Pills or Perseverance: How Japan and Other Nations Tackle Headaches

The Japanese pharmaceutical company SSP conducted a survey on headaches resulting from changes in weather or atmospheric pressure, targeting 500 respondents in each of the following five countries: Britain, China, Germany, Japan, and the United States. The survey found that 70.8% of the respondents in Japan “often” or “occasionally” experience such headaches, with similar percentages for the other countries.

When asked whether headaches should be endured to some extent, 78.2% of respondents in Germany either “strongly agreed” or “somewhat agreed,” which was the highest level among the five countries. Japan had the lowest level of agreement, at 59.8%.

However, 77.2% of the respondents in Japan said that they do in fact tend to endure their headaches. This suggests a significant gap between the attitude towards headaches and actual behavior.

When asked how long they wait before taking medicine after noticing a headache, more than half of respondents in the United States said 30 minutes or less, which was shorter in general than for those in other countries. Meanwhile, there is a striking tendency in Japan for people to endure headaches without the help of medicine. The survey results show that 17.8% of the Japanese respondents take no medicine at all for a headache, which was the highest percentage among the five countries.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)