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        New Message Board Archives >> 2007 General Board Posts >> Magazine features CH info!
        
(Message started by: sandie99 on Jun 6^th, 2007, 4:46am)

Title: Magazine features CH info!
Post by sandie99 on Jun 6^th, 2007, 4:46am

Finnish health magazine Kauneus & terveys (Beauty and Health) issue 7/2007 features article "Torturing headache - recognise the cause, treat correctly" (p.80-83).

The article introduces 4 major headche types and CH gets nicely attention: half of the page, which is excatly the same amount than migraine. And more than that: the ONLY case story in the magazine is about CH! :)

Finally a magazine back in here actually gives space for ch info! Before this if ch is featured, all the info is about 4 lines and nobody gets any wiser. I'm actually planning to save this article and carry it with me. :)

And I'm going to email the editor shortly to let her know that us clusterheads appreciate that ch was included to the article.

PF days to us all,
Sanna

Title: Re: Magazine features CH info!
Post by zwibbs/Scott on Jun 6^th, 2007, 5:00am

That's great Sanna----Thank You.

Title: Re: Magazine features CH info!
Post by sandie99 on Jun 6^th, 2007, 5:30am

Here's the translation:

CLUSTERHEADACHES

Typical:
It starts when the patient is 20-40 years of age. It's 3-5 times more common with men than women. Research has proved that the tendency to suffer from clusterheadaches is heretory. The patient's life is divided clearly to pain free periods and the periods in which the pain comes every other day or up to several times a day.

The attacks begin often during the night and one attack lasts 15-180 minutes. One cycle, during these attacks appear, can last from weeks to months. Between the cycles comes a break, remission, which can last from weeks to years. The cycles are strongly connected with time of day and the time of the year.

Triggers:
During a cycle these attacks can be triggered by bright lights, the changes in temperature - particularly hot weather, changes in altitude (flying), alcohol, histamine, stress and intensive exercise. During off-cycle period clusterheadaches sufferer doesn't need to avoid particular things.

Symptoms:
The attack begins without a warning and the pain gets extremely strong quickly. The pain is always located on one side of the face. The pain is located near one eye, but the pain can be reflected to forehead, cheek, ear or chin.
The pain is described to be extremely torturing, burning and tearing. It feels like someone is tearing your scalp out or drilling your eye.
The pain side of the face can feature autonomic symptoms such as swetting of the face, red eye, blocked nasal passage, pupillary miosis and lid ptosis. The sufferer is often restless.

The cause:
Clusterheadache or Horton's neuralgia's cause mechanisms are not clearly known yet. But because the attacks often appear with the clear connection to the time of year and time of day, therefore it is connected to the central nervous system. It is a neurovascular headache, because during the attacks the activated nerve cells play a part. But in clusterheadache this activation process takes place at the hypothalamus.

Treatment:
During the cycle a sufferer must avoid taking naps and using alcohol and all the other triggers one has identified. Medication is usually needed to treat clusterheadaches. The best results have been made with oxygen treatment and sumatriptans. But the best medications to treat single attacks and finding the suitable preventative are usually found within time and experimenting.

The article has its lacks. I don't know how you guys read it, but to me it seems that chronic ch is forgotten, just to name one.

It is kind of cute that one is adviced not to take naps, though. ;;D

The medical expert the magazine used is one of the leading ch experts back in Finland. Finland's Migraine Association (yes, back in here us clusterheads do not have our own organization, but we're part of that) even invited him to hell an open lecture about ch last year.

Sanna

Title: Re: Magazine features CH info!
Post by Paul98 on Jun 6^th, 2007, 5:37am

Thanks for the info Sanna. It is always good to hear of CH getting attention in the media.

-P.

Title: Re: Magazine features CH info!
Post by sandie99 on Jun 6^th, 2007, 5:46am

I'm thrilled! :)

And everytime some newspaper/magazine uses the word "headache" in its title back in here, you can be sure I'm taking a closer look at it. This time it was worth it.

Title: Re: Magazine features CH info!
Post by Langa on Jun 6^th, 2007, 8:45am

That's great! Any media attention on CH is awesome. :)

Thanks Sanna!

Langa

Title: Re: Magazine features CH info!
Post by aprilbee on Jun 6^th, 2007, 9:13am

woo hoo! good find Sanna! [smiley=sayyes.gif]

Title: Re: Magazine features CH info!
Post by Rosybabe on Jun 6^th, 2007, 10:21am

That is great Sanna! Thanks for the info!