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52 ^ UNDERSTANDING HEADACHES AND M I G RAI N ES

Rare causes

When people experience headaches, especially those that cannot easily be softened by painkillers, they often worry that they are experiencing the symptoms of a brain tumour or a stroke or something similarly dramatic. While headaches are symptomatic of a tumour in the brain, tumours are very rarely the cause, and you should bear this in mind while reading this section.

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Gas-powered appliances (heating systems and ovens) in your home or work-place release carbon monoxide, a very toxic but odourless substance. Regular exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide will kill. Normally, the flue for such appliances deals with carbon monoxide, but this does not always occur, and high levels of carbon monoxide can be released from malfunctioning cookers, fires and boilers. If you are exposed to high levels of carbon monox-ide, you are likely to have persistent headaches and sleepiness, and aching in the body, similar to the symptoms of influenza. To avoid this you should have your appliances checked regularly, and ht carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

Lead and mercury poisoning

Both of these ‘heavy metals’, as they are referred to by chemists, are highly toxic and tend to build up in the body. We all have tracę ąuantities of lead and mercury in our bodies, but if people are regularly exposed to these substances they can start to feel very ill indeed and eventually people subjected to enough lead or mercury will die.

If you work with either or both of these substances you will almost certainly be well protected, sińce this is legally reąuired. However, if you have any doubts then these should be investigated. If you do not work with lead or mercury then you are extremely unlikely to have headaches linked to them. Bear in mind, however, that some old metal models are madę from lead, and many older paints contained lead. While modern paints are much safer in this respect, you should remember that your house might have been painted in the past using lead-based paints. So, ensure that your children do not eat scraps of dried paint that may be flaking from windowsills, doors, etc.