Participatory Gastric Headache in the Iranian Traditional Medicine

One type of headache in the Iranian traditional medicine is the participatory gastric headache. It is defined as the headache not originated from the disorders of head and neck; rather the pain in the head is caused by gastric dysfunction and its diseases. Treatment of this type of headache is completely dependent on the treatment of the gastric disorder. Since this type of headache is not considered in the classifications of the International Headache Society (HIS), we have carried out this study to review the most reliable textbooks of the Iranian traditional medicine to define the participatory gastric headache, its causes, its different types, and the symptoms. The study is a review of the textbooks of the Iranian traditional medicine such as the Qanon, Zakhireh-e Kharazmshahi, Al-Havi, Exir-e Azzam, Moalejat-e Aghili, and Sharh al-Asbab va al-Alamat. In the review, it was found that the headache originated from the gastric and GI disorders is evidently defined in these textbooks, and it was described in all the books. The headache was classified into the following categories:1- Headache cause by a simple dyspepsia, 2- headache caused by dyspepsia of the gastric humors (bile, phlegm, and black bile), 3- headache caused by gastric bloating, 4- headache caused by production of vapors in the stomach, and 5- headache caused by the weakness of gastric sphincter.Moreover, the symptoms and treatments of all these types had been described in details. So, it can be concluded that in contrast with the modern medicine, this type of headache has a clear position in the Iranian traditional medicine, and Iranian physicians were familiar with and treated it.