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The following is from Everyday Health, written by Chris Iliades, MD and medically reviewed.

If you want your life to be more headache-free, a good place to start looking for solutions is your own house. Many migraines and other headaches start at home.

According to a survey conducted by the National Headache Foundation, about half of all headache sufferers blame headache triggers like bright lights, computers, and loud noise.1

“Many common headache triggers occur in the home,” says MaryAnn Mays, MD, a neurologist who specializes in headaches at the Cleveland Clinic. “Home odors, bright lighting, and loud noise can all trigger headaches or make headaches worse,” adds Dr. Mays. “Making your home a headache-free zone may not eliminate all your headaches, but it can certainly help.” 

How You Can Overcome Your Headache Triggers

Bright Light Relief

“The types of light that may trigger a migraine headache includes bright sunlight, overhead fluorescent lighting, and any type of flickering light,” says Mays. Common sources of flickering light are your computer screen and television.

Here are some tips for headache-free lighting at home:

  • Use drapes over your windows to dim bright outside light.
  • Arrange your home furniture so you’re not sitting in bright light.
  • Change harsh lightbulbs to softer lighting.
  • Have dimmers on your overhead lights.
  • Step away from your computer frequently. 

Perfume and Other Odor Relief

“Cigarette smoke is the most obvious odor you want to keep out of your home, but headaches can also be triggered by cleaning products, flooring, carpeting, and even the deodorizers you use to control odors,” says Mays. “Perfumes and scented candles are common triggers. Most people know right away when an odor is a trigger for them.”

The Link Between Migraine Headache and Neck Pain

A recent study from Brazil surveyed 98 men with migraine and found that odors were a trigger for 48 percent of them, second only to stress. And 73 percent said that odors made their migraines worse, second only to light.  The biggest odor offenders were cigarettes, perfume, and cleaning products.

Odor tips for a headache-free home include:

  • Make your home free of fragrance offenders like scented candles, cologne and perfumes, lotions, flowers, and air fresheners.
  • Use natural or fragrance-free cleaning products.
  • Run a good air filter in your home.
  • Leave your house for a few days if you’re having new flooring or carpeting put in.

Loud Noise Relief

Noise can be both a trigger and a worsening factor for headaches. You can make your home more headache-free by reducing indoor noise and keeping out outdoor noise. “Heavy drapes may help insulate your home from noise,” says Mays. “If you can’t avoid noise, there are always earplugs or headphones.” Other noise tips include:

  • Instead of music with a loud, heavy beat, play soothing sounds.
  • Turn down the TV. If others need the TV loud, use earphones or suggest they use amplifying earphones themselves.
  • Have a quiet room in your house that you can escape to, free of sound and fury.

Allergen Relief

“The main indoor allergens that may trigger a headache are dust and mold,” says Mays. If you are allergic to either one, an allergy-free home may be the ticket to a headache-free home. Follow dust and mold tips such as:

  • Reduce humidity with a home dehumidifier.
  • Enclose your mattress and pillows in plastic cases.
  • Wash all bedding once a week in hot (130-degree) water.
  • Vacuum twice a week with a filtered vacuum cleaner.
  • Clean up damp areas under sinks and around drains. 

“A final tip is to simplify your home environment,” says Mays. “Stress causes headaches also — you can reduce stress by decreasing clutter and getting your home better organized.” The hustle and bustle of the real world offers plenty of headache triggers, making it all the more important to make your home a headache-free refuge.

2On a typical day, most of us are exposed to a wide variety of potentially toxic substances while simply going about our regular routines at home, at school, at work and in our communities. For example, we can breathe in chemicals that “off-gas” from our furnishings, from dry-cleaned clothes, scented personal care products and harsh cleaning products. We can eat pesticide residues on foods. We can encounter biological agents like bacteria, viruses, dust mites and mould in indoor air, as well as electromagnetic radiation from computer monitors, cell phones and microwaves. We can come into contact with toxins by breathing, touching, eating or drinking them.

While we cannot totally eliminate these everyday “hidden exposures,” we can work to reduce them and make choices that minimize our exposure to them. For example, we can choose unscented personal care products, use baking soda and vinegar for cleaning, choose a dry cleaner that offers “wet cleaning” or other non-toxic cleaning methods, eat organic foods, use a HEPA (high efficiency particulate arresting) vacuum cleaner to reduce dust, get rid of mouldy items, sit at least 50 cm from computer monitors, and stand away from the microwave when in use.

WHC: Do you find that you dread cleaning or doing laundry because the cleaners and detergents sting your eyes, make you wheeze or give you a headache? Next cleaning or laundry day, try setting aside your regular cleaners and detergents and try some homemade or alternative products instead. They are healthier for you and the environment. Another bonus is that they are gentler on your clothes and typically more affordable.

Instead of cleaning products that contain harsh chemicals, try using:

  • White vinegar – to clean windows, counter tops, chrome, grease and floors
  • Baking soda – to absorb odours, and clean ovens, sinks and counter tops
  • Lemon juice – to clean windows, sinks and grease
  • Vegetable oil, lemon oil – as a furniture polish
  • Plant-based dish soaps
  • Borax – as a substitute for chlorine bleach. Borax should be used sparingly, as it too can be toxic in high doses
  • Washing soda – to whiten laundry and cut back on the amount of detergent needed
  • There are also a growing number of less-toxic products on the market. Canadian products that have been certified as safer for human health and the environment have an EcoLogo (three doves intertwined to form a maple leaf.)

Tips:

  • To clean your oven, sprinkle with baking soda, spray with water and leave on for 12 hours, respraying the water periodically. Scrub until clean.
  • To open a clogged drain, use baking soda followed by boiling water or vinegar.
  • Try using herbs and spices or boiling a lemon instead of using commercial air fresheners.
  • For an all-purpose cleaner, use a 50:50 mix of water and white vinegar.
  • To save time, make your cleaners in advance.
  • Label all ingredients, and keep them out of reach of children.
  • Wear rubber gloves when cleaning. Even though products are environmentally safe, they may nevertheless irritate the skin of sensitive individuals.

Products to use sparingly or avoid:

  • Window and floor cleaners containing ammonia
  • Drain cleaners containing sodium hydroxide
  • Commercial air fresheners
  • Aerosol products
  • Anything with added fragrances or dyes

Use:

  • A mixture of one cup soap flakes, ½ cup borax and ½ cup washing soda as a laundry soap
  • Sodium perborate or hydrogen peroxide as a chlorine-free, natural bleach
  • ½ to 1 cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle of your laundry, to soften clothes and remove odours and residual detergent (instead of fabric softener)
  • Less-toxic commercial
  • laundry products – look for ones that have been certified as safer, and carry an EcoLogo

Other tips:

  • If you still want to use a “regular” detergent, try one that is scent-free.
  • Instead of dry cleaning clothes, try hand washing or “wet cleaning” (a relatively new procedure that doesn’t use perchlorethylene (PERC), a strong irritant, known to be a neurotoxin and carcinogen at higher doses)

Products to avoid:

  • Detergents with dyes, perfumes and chlorine
  • Chlorine bleach
  • Commercial fabric softeners
  • Dry cleaning (uses a chemical called PERC)

Use:

  • Shampoo – unscented shampoos with natural ingredients
  • Soap – unscented glycerine soaps or other unscented natural skin cleansers
  • Deodorants – mineral crystal stones or salts, or unscented commercial deodorants
  • Toothpaste – salt crystals, baking soda or tea tree oil toothpaste
  • Moisturizers – plain almond oil, olive oil or cocoa butter, or use unscented, hypoallergenic products
  • Dusting powder – cornstarch or French Clay powder (available in health food stores)
  • There are also many other non-toxic products on the market.

Products that may be irritating include:

  • Products with perfumes or dyes
  • Aerosol spray deodorants
  • Hairspray

Other tips:

  • For a natural hair conditioner, work a small amount of olive oil or jojoba oil into your hair until it is coated. Cover your hair with a shower cap and leave on for 30 minutes. Shampoo and rinse as usual.
  • For a homemade hair gel, try dissolving one package of unflavoured gelatin into two cups of hot water. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Indoor moulds can trigger a host of respiratory symptoms, including increased susceptibility to respiratory infections and exacerbation of asthma. Other acute symptoms can include headache and fatigue, and longer-term exposure may result in environmental sensitivities. This page describes what mould is, how to recognize it and how to mould-proof your home.

Learn more: https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/care-programs/environmental-health-clinic/healthy-environment/

A growing number of people experience symptoms when exposed to perfume, after-shave and other scented personal care products. Commonly reported symptoms include:

  • Headaches
  • Dizziness
  • Fatigue
  • Watery eyes
  • Stuffy nose or sinusitis
  • Coughing, tightness in the chest
  • Wheezing, shortness of breath
  • Some people also report feeling anxious and/or depressed, having problems concentrating, a loss of appetite, seizures, muscle pain and numbness.

In workplaces and schools, the ability of people who have environmental sensitivities to work or study effectively may be negatively affected if they are exposed to fragrances. In hospitals, there is the added concern of exposing people with compromised immune systems to potential stressors.

A growing number of workplaces, schools, hospitals, places of worship and public places are adopting scent-free policies because:

  • Workplaces, schools and hospitals want to ensure good indoor air quality, to promote healthier and more productive environments for staff and students, and to protect clients and patients.
  • Indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outside air. Fragrances are the most obvious indoor air pollutant, second only to tobacco smoke.
  • Perfumes and other strong scents have repeatedly been reported to trigger symptoms in people with asthma and people with environmental sensitivities.
  • Recent Canadian Human Rights legislation requires people with diagnosed environmental sensitivities to be accommodated in the workplace.

Learn more: https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/care-programs/environmental-health-clinic/healthy-environment/

People living with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) sometimes have environmental sensitivities or intolerances, whereby they experience symptoms when they are exposed to low levels of everyday substances in the environment. If you have environmental sensitivities, the most important thing to do is avoid the substances that trigger these symptoms.

Here are some tips for making your home more environmentally safe. You will likely need help to make these changes. Or try breaking each task into 15-minute intervals.

  • Decrease the number of “dust collectors” in your home by removing knick-knacks, decorative pillows and stuffed animals.
  • Reduce clutter, particularly paper and books, which collects dust. Keep papers in a desk and books in a glass-covered case.
  • Make your own cleaning products using baking soda, vinegar and pure soap or buy cleaning products labelled “non-toxic,” “eco” or “safe.”
  • Use unscented personal care products, such as deodorants, lotions and shampoos. Avoid perfume and cologne.
  • Reduce the humidity in your house to 30 to 50 percent, to prevent mould growth.
  • Get rid of any mouldy items, such as indoor plants.
  • Do not store items in cardboard boxes – use moisture-proof storage containers.
  • Avoid pesticides and herbicides, both indoors and outdoors.
  • If you have an option, choose hardwood or ceramic flooring instead of carpets. If you have carpets, use a central vacuum or a vacuum with a HEPA filter.

For more information, see the sections on Indoor Air Quality at Home and Environmental Sensitivities.

WHC3: Approximately 60 percent of people with fibromyalgia have some environmental sensitivities/intolerances, whereby they experience symptoms when they are exposed to low levels of everyday substances in the environment. If you have environmental sensitivities/intolerances, the most important thing to do is avoid the substances that trigger these symptoms.

Here are some tips for making your home more environmentally safe. (If you suffer from fatigue, you may need help to make these changes. Try breaking each task into 15-minute intervals.)

  • Decrease the number of “dust collectors” in your home by removing knick-knacks, decorative pillows and stuffed animals.
  • Reduce clutter, particularly paper and books, which collects dust. Keep papers in a desk and books in a glass-covered case.
  • Make your own cleaning products, using baking soda, vinegar and pure soap; or buy cleaning products labelled “non-toxic,” “eco” or “safe.”
  • Use unscented personal care products, such as deodorants, lotions and shampoos. Avoid perfume and cologne.
  • Reduce the humidity in your house to 30 to 50 percent, to prevent mould growth.
  • Get rid of any mouldy items and indoor plants which support mould growth.
  • Do not store items in cardboard boxes – use moisture-proof storage containers.
  • Avoid pesticides and herbicides, both indoors and outdoors.
  • If possible, choose hardwood or ceramic flooring instead of carpets. If you have carpets, use a central vacuum or vacuum with a HEPA filter.
  • Ventilate well, with open windows on nice days
  • Watch the Air Quality Health Index to avoid exercise outdoors when the index is high.

4The best thing you can do to manage your environmental sensitivities is to minimize your exposure to known triggers and to substances that could potentially be harmful. Do this work slowly, in stages, and, if possible, ask family or friends to help.

At Home

Thoroughly inspect your home, one room at a time. Start with the things you know trigger symptoms and are the easiest and least expensive to change. Here are some suggestions for making your home more environmentally safe:

Keep dust to a minimum:

  • Consider wearing a mask when cleaning, to filter out dust particles.
  • Dust with a damp cloth.
  • Decrease the number of “dust collectors” in your home by removing knick-knacks, decorative pillows and stuffed animals.
  • Reduce clutter, particularly paper and books, which collect dust. Keep papers in a desk and books in a cabinet with glass doors, if possible.
  • If you do not have a central vacuum cleaner that vents outside, use a high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) vacuum cleaner, if possible.

Prevent mould growth:

  • Repair any water leaks promptly (it takes less than 48 hours for mould to grow on wet materials).
  • Reduce the humidity in your house to 30 to 50 percent to prevent mould growth. You can measure the humidity in various rooms in your home with a hygrometer from the hardware store. Use a fan or a dehumidifier if needed.
  • Get rid of any mouldy items.
  • Do not store items in cardboard boxes – use moisture-proof storage containers.
  • Decrease the number of plants in your home as mould spores are released into your indoor air from the soil.

Reduce your exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cleaning, laundry and personal care products:

  • Make your own non-toxic cleaning products from items such as baking soda, vinegar and pure soap or buy cleaning products labelled “non-toxic” that do not have warning logos and contain no perfumes or dyes.
  • Avoid using “air fresheners” or “air care” products, which do not remove odours, but merely mask them by adding potentially harmful VOCs to your indoor air.
  • Air out new items and clothing before using them.
  • Avoid dry cleaning, or at least air out dry-cleaned clothes before returning them to closets.
  • Avoid using perfumes, laundry detergents, fabric softeners and chlorine bleach.
  • Use unscented deodorant, lotion, shampoo, aftershave and other personal care products.
  • Avoid wearing perfume or cologne, and ask family and friends to avoid wearing perfumed products around you.

Avoid pesticides and herbicides:

  • Avoid pesticides and herbicides, both indoors and outdoors. Use baits and traps instead, and seal points where pests could potentially enter your home.
  • If possible, eat organic foods.

Choose flooring, furnishings and renovation materials carefully:

  • Consider replacing wall-to-wall carpets with hard surface flooring. If you want some kind of rug or carpet on top, use washable area rugs.
  • Choose new furnishings that don’t have a strong odour. Be aware that pressed wood and particle or chipboard in furniture emits formaldehyde over a prolonged period. Formaldehyde is a known irritant, allergen and carcinogen.
  • Use low-VOC, water-based paints.
  • Contain renovation areas, and ventilate them well after completing the renovations and before returning to the space.
  • Consider purchasing an air purifier with a HEPA filter and activated carbon to filter out both particulates and some VOCs.

Create an oasis

Ideally, you will want to eliminate pollutants from your entire home. But if this is not possible, create an “oasis” – one room in your home that is free from as many problem items as possible. Many people choose to make their bedroom an oasis, as this is the room where they spend the most time.

To turn your bedroom into an oasis, follow these steps:

  • Empty the room completely.
  • Clean the walls, floors and windows using non-toxic products.
  • Wash the drapes, pillows, sheets, bed covers and throw rugs in hot water to kill dust mites. If these items are made from synthetic materials that bother you, replace them with products made from natural, untreated fibres (like cotton, linen, silk or wool).
  • Wash your sheets and pillowcases in hot water regularly (at least once a week).
  • Replace old pillows that cannot be washed in hot water, and cover new pillows with mite-proof cotton protectors. If you are sensitive to synthetic foam or feather pillows, try pillows filled with organic cotton, buckwheat, kapok or even cotton towels.
  • Cover your mattress and box spring with cotton covers that dust mites cannot penetrate, and wash the covers in hot water as often as possible.
  • Return to the room only the items that you can tolerate. Ask yourself: Does the item smell? Has it been painted recently? Has it been treated with chemicals, such as synthetic fragrances, waterproofing or mothballs? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you may want to get rid of the item.
  • Solid wood or metal furnishings are generally better tolerated than those made from fibreboard or chipboard, which off-gas formaldehyde.
  • As new carpets can off-gas VOCs, and old carpets can retain dirt, dander, bacteria, mould and mites, consider not having carpet in the room. If desired, scatter rugs made from natural fibres that can be washed frequently, could be used.
  • Keep toys, knick-knacks, books and magazines out of the room, as they collect dust.
  • Keep the bedroom door closed during the day, and free from dry-cleaned goods, frequently worn shoes, sports equipment and dirty laundry.
  • Clean the room regularly and thoroughly. Wear a mask while cleaning, to avoid inhaling dust.
  • Keep pets out of the room.
  • Keep the bedroom door open when sleeping, to prevent the build-up of carbon dioxide.

At Work

It may be more difficult to make changes within your workplace than at home. The types of exposures you encounter at work will depend upon the industry you work in and the type of work you do. The risk of being exposed to chemicals and other toxins is higher in some industries than others. These include:

  • Agriculture
  • Construction
  • Dry cleaning
  • Firefighting
  • Manufacturing (plastic products, textiles, fabricated metals, transport equipment, clothing, furniture and others)
  • Mining
  • Printing and publishing
  • Hotel industry
  • Pest control

Other occupations that may not appear to put people at risk can also expose workers to environmental contaminants. For example, some teachers are exposed to mould in older, poorly maintained schools and portable classrooms, and many are also regularly exposed to chalk dust, markers and art supplies. Hairdressers are exposed to a number of VOCs and heavy metals in hair dyes, perm solutions and other treatments. Many office workers spend the day in poorly ventilated buildings. Several items commonly found in offices can contribute to poor indoor air quality, including:

  • Photocopiers, which emit VOCs, particulates and ozone
  • Liquid paper, glues, carbonless paper, toners for photocopy and fax machines
  • Computers, which emit electromagnetic radiation, and may release ozone and VOCs
  • Carpets, which can collect dust, mould, bacteria, pesticides and dirt
  • Desks, partitions and other furniture made from particle-board, which off-gas formaldehyde and other VOCs
  • Cleaning products that have warning logos or contain fragrances
  • Perfumes and other scented personal care products on employees

If you are experiencing symptoms you think are related to environmental exposures at work, talk with your supervisor. In Canada, employers have a legal duty to accommodate people with disabilities, including people with ES. Employers have a duty to take every step available to them, to the point of “undue hardship,” to remove any discriminatory barriers and ensure that all their programs and activities are inclusive of the needs of a diverse workforce. Accommodations are your legal right. Accommodations for people with ES may make the work environment healthier for everyone who works in it.

Here are some examples of accommodations:

  • purchasing a portable HEPA and charcoal-containing air filter
  • providing a workstation that is near a window that opens and away from off-gassing equipment, such as the photocopier
  • developing and enforcing a scent-free policy
  • allowing employees to work from home when possible
  • avoiding the spraying of chemicals or, if necessary, informing workers beforehand so that they can stay away during the spraying and for a period afterwards

Remove Yourself from the Problem

Sometimes it is not so easy to change your immediate environment, for example, at the mall where you shop or in your workplace. In these cases, it is best to get out of the building or room in which your symptoms are being triggered, as quickly as possible, leave the area and “get some air.”

If problems persist in an environment that you need to enter regularly (for example, your workplace, school or place of worship), you may need to work with others to improve the environment or make special accommodations.

As you “clean up” your environment and adopt healthier habits, your symptoms may be triggered less frequently. Your tolerance for problematic substances may gradually improve, although you may go through a period of a few weeks or months where symptoms, whenever they are triggered, are more noticeable. Although your tolerance may gradually improve, unfortunately, it probably won’t return to what it was, and you will likely remain more sensitive than others to these substances.

  1. https://www.everydayhealth.com/headache-migraine/11-biggest-headache-triggers.aspx ↩︎
  2. https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/care-programs/environmental-health-clinic/healthy-environment/ ↩︎
  3. https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/care-programs/environmental-health-clinic/fibromyalgia-syndrome/ ↩︎
  4. https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/care-programs/environmental-health-clinic/environmental-sensitivities/ ↩︎

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