Headache: Perceptions and practices of a Pakistani

Background:

Headache is a common phenomenon worldwide causing a huge burden on society. Though physicians have a long list of differential diagnoses of headache, but data on perceptions of common man about it is scarce.Objective:

 To assess the prevalence of headache in Pakistani society, peoples’ perceptions of its etiology and their response to it.Materials and Methods:

This survey was conducted by Gallup Pakistan, on a sample of over 1100 respondents in the urban and rural areas of all four provinces of Pakistan. This sample was statistically selected across all socioeconomic groups. The author helped in question formulation and data analysis.Results: 17% of our respondents say that they often experience headache, 61% have it sometimes whereas 22% have never had it. For those who suffer from headaches, 13% experience it daily, 29% at least once a week, 36% go through it monthly and for the rest it occurs much more rarely.  

People believe that they experience headache under certain circumstances like excessive work (38%), when worry a lot (33%) or have less sleep (30%). The etiology of headache in view of the respondents is worries of life (38%), mental weakness (28%) and weak eyesight (14%). Fifteen percent of the people consider that headache is a disease in itself.

The commonest remedy to treat headache is taking some medicine (37%), resting for a while (28%) and taking tea (21%). Twelve percent consult a doctor, 12% continue to do their work and 5% go for spiritual healing. Conclusion:

Headache is a common occurrence in society with most people associating it with stress and using self medication for its treatment.Health education is needed regarding its etiology and help seeking to avoid un necessary analgesic use.