Sinus headaches
Contrary to common belief, headaches thought to be “sinus headaches” are usually migraine headaches, Dr. Paauw said.
In one study, 2,991 patients with six headaches in the previous 6 months were self-diagnosed or were physician-diagnosed with sinus headaches. But 88% of these headaches met the International Headache Society criteria for migraine headache.
Dr. Paauw said he hopes that clinicians reconsider the evidence regularly when deciding how to treat their patients, and not rely on bits of dogma.
“They stay with us,” he said, “and sometimes there are other ways to do it.”
Shien Tze, MD, an internist in Fargo, N,D,, said that patients sometimes also hold misconceptions, based on outdated dogma, that he needs to dispel.
“I try to convince them that this is a myth that is not based on evidence, not based on science,” he said. “I think it depends on the way you say it. If you say it in a calm, firm, not wishy-washy way, the patients believe you.”
Dr. Paauw reported no relevant financial disclosures. He serves on the editorial advisory board of Internal Medicine News, and he contributes “Myth of the Month” and “Pearl of the Month” columns to this publication.