FAQ Episode 73: Chemical sensitivity and migraine
Frequently Asked Questions about Natural Migraine Relief for Women
The question of “why do I have a migraine” has a slightly different answer for each person with this problem. Or I should rather say instead, “a different set of answers.” For regular readers of these posts, you may remember my “full cup theory of migraine” (for details, go to this post, ~halfway through the article.) The question we always need to be asking is “what fills your migraine cup, and how can we empty it as much as possible?” Some of these “filling up the cup” elements can include:
pro-inflammatory factors (one of which is the focus of this post)
reduced energy production in the brain
inadequate hormonal or nutrient support in vulnerable cells
One potential overlapping factor with migraines and other comorbid problems is a condition called “multiple chemical sensitivity” (MCS). MCS is a condition where individuals experience adverse health effects from exposure to low levels of various chemicals found in everyday environments. That same level of exposure will typically cause no symptoms at all in most of us. But for that person, smelling a strong deodorant, or walking into a big box home repair store, or into a room with an air freshener, or working in an office with recent new carpet, painting or recent pest control treatments can all provoke a migraine and/or any other of the MCS overflow symptom complexes.
Some of the disorders having a comorbid overlap with MCS include:
migraine headaches
fibromyalgia
restless legs syndrome
irritable bowel syndrome
depression
anxiety and panic attacks
chronic fatigue syndrome
temporomandibular joint disorder
tension headaches
MCS and Migraine
A 2022 study in Japan found that 7.5% of Japanese adults in their study suffered from some degree of MCS. They also found that the prevelence of MCS in those with migraines as almost three times as common, at 20%.1 It is interesting that none of the migraine patients in the study had been previously diagnosed with MCS, and that MCS may be greatly underestimated and underdiagnosed in patients with migraine.
Their article reviews how a common element in the problems mentioned above was that of “central sensitivity syndrome” (CSS). In patients with migraine this is often manifested by a variety of heightened sensory sensitivities, including sensitivity to smell, light, and sound, especially in those who have an aura with their migraine. This could allow for one to reach the threshold for symptom expression, such as in a migraine headache, with less provocation than might be expected. This could be one reason that a treatment regimen, be it nutritional or pharmaceutical, might not be near as effective for a migraineur with MCS, than one without the problem.
To give an idea of the relative degree of migraine aura symptom provocation by MCS and it’s associated CSS, here are the relative percentages of the patients in the above referenced study with hypersensitivity aura type experiences based on whether they had MCS diagnosed along with their migraine headaches:
Migraine with: MCS negative MCS positive
Nausea 60.5% 78.9%
Photophobia (to light) 73.7% 100.0%
Phonophobia (to sound) 68.4% 89.5%
Osmophobia (to smells) 50.0% 84.2%
Allodynia (increased sensitivity to pain) 17.1% 26.3%
Visual aura 38.2% 68.4%
Sensory aura 17.1% 47.4%
Language aura 8.1% 15.8%
In each case, the odds of symptoms indicating migraine sensitivity went up, sometimes dramatically, when MCS with it’s “central sensitivity syndrome” was also diagnosed. Whatever “fills the cup” in the central sensitivity domain takes one more readily to the threshold of migraine aura and then the headache itself.
What causes MCS?
The health effects of environmental toxins has become a specialty all its own, and you can learn more about integrative minded environmental medicine physicians at the site for The American Academy of Environmental Medicine. Those who research this area have several explainations for who gets MCS and why.
Having past acute or cumulative chemical exposures.
-acute: these individuals had a short term but high dose of chemical exposure, often in an occupational setting. Some examples would include working with or near solvents, pesticides, cleaning agents and paint or exhaust fumes.
-chronic: whether you live in Brooklyn Heights, Bangladesh or Bee Lick, Kentucky, modern humans are swimming in a sea of chemicals from food, water, air, plastic containers, aerosol propellents and prescription drugs, just to name a few. Those who have genetic or acquired detoxification pathway deficits can accumulate greater tissue levels of chemical toxins, especially in fat rich organs such as the brain, heart, kidney and liver.
In either case the brain may have experienced a degree of “central sensitivity syndrome” where even modest additional chemical stimulation changes the threshold to experience an aura and the migraine process.
Those with MCS may be hyperactivating their immune response in a disorder known as mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS). I’ll not go into greater detail on that in this post, although you can read some research literature here2 and I’ll plan to discuss this issue and its potential application to migraine headaches more specifically in a future FAQ post.
The most actionable factor may be something we’ve talked about extensively in these posts: how full is your “migraine glass” and how can we find and clear as many root cause factors as possible so that the chemical sensitivity component won’t “overflow your glass” with every new whiff of chemical exposure?
Therapy considerations
Recognize the potential role of chemical sensitivity in your migraine story.
If this situation applies to you, increased awareness can result in:
-your seeing more clearly the potential provocative agents. Some “hidden in plain sight” examples of this from my migraine patients this last year include reducing headaches by avoiding: recently chlorinated pools, plug-in air fresheners in the workplace, dryer sheets used to reduce static cling, and even the episodic use of a few post shower sprays of a common brand of “scum and mold remover.”
-your recognizing the MCS → Migraine connection, which helps you gain the motivation to make the required momentarily irritating but long term beneficial changes in your routine and habits.
Reduce day to day cumulative exposures
We don’t know in advance what it takes to “overflow your cup” to provoke any given migraine, but we know for sure that you need to be at a less provocative level than where you are currently. This means:
-identifying as many of the root cause factors that promote your version of migraines, and taking focused steps to reduce their impact. See FAQ Episode 42: What can I learn from the Natural Migraine Relief course? to learn how to do this.
-identifying the source of day-to-day chemical exposures. You will need to look more closely at labels, learn to use non chemical cleansers and personal care items, and use glass vs. plastic for food containers and cooking.
Keep in mind that not all of the central sensitivity syndrome provocation has to be chemical. Individuals with electromagnetic hypersensitivity have been reported to have greater odor and noise intolerance than healthy controls.3 See my FAQ Episode 36: Electrosensitivity and Headaches for more information on reducing what may be an additive factor for MCS aggravation of migraine.
Reduce your whole body chemical load
If you go online, you can find a boat load of articles on “detox.” One method that has multiple other benfits is using a far-infrared sauna to “wring the chemicals out through the skin.” Dr. Joseph Mercola maintains an integrative medicine minded web site at www.mercola.com. Two references at that site cover some of the basics of sauna as detox therapy, and you may want to review:
-this article which addresses infrared sauna for detox
-this article on using naicin and sauna for detox. This process is more complicated, but generally more effective.
For those who want a more detailed review of detox protocols using sauna and niacin, I’d reccomend the softcover text: Sauna Detoxification Using Niacin: Following The Recommended Protocol Of Dr. David E. Root by Daniel Lee Root, and David Emerson Root M.D..
If you have been reading this blog for more than a few articles, you know that I pound on the principle that every migraine situation comes from having multiple root causes factors that cumulatively overflow your migraine symptom/event threshold. The more of these factors you can identify and manage well, the less often and less severe will be the migraine events. When done right, this doesn’t “cure” the migraine, but it can dramatically reduce its impact on your health and quality of life.
Please subscribe and continue to learn more about how to clear your migraine headache root cause factors and in that process find natural migraine relief.
Exploring the contributing factors to multiple chemical sensitivity in patients with migraine Keisuke Suzuki, et.al. Journal of Occupational Health, Volume 64, Issue 1, January/December 2022, e12328, https://doi.org/10.1002/1348-9585.12328
Chemical Intolerance and Mast Cell Activation: A Suspicious Synchronicity Raymond F. Palmer, et. al. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, J. Xenobiot. 2023, 13(4), 704-718; https://doi.org/10.3390/jox13040045
Odor and noise intolerance in persons with self-reported electromagnetic hypersensitivity Nordin, S et.al. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2014; 11 (9): 8794–8805. doi:10.3390/ijerph110908794