HEADACHES IN WOMEN

Some types of headaches occur only in women. These are headache: caused by the contraceptive pill; from toxaemia in pregnancy; and related to the menstrual

cycle.

A number of types of headache occur more frequently in women than in men -sub-arachnoid haemorrhage and migraine, for example. Other types attack men more often than women – such as cluster headache. And, of course, there are a large number of types of headaches which affect both sexes equally.

The female reproductive system is controlled by many different hormones. Each month during the fertile part of a woman’s life, they cause a single egg to complete its development in one of the ovaries, and to be released into the Fallopian tubes which eventually lead to the womb. Two of the main female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, are made in the ovary. Oestrogen is created by cells which surround the developing egg, while progesterone is released from the region formerly inhabited by the egg, after it has been released.

The whole cycle is under the control of hormones produced by the pituitary gland. One of its hormones, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), causes the egg and its surrounding cells to begin maturation. The female hormones are low in childhood, rising as puberty commences, and then (unless interrupted by pregnancy) continue to vary in a monthly cycle until the menopause. The time of the menopause is determined by the number of eggs left in the ovary ready to develop; when these run out, the ovary is unable to produce oestrogen and progesterone as it previously did, and the levels of these hormones begin to fall.

However, from time to time, hormone imbalances can occur. These can cause a variety of diseases, including abnormal monthly bleeds, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) and menopausal problems. Pre-menstrual syndrome and menopausal problems both include a wide variety of symptoms, including headaches.

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