MUSCAT : Headaches are something that ails most of the population from time to time. While a seemingly harmless recurring issue, headaches can turn into a serious problem if misdiagnosed and left untreated. In the second episode of TAS Health & Wellness Show, Dr. Achint Krishna, a neurology specialist at the Aster Royal Hospital, talked about the types of headaches, their causes and symptoms, and when it might be time to visit a doctor and get the proper prognosis.

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What Dr. Krishna establishes first is when a headache becomes an emergency that requires immediate medical attention. Usually, as the Doctor iterates, a headache is caused to stress or lack of sleep, among other common reasons. However, Dr. Krishna emphasizes that if one feels like the headache they are suffering from right now is probably the worst one yet, they should always rush to the hospital or seek medical attention, as this could be the symptom of a stroke or a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is bleeding in the space between the brain and the surrounding membrane.

But leaving emergencies aside, perhaps another most common form of headache is a migraine. As Dr. Krishna puts it, the first step towards the prevention of a migraine is knowing its triggers, which vary from person to person. Much like normal headaches, migraines can be caused due to sleep deprivation and stress, in addition to one’s eating habits. Eating an excess of dark chocolate (since it contains caffeine) and excessive consumption of red wine are quite common triggers, along with certain smells. Ideally, according to Dr. Krishna, if one is experiencing periodic headaches for a long time, one should keep a diary and jot down the dates of occurrence and try to correlate them with probable causes. Usually, it is easy to distinguish between a common and a migraine headache, as the latter is usually accompanied by a smell or nausea, or by seeing jumping images in their peripheral vision. One more interesting fact that Dr. Krishna shared is that migraine usually has a family history and can start to affect one even from childhood.

Dr. Krishna next tackles the issue of popping painkillers like Panadol every time one gets a headache. He says, “The Thing with these over-the-counter medications is, excessive use of Panadol, or any painkiller, will cause something called a medication overuse headache.” He elaborates that if one takes around 15-20 doses of painkillers in a period of 15-20 days, it will cause the following episode of headache to be worse than the previous one. He adds that a dosage of 8g of any paracetamol over a period of 24 hours is toxic, and prolonged usage can affect the liver. Instead, one should see a doctor and start a course of daily medication that helps deter a migraine attack from occurring.

Dr. Krishna further emphasizes that the onset of migraines usually occurs during childhood and continues with growth, and it is almost never the case that a grownup can suddenly develop the condition. Therefore, if someone nearing 30s or in their 30s is experiencing prolonged headaches, it could be due to high blood pressure, or it could be a tumor that is resulting in migraine-like symptoms. This is why doctors often prescribe a CAT scan to a patient with similar symptoms. For female patients, this might be a symptom of idiopathic intracranial hypertension, which occurs due to hormonal imbalance, in which case there are tests and treatments readily available.

As for when one should see a doctor, Dr. Krishna says that if someone notices a change in the intensity and frequency of headache episodes, one should seek medical care immediately. He also adds that one suffering from migraine should not dismiss every headache as so, as it could be a symptom of something more serious and it could even be the result of a stroke.