I remember when I was in college, a classmate in my sister's dormitory took a leave of absence as soon as she came to menstruation.
Her reason for taking leave is very puzzling, usually in this situation, everyone will say that they have stomach pain, but she does not say that she has a headache.
What does menstruation have to do with headaches?
Until later Zhimei learned that some girls do have headaches when they menstruate, which is academically called "menstrual headaches".
Menstrual headaches come with the menstrual cycle, so some girls experience symptoms before or during their periods [1].
Usually menstrual headaches are predominantly migraines, but menstrual headaches are more onset and accompanied by more symptoms than non-menstrual migraines.
For example, accompanied by dizziness, head stinging and other problems, when severe, there will be nausea, vomiting and other symptoms, which is really torturous.
If you happen to have a headache during your period, don't panic too much. Menstrual headaches are clinically associated with fluctuations in estrogen levels [2].
Because the level of estrogen in the body decreases during menstruation, it leads to spasm and contraction of blood vessels inside and outside the skull, which causes headache problems.
This is a normal physiological response, and generally the headache will disappear on its own after menstruation. If you feel a little uncomfortable, you can take painkillers to relieve it.
If the pain is more severe and has affected normal life, it is still recommended to go to the hospital for examination, on the one hand, intracranial organic diseases can be ruled out, on the other hand, you can follow the doctor's instructions for symptomatic treatment and alleviate symptoms.
In the outpatient clinic, many patients who visit because of migraines are surprised when they are told that they have "menstrual headaches":
"Why didn't my head hurt when I used to menstruate, but now it hurts?"
In fact, this situation is not uncommon.
Many girls do not have menstrual headaches when they are young, and they slowly begin to hurt as they age.
The causes of menstrual headaches are quite complex and often not contributed to by one cause.
In addition to being associated with fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone levels during menstruation, factors such as daily routines, diet, mental status, and age can affect the endocrine level in the body.
And it is precisely the endocrine system of girls that is very complex and interlocking, and which link has a problem may lead to the occurrence of menstrual headaches.
In addition, a foreign survey further confirmed that the occurrence of menstrual headaches is related to age, early menstruation, socioeconomic status, smoking, daily coffee and cola consumption, and dysmenorrhea [3].
So, it's not surprising that "menstruation didn't hurt before, but now it hurts."
Since menstrual headaches are accompanied by menstruation, does that mean that menopause does not cause headaches?
Clinically, it is true that some patients have symptoms that will lessen or disappear with menopause.
Epidemiological studies have shown that migraines are more common in perimenopausal women due to changes in hormone levels in the body [4].
During the perimenopausal period, the more pronounced the fluctuation of sex hormone levels, the more likely it is to induce migraines, and after menopause, the level of sex hormones is relatively stable, and the occurrence of migraines is reduced or no longer occurs than during the perimenopausal period [4].
However, this situation varies from person to person, and if you have symptoms of headache for a long time, it is recommended to go to the hospital.
In addition, not all migraines are related to hormone levels, and if migraines are caused by factors such as intracranial organic diseases, they will not be significantly reduced even after menopause.
Therefore, everyone must first clarify the cause of their migraine and treat it symptomatically in order to avoid the pain of the disease.
Reviewer
Liu Haiphong | Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University
bibliography
ZHANG Yuzhen. Gynecology of Traditional Chinese Medicine[M] Beijing: China Traditional Chinese Medicine Press, 2007: 146-148
HE Jie,LIU Qian. Overview of traditional Chinese and Western medicine research on menstrual-related migraine[J].Practical Integrative Medicine Clinical,2016,16(6):89.
[3] CARMAN K B， ARSLANTAS D，UNSAL A，et al. Menstrual headache in adolescences ：Point prevalence and associated factors[J]. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology，2017， 21 ：e200.
[4] Sacco S，Ornello R，Ripa P，et al. Migraine and risk of ischaemic heart disease:a systematic review andmeta - analysis of observational studies[J]. Eur J Neurol，2015，22(6):1001 - 1011.
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