Asthma & allergies lead to headaches?

I just read a new article in Reader's Digest about allergies causing migraines. Who knew?! I had a horrible migraine last week and missed a day of work. For all of my fellow sufferers, you know how bad migraines can be......

Everyone is a little different, but most of us get severe, unrelenting pain with sensitivity to light, sound and smell. I don't know how it works, but once I throw up it seems to relieve the pain. It also  makes me very tired, so I sleep for a couple of hours and wake up and - presto! The pain is gone.

Of course, it makes for a VERY miserable day. The day after my migraine, I happened to read an article in Reader's Digest about allergies causing migraines. The article is in the latest issue, which is somewhere in my house.....I can't seem to find it. 

I found another online article that talks about the link between asthma, allergies and migraines.  ACHE (American Headache Society) has a long technical article about the link.

The basics of the article are:

• Histamine is released when exposed to an allergen and histamine can trigger migraines
• People with allergies are 10 times more likely to have migraines (oh great......)
• Asthma attacks can be triggered by an allergen....which releases histamine....which can then cause a migraine
• Some allergy medicine can cause headaches, especially if taken frequently

There is much more to the article. It stresses treating all three conditions- allergies, asthma and migraines. Since they can be intertwined, make sure your doctor knows if you have problems with all three of them.

 

And to think, Spring is just around the corner. Does this mean more allergies and therefore more migraines? I hope not! The budding flowers and smell of my lilacs are so wonderful. 

 

I'll just keep a box of tissues handy, stay on my allergy medicine, and be really careful to watch for migraines. Sometimes if I can feel one starting, if I treat it right away, I can keep it from going into a full blown migraine. 

 

I'll just keep repeating our family mantra, "Things Can Always Be Worse."