Connection Found Between Allergies and Migraines
By MEREDITH LAND
Updated 8:04 AM CST, Thu, Aug 6, 2009
Skiing isn't the only thing that makes winter Fred Belcher's favorite season of year: When the weather turns cold, his migraines go away.
"I would get the headaches, usually in the spring or in the fall time of the year," Belcher explains.
The debilitating headaches usually kicked in at the same time as his allergies.
"Light would affect me. It would pretty much shut me down. I'd have to just curl up in a ball and lay down," Belcher added.
Doctors have discovered there is a real connection between allergies and migraines.
Allergist Min Ku, M.D. said, "If you do have nasal allergies, you're actually 14.3 times more likely to have migraine headaches than a person without nasal allergies."
The histamine released during allergic reactions cause blood vessels swell up and stretch, causing the headaches.
"Our experience has been that if we treat the nasal allergies aggressively, that often times the migraine headaches get a lot better."
Steroid nasal sprays or allergy shots may do the trick, explains Ku.
"These patients will do anything and everything to try to get relief and, you know, I want to say that there might be hope in this avenue."
First Published: Jan 3, 2009 11:37 AM CST
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