ItAAEs a pain.

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Experiencing a daily headache is identified as the most common form of untreated pain worldwide, and is said to cost millions of dollars in lost productivity by affecting the overall wellbeing of employees.

A loss of productivity due to headaches is estimated to affect 200,000 people daily in the UAE, and according to a recent study published by the Centre for Adaptive Disorders and Headache in Italy, four to five per cent of the global population suffer from chronic daily headaches, which can generally be treated by over-the-counter painkillers or by reducing eye strain levels.

The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Health Authority of Abu Dhabi and the Emirates Medical Association have recently joined forces to launch a national awareness campaign addressing pain management. The campaign, called Relief, aims to help put an end to people suffering from daily pain, as well as raise awareness of how to improve the general wellbeing of individuals in UAE.

"Pain is often viewed as a character flaw or a weakness. But really, it's an invisible disease. You don't need to have a bandage or lose your hair to be its victim," says Thuraya Kamber Al Awadi, a spokeswoman for Relief.

"When someone is in pain - and a lot of people are - family and friends cannot always see a physical symptom such as a cut, and can tire of hearing about it, often drifting away to leave you alone to manage your pain. With pain your self- worth has a tendency to follow those people, deserting you.

"Your identity as a person can feel diminished, particularly if it affects your daily life on a regular basis. Although often treatable with over-the-counter medication or simple lifestyle changes, pain is too often ignored until it causes more serious complications."

Daily pain in UAE cuts across all genders, nationalities and ages, including an estimated 20 per cent of children. International studies have found that people are afraid to talk about it, reluctant to treat it and dismissive of its consequences on themselves and others. Relief also notes that pain in women is a common problem.

"Women are subject to kinds of pain exclusive to their sex such as, Dysmenorrhoea (menstruation pain), partum and post partum pain and chronic pelvic pain," says Professor Joseph Shokry Costandi, director of the Pain Clinic at Al Qassimi Hospital.

"They are also subjected to recurrent painful conditions such as migraine, irritable bowel syndrome and back pain." Many women, who are used to their men moaning and groaning over a simple flu, may strongly disagree, but Professor Costandi says that women are more sensitive to painful stimuli and have a lower pain and tolerance threshold.

The Relief campaign plans to educate the UAE about pain management over the next few months through public awareness events at local malls, schools and business. In the meantime, anyone suffering from pain to the extent that it is interfering with their daily life is advised to contact their local doctor immediately.

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