The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent legend opened up on a painful condition he experiences
Simon Cowell has revealed the true reason why he often wears rose-tinted glasses – and it isn’t for fashion. The music mogul, who returned to filming Britain’s Got Talent auditions yesterday, previously shed light on a painful condition he experiences amidst rumours of a ‘mystery illness’.
“I just found out according to the internet, I have a ‘mystery illness’,” he said on Instagram last year. “For anyone concerned, I missed two auditions at the end of one day, two weeks ago, because I do get migraines after long days in the filming lights.”
Directly addressing his 2.6 million followers, he later stressed: “PS. This is why I wear these glasses!” Headaches and migraines are often confused, but the latter specifically refers to an especially bad throbbing pain often centred on one side.
Usually, this pain can last anywhere from two hours to three days. Some people suffer from migraines several times a week, while others experience them less frequently.
Additional symptoms can include tiredness, food cravings, changes in mood and even urinating more, though the severity of these is thought to lessen with age. Experts are still uncertain about what causes a migraine but anxiety, menstruation, poor eating habits and too much caffeine are notable triggers.
Speaking to the NHS, TV Doctor Dawn Harper, once explained: “Migraine is an incredibly common problem that affects around six million people in the UK and two-thirds of those are women. I do see a lot of people who describe their headaches as migraine and, in fact, I think we have to be careful that as miserable as headaches are, they are not all migraines.
“And migraines classically are one-sided headaches often associated with nausea, quite often actually make you sick. Usually, people feel they have to just lie down in a darkened room.
“They don’t like the lights and they feel, they really are severe headaches, which last for several hours. And then some poor folk will last for two or three days. A migraine can be very frightening.”
If you experience migraines, a GP may prescribe you medical treatments, including nausea stoppers and ‘triptans’ which change how your brain receives pain signals. However, it’s also worth trying a few home remedies to manage the pain.
Getting plenty of sleep, managing stress and limiting caffeine intake may help, in addition to lying down in a darkened room and resting. NHS guidance adds: “If your migraines are severe, you might be offered other things to help, such as learning relaxation techniques and acupuncture.
“If these treatments do not manage your migraines, you may be offered a new type of medicine called a gepant. These work in a different way than other migraine medicines, so may be of more use to you.
“If none of these treatments help your symptoms, or they’re getting worse, you may be referred to a specialist for further tests and treatment.”
