This is the excruciating aftermath of an adult’s bout with shingles — or herpes zoster, the same virus that causes chicken-pox in children. The virus appears to lie dormant in a nerve root for decades in some people and later appears, sometimes in response to stress or to physical upset. This infection also produces rashes [...]

A criticism of medical training is that specialisation has led to each specialist tending to adopt a tunnel-vision approach. Thus, anaesthetists treat chronic pain with nerve blocks. Surgeons cut nerves or remove vertebral discs, according to their special interest. Psychiatrists either use psychotherapy or tell patients they are imagining the pain. Doctors often prescribe narcotic-based, [...]

According to the American Academy of Social Physicians, two-thirds of consultations in the United States are prompted by stress-related symptoms. The cost of such symptoms in absenteeism, company expenses and lost productivity have been estimated at between $50 billion to $75 billion a year — more than $750 for every worker. The indications are that [...]

Pain is as old as time itself. Some of our ancestors must have been profoundly mystified by pain associated with disease. An attempt was made to explain this as an intrusion into the body by evil spirits, or objects, thus requiring their removal by extracting the object, exorcising demons or placating the Gods. The Ancient [...]

So you think you’re not a drug addict? In fact, every society has its own legal drugs that produce either stimulant or sedative effects on the brain. In our society, three legal drugs that do this are caffeine, nicotine and alcohol. Caffeine is present in coffee and cola drinks, and there are surprisingly large quantities [...]

The period itself is a very stressful time in a woman’s monthly cycle, especially on the first day. There may be abdominal pain, and a general feeling of being under the weather. This feeling lends to exacerbate any pre-existing headaches; sometimes the general lowering of the body’s resistance means that ordinary headaches will occur more [...]

Occasionally toothache can mimic a headache. The teeth are notorious for causing pain which is felt in a completely different site; the technical term for this is referred pain. The teeth can cause referred pain in wildly different sites and this is the reason why dentists sometimes find it hard to isolate which tooth is [...]

Paget’s disease is a relatively rare condition which typically affects old people -men more than women. It causes thickening and bowing of the bones, particularly the long bones of the legs. It also causes thickening of the skull bones, which can cause headaches that are felt deep down inside the skull, often towards the back. [...]

If the headache is due to sub-arachnoid haemorrhage then medical treatment needs to be sought urgently; the patient will need an urgent operation to close the bleeding artery inside the skull. Where the headache is an exacerbation of tension headache, all the treatments for tension headache will be helpful. And if the headache is related [...]