In my 50+ years of living, I had never, ever, heard the word “alley-din-e-a” until the other day. It was in a presentation by a neurologist, and she mentioned it in passing, implying it relates to super sensitivity, and occurs when something hurts during an event which is not considered to be a painful activity.
“Like when I brush my hair,” I thought, “or how on some days my shoes suddenly feel ‘pinchy’… or when the radio is playing at the same time as people are speaking and the noise hurts my ears… or how I can’t talk on my mobile phone for very long before my temple feels like it is heating up and gets achey…”
Now, of course, I realized I might be muddying the water – and jumping to conclusions – my interpretation might not be quite right… so I went looking for more information.
[Disclaimer – I am not a doctor or healthcare professional – I only write about my lived experience with migraine – I am not qualified to give scientific explanations – please speak to your doctor if you are looking for medical advice.]
Here’s what I found out:
First up – the word I heard is actually ALLODYNIA [for some reason it made me think of “allo allo Dynia… what ‘ave we ‘ere?”].
Second – my noise example doesn’t qualify – the condition only relates to tactile stimuli. The hair brushing example turns out to be the most common example used on websites. The pinchy shoes probably qualifies… but probably not the mobile-phone-hot-head issue.
Third – no one really knows what’s going on, other than the fact that nerves seem to be malfunctioning (or over-functioning). Your central nervous system is acting crazy (which is obviously not the technical term) and sending too many pain signals to the brain.
Fourth – the condition tends to occur with other illnesses or events, such as migraine, diabetes, fibromyalgia, shingles and chemotherapy. (Statistics suggest 40-70% of people having a migraine attack experience allodynia.)
Fifth – there is no ‘cure’ for the condition, but treatments options seem to align with other ‘typical’ approaches to help reduce migraine pain; medication, lifestyle changes, therapy, mindfulness… in other words, trying to turn the volume down on the drama in your nervous system to make you less hyper-sensitive to triggers.
Lastly – it’s unlikely that I actually have Allodynia even though my hair hurts… you can run a test: brush a dry cotton bud up your arm, or apply a hot or cold compress to your skin… if you’re not gasping in pain, you’re probably ok.
[That said – as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a Super Hottie not a Cool Kid and I just can NOT put a cold compress on my body without feeling ice-cream-headache-styled pain… “semi-allodynia” anyone??]
In all seriousness – if you think super-sensitivity is an issue for you, and it may well be, because migraine-brains ARE super-sensitive, then be sure to talk to your doctor… the more we know – the more we grow – the more empowered we become!
Take care (brushin’ ya hair), Linda xx
PS – If you want to know more, here’s some links to people who can explain it better than I can (in alphabetical order):
American Migraine Foundation: What to Know About Allodynia | American Migraine Foundation
Cleveland Clinic: Allodynia: What It Is, Causes, Treatment & Types (clevelandclinic.org)
Healthline: Allodynia: What Is It, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More (healthline.com)
Medical News Today: Allodynia: Causes, types, and treatment (medicalnewstoday.com)
The Mindful Migraine 
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