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REAL LIFE NEWS: SPACE HEADACHE

by Hazed

Another hazard of life in space has turned up: space headache. Dutch scientists have discovered that many astronauts have suffered from an "exploding" pain in the head which is apparently not related to space motion sickness.

Researchers questioned 17 veteran astronauts. Twelve of them admitted they had endured headaches in space, yet were free of pain in the head when back on Earth. They also reported that the headaches were experienced at a time when they were not suffering from space sickness. The researchers, from the Department of Neurology at Leiden University Medical Centre, concluded that there is something about space flights which trigger headaches. They propose to "classify space headache as a separate entity among the secondary headaches attributed to disorders of homeostasis." No, I don't know what that means either, but it sounds serious!

The researchers speculate about possible causes. Top suspect is microgravity, since it causes blood oxygen to reduce, and provokes "a shift in the body's fluid towards the brain which would raise intercranial pressure".

Lead researcher Dr Alla Vein concluded, "Although headaches in space are not generally considered to be a major issue, our study demonstrated that disabling headaches frequently occur during space missions in astronauts who do not normally suffer from headaches on earth. Previous research has shown that astronauts can be reluctant to reveal all the physical complaints they experience in space, so the actual incidence could be even higher than our study suggests."

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