In the nation generally supposed to be the most romantic in the world many people suffer from sex-related headaches, new research has revealed. Worse, half a million Italians or 1% of the population get a migraine every time they make love.
Dr Pietro Brabanti of Rome’s San Raffaele Headache Centre says that most headaches develop during love-making but that those which develop immediately afterwards are the most painful. Severe sex-related headaches are commonest in women and the cause may be hormonal but two-thirds more men than women suffer from sex-related headaches. In the most severe cases these frequent headaches ruin marriages and even lives.
Headaches, say the researchers, can be triggered by certain sounds, medicines, smells and tastes.
Eight million Italians are affected by over two hundred types of headache. Severe headaches are common in shift workers, especially nurses, journalists and businessmen who are frequent fliers. There is also a particular kind of headache caused by wearing swimming goggles.
Drug therapy is possible but Dr Brabanti says that common sense lifestyle changes – reducing alcohol intake, eating healthily and taking steps to relieve stress – are the most effective treatments.
