relieve some of their physical pain. Many people also think that a suntan makes a person look young and healthy. However, sunlight can be harmful to the skin, causing immediate problems as well as problems that may develop years later.
A sunburn is skin damage from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays. Most sunburns cause mild pain and redness but affect only the outer layer of skin (first-degree burns). The red skin might hurt when you touch it. These sunburns are mild and can usually be treated at home.
Skin that is red and painful and that swells up and blisters may mean deep skin layers and nerve endings have been damaged (second-degree burn). This type of sunburn is usually more painful and takes longer to heal.
Other problems that can be present along with sunburn include:
* Heatstroke or other heat-related illnesses from too much sun exposure.
* Allergic reactions to sun exposure or to sunscreen products.
* Vision problems, such as burning pain, decreased vision, or partial or complete vision loss.
Long-term problems include:
* An increased chance of having skin cancer.
* An increase in other health problems, such as lupus or cold sores.
* Cataracts, from direct, intense sun exposure over many years. Cataracts are one of the leading causes of blindness.
* Skin changes, such as premature wrinkling or brown spots.
Your skin type affects how easily you become sunburned. People with fair or freckled skin, blond or red hair, and blue eyes usually sunburn easily. Your age also affects how your skin reacts to the sun. The skin of children younger than 6 and adults older than 60 is more sensitive to sunlight.
You may get a more severe sunburn depending on:
* The time of day. You are more likely to get a sunburn between 10 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon, when the sun's rays are the strongest. You might think the chance of getting a sunburn on cloudy days is less, but the sun's damaging UV light can pass through clouds.
* Whether you are near reflective surfaces, such as water, white sand, concrete, snow, and ice. All of these reflect the sun's rays and can cause sunburns.
* The season of the year. The position of the sun on summer days can cause a more severe sunburn.
* Altitude. It is easy to get sunburned at higher altitudes because there is less of the earth's atmosphere to block the sunlight. UV exposure increases about 4% for every 1000 ft gain in elevation.
* How close you are to the equator (latitude). The closer you are to the equator, the more direct sunlight passes through the atmosphere. For example, the southern United States gets 1.5 times more sunlight than the northern United States.
* The UV index of the day, which indicates the risk of getting a sunburn that day.
Preventive measures and home treatment are usually all that is needed to prevent or treat a sunburn.
* Protect your skin from the sun.
* Do not stay in the sun too long.
* Use sunscreens and wear clothing that covers your skin.
If you have any health risks that may increase the seriousness of sun exposure, you should avoid being in the sun from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon.
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