HEADACHES THAT ARE NOT MIGRAINE: TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA, CERVICAL SPINE AND CHINESE RESTAURANT SYNDROME

Trigeminal neuralgiaThis affects people in the second half of life, affecting women twice as frequently as men. It consists of paroxysms of severe shooting or stabbing pains on one side of the face which are brought on by shaving, eating, talking, or cold draughts. The painful spasms may last only a few seconds but can recur frequently.
The cervical spineAbnormalities of this bone in the neck are often said to be the cause of headache. In fact this is the case much less commonly than supposed; anyone over the age of 50 years may have X-ray changes in the cervical spine but this does not necessarily mean they are the cause of the headaches.There are many other less common causes of headache which come on after certain types of food but are not migrainous or allergic.
The Chinese restaurant syndromeThe symptoms come on within half an hour of starting a Chinese meal. Although headache, affecting chiefly the temples and forehead, is a feature, the chief complaints are of a feeling of tightness or pressure over the face and chest.The offending substance has been found to be a chemical called monosodium glutamate. This compound is added to food to bring out its taste and the reason why Chinese food is often the culprit is because this substance is regularly added in relatively large quantities. It has also been found that three grams is enough to bring on the symptoms in susceptible subjects, particularly on an empty stomach. The syndrome is therefore more likely to occur after soup than after more solid food (absorption of the substance then being less rapid).
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