Author response: Smartphone use and primary headache: A cross-sectional hospital-based study
DeeptiVibha, Additional Professor (Neurology), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi, India)
Submitted May 20, 2020
We thank Dr. Sethi for sharing his personal observation in context with our article1 and editorial.2 The observation of smartphone possibly not being a trigger but an augmenting factor is interesting and requires clarity by more studies and evidence. The apt illustration of adaptive behavior—like decreasing screen brightness and subduing ringtones—may help with photophobia and phonophobia associated with migraine. While these may work well as non-pharmacologic interventions during an episode, the use of smartphones increasing the migraine frequency and severity per se, is still open to speculation.
Disclosure
The author reports no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures. References
Uttarwar P, Vibha D, Prasad K, et al. Smartphone use and primary headache: a cross- sectional hospital-based study. Neurol Clin Pract 2020 Epub Mar 4.
Moawad H, Jones E. Smartphone use and headaches: Are we ready to accept a link? Neurol Clin Pract Epub Mar 4.
We thank Dr. Sethi for sharing his personal observation in context with our article1 and editorial.2 The observation of smartphone possibly not being a trigger but an augmenting factor is interesting and requires clarity by more studies and evidence. The apt illustration of adaptive behavior—like decreasing screen brightness and subduing ringtones—may help with photophobia and phonophobia associated with migraine. While these may work well as non-pharmacologic interventions during an episode, the use of smartphones increasing the migraine frequency and severity per se, is still open to speculation.
Disclosure
The author reports no relevant disclosures. Contact journal@neurology.org for full disclosures.
References