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Disruptions in daily routines could cause spike in migraines

Having more headaches during the pandemic? It's not just you
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Headaches are the most frequent symptom of Covid-19 that is under diagnosed.

Dr. Jonathon Jones, neurologist with Lourdes Physician Groups, said otherwise healthy people may only experience a headache when they contract Covid-19.

Jones said that people who experience headaches typically recover better form the coronavirus. However, he said that those with this symptom could continue to have a migraine after recovering from the virus.

"They typically recover better from Covid," Jones said. "It triggered something in the immune response-- that then triggers the migraine pathway and cascade. It can cause them to have more migraines later on following up to that."

While migraines are treatable, Jones said they have recently seen an increase in people getting them.

Jones said if a person never had migraines before and has just started experiencing the pain--it could be caused by a disruption in life caused by the pandemic.

"Even though there is an increase in this--an increase in the headaches these things are treatable," Jones said. "That's important because migraines affect millions in the U.S. population. Having to stay home, disrupt your daily life and work schedule, that causes problems individually as well as businesses."

For more information on migraines:

https://www.cdc.gov/acute-pain/migraine/index.html

https://lourdesrmc.com/services/neurology/neurology-clinics