Yesterday was a glorious day! Definitely spring, it was sunny, warm, slightly breezy, replete with the trees leafing out and my favorite azalea in full bloom in the front yard. Life was good - but not for long. One of spring's instruments of torture was on the way. Yes, you guessed it. A weather front moved in, bringing a 30-degree drop in temperature, big barometric pressure changes, rain, thunder, and lightning that sent the cat scurrying to the laundry room to hide.
If it would have helped my throbbing head, I would have gone with her.
Such weather changes were one of the topics of conversation during my recent interview with Dr. Robert Ryan, executive director of the Ryan Headache Center and and executive director of Mercy Health Research, both in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Ryan originally trained as an Ears, Nose, and Throat Specialist (ENT). The first obvious question, which Dr. Ryan raised himself, is, "What is an ENT doing in the headache/Migraine field?" After being in practice as an ENT for awhile, it was apparent to him that there were far too many patients with untreated headache disorders - cluster headaches, Migraine disease, tension-type headaches (TTH), and more. Especially during periods of seasonal change, he would be busy with patients referred to him for "sinus headaches" when, in fact, most of them needed proper treatment for a head pain disorder, usually Migraine disease. With this realization, Dr. Ryan made the decision to take on the administration of the Ryan Headache Center, which his father (now retired) had founded.
Here are the highlights from our interview:
How do you diagnose "sinus headache?"
- There actually is no true diagnosis "sinus headache."
- Head pain almost never occurs from sinus problems without the presence of infection.
- In acute cases where infection may be causing head pain, you will find:
- infected sinus discharge
- fever
- the pain is more commonly bilateral, although it can be unilateral
- diagnosis can be confirmed by MRI or CAT scan
- In cases of chronic sinusitis, repeated infections are common, but not usually accompanied by head pain.
How do Migraine symptoms differ from the sinus symptoms you describe?
- Head pain is usually unilateral, but can be bilateral in a minority of cases.
- Nausea occurs with 70% of Migraine cases.
- Loss of appetite is common with Migraine.
- Migraine causes a moderate to severe level of disability
- Photophobia and phonophobia occur with Migraine, but almost never with pain from sinus infections.
Summarizing comments from Dr. Ryan:
- "Listen to patients long enough and you'll figure out the root of the problem."
- "If you are one of those people sitting home thinking you have to suffer with Migraine, that is not true. So many new achievements in treatment of Migraine have occurred in the last 10 years. Get to a qualified doctor for appropriate treatment."
Yesterday was a glorious day! Definitely spring, it was sunny, warm, slightly breezy, replete with the trees leafing out and my favorite azalea in full bloom in the front yard. Life was good - but not for long. One of spring's instruments of torture was on the way. Yes, you guessed it. A weather front moved in, bringing a 30-degree drop in temperature, big barometric pressure changes, rain, thunder, and lightning that sent the cat scurrying to the laundry room to hide. If it would have helped my throbbing head, I would have gone with her.
Such weather changes were one of the topics of conversation during my recent interview with Dr. Robert Ryan, executive director of the Ryan Headache Center and and executive director of Mercy Health Research, both in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Ryan originally trained as an Ears, Nose, and Throat Specialist (ENT). The first obvious question, which Dr. Ryan raised himself, is, "What is an ENT doing in the headache/Migraine field?" After being in practice as an ENT for awhile, it was apparent to him that there were far too many patients with untreated headache disorders - cluster headaches, Migraine disease, tension-type headaches (TTH), and more. Especially during periods of seasonal change, he would be busy with patients referred to him for "sinus headaches" when, in fact, most of them needed proper treatment for a head pain disorder, usually Migraine disease. With this realization, Dr. Ryan made the decision to take on the administration of the Ryan Headache Center, which his father (now retired) had founded.
Here are the highlights from our interview:
How do you diagnose "sinus headache?"
- There actually is no true diagnosis "sinus headache."
- Head pain almost never occurs from sinus problems without the presence of infection.
- In acute cases where infection may be causing head pain, you will find:
- infected sinus discharge
- fever
- the pain is more commonly bilateral, although it can be unilateral
- diagnosis can be confirmed by MRI or CAT scan
- In cases of chronic sinusitis, repeated infections are common, but not usually accompanied by head pain.
How do Migraine symptoms differ from the sinus symptoms you describe?
- Head pain is usually unilateral, but can be bilateral in a minority of cases.
- Nausea occurs with 70% of Migraine cases.
- Loss of appetite is common with Migraine.
- Migraine causes a moderate to severe level of disability
- Photophobia and phonophobia occur with Migraine, but almost never with pain from sinus infections.
Summarizing comments from Dr. Ryan:
- "Listen to patients long enough and you'll figure out the root of the problem."
- "If you are one of those people sitting home thinking you have to suffer with Migraine, that is not true. So many new achievements in treatment of Migraine have occurred in the last 10 years. Get to a qualified doctor for appropriate treatment."