Osmophobia in migraine classification: A multicentre study in juvenile patients

Abstract

In conclusion, this study demonstrates that this new approach, proposed in the Appendix (A1.1), appears easy to apply and should improve the diagnostic standard of ICHD-II in young patients too.

Osmophobia and Odour-triggered Headaches – Review of the Literature and Main Research Centres

“…The majority of studies investigated the presence of osmophobia. There were 13 comparative studies between migraine and other primary headaches or controls without headache, 2,3,5,8,13,14,[17][18][19][20]22,28,31 and 10 that evaluated only migraine patients. 4,6,7,11,15,16,24,26,29,30 As for odour-triggered headache, there were six studies detected, two comparative studies between migraine and other primary headaches, 1,3 two with migraine patients, 7,24 and two case reports.…”

“…Generally, we observed a severe intolerance to odours, pleasant or unpleasant, during headache attacks. 2,[4][5][6][7][8]10,11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] However, a limited number of studies showed that odours may trigger headache attacks in some patients, particularly in migraineurs 1,3,6,7,9,24 and occasionally in cluster headache patients. 12,18 This intolerance to odours is known as osmophobia, and according to two studies that investigated osmophobia in secondary headaches, it occurred during headache attacks only in the primary headaches.…”

“…2 Many researchers have confirmed that osmophobia is a symptom associated with migraine. 2,[4][5][6][7][8]10,11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Despite such research, osmophobia is still not part of the diagnostic criteria for migraine. 34 In recent years, these studies were carried out in several countries.…”

Phenytoin in the Treatment of Osmophobia in Migraine Patient: A Case Report

“…Although osmophobia is not a diagnostic criterion for migraine, many studies show that this symptom is highly prevalent and is useful to differentiate migraine from tension-type headache [1,4,5,7,8,13]. Such as headache, osmophobia affects the quality of life of migraine patients and hinders the performance of their professional activities, especially in those who work in environments with strong odors, such as in perfumery, gas station and the selling of insecticide or beauty products [10,11].…”

“…There is a significant association between odors and primary headaches, particularly to migraine with or without aura [1][2][3][4][5][6] and tension-type headache [1,[6][7][8]. The literature of its occurrence in secondary headaches is very scarce [9].…”