Migraine News for January 1999

CRYING MAY TRIGGER MIGRAINE

NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters Health) -- A crying episode triggered by sadness or emotional distress may cause migraine headaches in some patients, according to a Texas researcher.

"Crying may be a common underrecognized migraine trigger," writes Dr. Randolph W. Evans of the University of Texas at Houston in the journal Headache.

But crying triggered by happiness, peeling onions, or a sad movie does not necessarily have the same effect, according to Evans.

About 85% of people who suffer from migraines can link their headaches to trigger factors, such as stress, certain foods, alcohol, hormonal changes or medications, Evans reported in the November/December issue of the journal. And in the case of at least two female patients, migraines have been triggered by crying.

In the first case, a 38-year-old woman who had migraines that struck two or three times a month "almost always" developed a migraine after a few minutes or more of crying. However, crying episodes "precipitated by happiness, cutting onions, or a movie or theatrical production" did not cause migraine, according to the report. Along with crying, she reported that menstruation, glare, heat, loud noises, large groups, red wine, beer, margaritas, and perhaps stress also triggered her migraines.

The second patient was a 41-year-old woman who also found that crying triggered migraines. Other triggers in this patient included stress, menstruation, weather changes, oversleeping and missed meals. As with the first patient, crying associated with happiness or peeling onions did not cause migraine.

"Only in the second patient was crying during a sad movie or theatrical production also a trigger," Evans reports.

"I suspect that many... patients have crying migraines which we have not asked about," Evans concludes.

SOURCE: Headache 1998;38:799-800.

-From Reuters News

-Dr. Randolph W. Evans of the University of Texas at Houston is a leading Migraine and headache doctor.

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