Gurnani Bharat, Kaur Kirandeep
MBBS, DNB Ophthalmology, FCRS, FICO(2), Consultant Cornea and Refractive Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, 605007 India.
MBBS, DNB Ophthalmology, FPOS, FICO(2), Consultant Pediatric and Squint Services, Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, 605007 India.
Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 Oct;74(Suppl 2):2968-2969. doi: 10.1007/s12070-021-02621-w. Epub 2021 May 20.
COVID-19 has disrupted daily life and has affected the whole community. The healthcare workers have been at high risk caring for the suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients across the globe. COVID-19 challenges have forced everyone to adopt a different lifestyle and there has been stress on hand hygiene, social distancing, and regular usage of PPE kits. Continuous use of face masks and respirators has resulted in a variety of symptoms of which headache forms a major part by all healthcare professionals as well as the patients. So the question is are we seeing a silent headache epidemic? In the letter, we have discussed the various types of headaches secondary to regular use of face masks and respirators, the extent to which it has affected the whole community, the growing threat of a silent epidemic, and measures to combat the same. We believe the measures described will help to curb the burden of headaches in the whole community.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）扰乱了日常生活，影响了整个社区。医护人员在全球范围内照料疑似和确诊的COVID-19患者时面临着高风险。COVID-19带来的挑战迫使每个人都采取了不同的生活方式，手部卫生、社交距离以及个人防护装备（PPE）套件的定期使用都面临压力。持续佩戴口罩和呼吸器导致了各种症状，其中头痛在所有医护人员以及患者中都占了很大一部分。那么问题来了，我们是否正在目睹一场无声的头痛流行呢？在这封信中，我们讨论了因经常佩戴口罩和呼吸器而引发的各类头痛、其对整个社区的影响程度、无声流行日益增长的威胁以及应对措施。我们相信所描述的措施将有助于减轻整个社区的头痛负担。
