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Why your migraine might be worse than someone elses

Migraine sufferers who also deal with allergies and hay fever have more severe headaches than those who do not.

Those are the results of a study released Monday by the researches from three medical centers, including the University of Cincinnati.

Professor of Medicine Vincent Martin says, “We are not sure whether the rhinitis causes the increased frequency of headaches or whether the migraine attacks themselves produce symptoms of rhinitis in these patients. What we can say is if you have these symptoms, you are more likely to have more frequent and disabling headaches.”

Researchers aren't certain if the rhinitis causes the migraines or the migraines produce the rhinitis symptoms. The team found the odds of experiencing more frequent headaches for individuals with rhinitis and migraine were 33 percent greater than those without.

Richard Lipton, MD,  is co-director of the Montefiore Headache Center, professor of neurology at Einstein and principal investigator of the study.

“The nose has largely been ignored as an important site involved in the initiation and exacerbation of migraine headache,” Lipton explains. “If rhinitis exacerbates migraine, as these results suggest, treating rhinitis may provide an important approach to relieving headache in people with both disorders.”

The results were published in the Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, online edition of the journal Cephalalgia.

Senior Editor and reporter at WVXU with more than 20 years experience in public radio; formerly news and public affairs producer with WMUB. Would really like to meet your dog.