A headache is a pain in the head which almost everyone feels at one time or another. Almost half of all people have a headache at least once a year. Most headaches are not dangerous but they get in the way of your work and disturb your life.

【小题1】

Tension (紧张）headaches usually cause a slight to strong pain in the head. Many people describe such headaches as a tightening feeling. Some headaches cause a dull pain that can last for hours. They appear anywhere from the front to the back of your head.

About 20% of all headaches are migraines, which are strong headaches that can cause extreme pain. 【小题2】 You will have a feeling of sickness in the stomach, and sometimes you may see flashes of light shortly before migraines attack.

Causes of headaches

【小题3】Even though the exact causes of a headache are not clear, most of them are caused by the widening of blood vessels (血管）combined with chemicals that are set free around them. Nerves send pain messages to your brain. There are many factors that can lead to a headache, such as lack of sleep, stress, smoking or watching TV for a long time. 【小题4】

How to fight off headaches

Pain relievers (止痛剂）and other drugs are often used to ease headaches. Many people take aspirin when they have a headache. Doctors also suggest that patients should relax when they experience a headache. In some cases, changing your diet may result in relieving pain and weakening headaches.【小题5】 . This may not make headaches disappear completely but it can help make you feel better.

Many public figures from IT, show business, and sports have joined the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (肌萎缩性侧索硬化) research. A number of international famous people have already taken the challenge, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook. Troubled musician Justin Bieber even challenged US President Barrack Obama.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge requires that participants pour a bucket of ice water on themselves and then post a video of it on social media while nominating one or more people to do the same within 24 hours. People who fail to take the challenge will have to donate $100 to The ALS Association, which advocates finding treatment and a cure for ALS. And many of those who’ve taken the challenge donated as well.

ALS is a rare disease that gradually reduces patients’ muscle strength, finally making them become unable to speak, move, swallow and breathe. In North America, ALS is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the star baseball player who died of the disease in 1941 at the age of 38. The best-known ALS patient today is British scientist Stephen Hawking. While most people with ALS survive only two to five years after diagnosis(诊断), Hawking has had the disease for decades. The medical treatment for ALS is very expensive and cannot be covered by most social welfare programs. This creates difficulties for many ALS patients and their families, both physically and mentally.

“Due to the ice bucket campaign, many people beginning to know about ALS. With more people aware and more people taking part in the fight against ALS, we can calmly work with not only other ALS organizations, but also with medical companies to speed up new treatments for people affected by the disease,” said Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association.

It’s no secret that inhaling(吸入) smoke is bad for your lungs. But now, scientists are suggesting smoke may also carry and spread infectious diseases. The theory, published in Science Magazine, is based on research that found wildfire smoke is teeming with thousands of species of microorganisms. Some of these microorganisms, including bacteria and fungal spores(真菌孢子), are known to cause disease.

The new research suggests that when a wildfire burns plant or animal matter and disturbs soils, it exposes thousands of species of bacteria and fungi(真菌) that otherwise might not easily become airborne(空气传播的). You might think the high heat from fire would kill these organisms, but one study mentioned in the article found that some bacteria even multiply post-fire. Scientists say the organisms attach themselves onto smoke particulates(微粒), allowing them to travel thousands of miles across continents.

Dr. Peter Chen, director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, is interested in the theory but somewhat skeptical that the microorganisms in smoke would actually cause infections. “Many bacteria and fungi don’t cause lung infections,” says Chen, “but it’s certainly possible that a significant amount could worsen symptoms in someone with a pre-existing lung condition.” “I always thought it was the particulates in smoke that were causing these issues,” says Chen, “But when I read this, I started thinking: Could it be the microorganisms that are also worsening existing illness?”

“Whether the microorganisms in smoke actually cause infection or simply worsen potential respiratory(呼吸的) issues, the article raises a new health threat that is ‘certainly alarming’.” says Kelsey Jack, an associate professor of environmental and development economics. “This is especially true for lower-income populations,” Jack says, “because people with fewer means are often more exposed to the environment. If smoke is affecting the air quality in a certain area, the people who work outside, or who have to go to the office on foot or by bike, will inhale more smoke than those who drive.”

But until more research is done, Chen says the best thing people can do is just follow existing recommendations when air quality is poor—including staying indoors, keeping windows and doors closed, using HEPA filters(过滤器) and running air conditioning.