Dear doctor;

I feel excruciating headache whenever I am hungry, of suffering from flu/ common cold. What causes this? Is there a way I can ensure it stops forever? Habimana R, Kinigi.

Dear Habimana,

Having a headache when hungry usually indicates irregular eating schedules. Mental stress causing stretching of muscle fibers, low blood glucose levels triggering release of counter regulatory hormones, there could be one or more of these several factors involved. When one has common cold, due to congestion and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, there is associated headache. In case of recurrent cold, air sinuses of the skull get inflamed, causing chronic or recurrent headache depending on the site of inflammation. 

Prevention lies in taking meals at regular times. Include fresh vegetables and fruits and drink more water. Avoid alcohol and excess caffeinated drinks. Drinking more water is also useful. Try eating frequent small meals. For the headache with cold, it would usually subside spontaneously. If severe, take some paracetamol. If persistent, get blood count and X-ray of the skull done to evaluate for sinusitis. A complete course of antibiotic with anti-inflammatory would help it. Steam inhalation also helps reduce discomfort in cold and removing congestion of air sinuses in case of sinusitis.