If you’ve been suffering more headaches than usual lately and wondering if you’re just imagining it, you’re not. Dr Punam Krishan, the friendly GP you’ll recognise from BBC’s Morning Live, has taken to Instagram to reassure people that the spike in headaches is very real – and explainable.
Speaking directly to her followers, she asked: “Have you been experiencing more headaches or more migraines recently? Because I have certainly seen a lot more patients coming in with headaches or asking for their headache and migraines medications”, reported the Daily Record.
“It’s not you going crazy,” she added, making it clear that this time of year is a perfect storm for head pain, thanks to three major seasonal triggers.
First up: allergies. As Dr Punam explains, when pollen levels rise, our bodies release a chemical called histamine to fight it off. But histamine doesn’t just cause sneezing fits and watery eyes – it also inflames the sinuses, leading to that congested, heavy-headed feeling many of us know all too well.
“Your sinuses swell, become all congested and blocked, and that causes pressure in the head, resulting in that awful tension headache,” she said.
Then there’s the British weather, of course. According to Dr Punam, the constant yo-yoing of temperatures, especially in places like Scotland, means changes in barometric pressure can play havoc with your body. “Research shows that this barometric pressure can cause your blood vessels in your brain to constrict, or narrow, or expand and dilate, which can trigger headaches and migraines in people who are prone to those.”
So if you get a headache just before the heavens open, it’s not all in your head – literally. Lastly, she highlighted what she called “the most common cause of all”: dehydration. “As the weather warms up, which is happening in the UK at the moment, you will sweat more – even if you don’t notice it,” she said, warning that even a bit of dehydration can make your brain shrink slightly and bring on a headache.
Her advice? Keep an eye on the forecast, stay topped up with water, and don’t let your daily routine go off the rails. Sudden changes in sleep, stress, or caffeine can make your body more sensitive to all of these triggers.
And if headaches keep coming back, she reminded people to take them seriously. NHS guidance suggests seeing your GP if headaches are frequent, getting worse, or come with other symptoms like nausea, vomiting or light sensitivity. So, if you’ve been battling a sore head more than usual lately, it’s not just you, and thankfully, it’s something you can get ahead of.
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