Dealing With Headaches

I’m not a big clothes person. When I was homeless, I did not care about what clothes I wore — as long as they were comfortable. I’m still like that. For many, the cost of clothes is the leading cause of pain. For others, any material made from fur or skins can cause a major anxiety attack. However, in Sweden, one daycare worker has discovered that certain patterns on clothing can trigger painful migraines.

Ban Horizontal Stripes!

Although I’d love to see a ban on horizontal stripes on clothing (and not becuase it triggers any migraines), sadly any kind of striped or polka dotted clothing was found to be the trigger to the Swedish daycare center worker, who has remained anonymous. The worker’s employer then banned kids or employees from the migriane causing clothing. If a kid showed up with the migraine trigger clothing anyway, they were given clean, solid-colored clothing to wear, instead.

Overreaction?

Some, such as the head of the Swedish Home and School Association, do think this is a bit of an overreaction. However, if it makes the worker able to perform a good job, isn’t it a small price to pay? And really, you’re doing your kids a big favor by making them wear clothes now that they won’t be embarrassed by decades later when family albums are cracked open at reunions and weddings.

But can clothing patterns trigger migraines? You betcha. Migraines still are a mostly misunderstood beast, so automatically ruling out visual patterns as triggers is not wise. Personally, I’ve discovered that those Magic Eye artworks where an image is hidden in a seemingly abstract poster a 100% trigger for migraines. Also, so do 3-D movies.

Dr Alex Shepherd of Birkbeck College in London states that, just as flickering lights can cause migraines, so can stripes in some migraineurs:

“Stripes, flickering lights, bright reflections — these are all the sorts of things that people report will set off their migraine. If you think for a moment about how many times you meet these things in your daily life, you get some idea of how precarious life can be for someone whose migraines can be triggered by visual patterns.”

So, if your co-worker with the loud clothing seems to be a walking migraine trigger for you, tactfully talk to your boss. If your workplace bans certain perfumes or colognes for causing headaches, then why not certain pattens? You better be sure you are a good worker so you are worth the fuss that your co-worker will kick up.

As always, keep a headache journal to help you determine what triggers your migraines and headaches so you can avoid them.