Heed to Your Headache
Another long and tiring day, another horrible headache. So what do you do? Pop pills, take a bath, relax but that does nothing to the throbbing in your head. Feels like a hammer going bang bang in your head. Wish you could do something?
Although painful and troublesome, most headaches are minor health concerns and can be easily treated by taking some analgesics. But if they are severe, recur frequently, or are attended by other symptoms, you may need to take additional steps. It is amazing that while millions of people are plagued by chronic headaches daily, few take the problem to the doctor. That’s because most just dismiss the pain in the head as just that — a headache. However, it could be more than that. Before your head begins to pound again, read this:
Why do we get headaches
As common as they are, headaches are not very well understood. However, most research has concluded that headaches are basically muscle pain. When tense muscles press against the nerves and blood vessels in your head and neck, the result is pain. Broadly speaking, headaches can be classified into three types:
* Tension headaches
* Migraine or cluster headaches
* Headaches caused by sinus problems
Tension headaches afflict almost everyone at one time or another. There is a dull, constant, non-throbbing pain that can make your head feel as if it’s gripped in a tight band. The muscles of your neck may seem knotted, and certain areas on your head and neck may be sensitive to touch. Tension headaches can be short-lived and infrequent, or they can be enduring and chronic. Stress is the most common trigger of tension headaches. Other reasons may include anxiety about work or family life, or it may derive from some physical factor such as persistent noise. Eye-strain, poor posture, too much caffeine, or the grinding or clenching of teeth at night can also lead to tension headaches.
Migraines are the most debilitating of headaches and can be totally incapacitating. With some sufferers, a migraine attack is preceded by a warning sign that may include visual disturbances such as flickering points of light, blind spots, or zigzag lines, or more rarely, numbness in a limb or the smelling of strange odours. Whether a warning occurs or not, a migraine will usually begin with an intense, throbbing pain on one side of the head. This pain may spread and is often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. A migraine can last from a few hours to three days and can cause over sensitivity to light, odors and sound.
Migraines are somewhat more mysterious. Although much evidence indicates that constricting and swelling of blood vessels is involved, some researchers believe that the headaches are primarily neurological in origin. Because migraines often run in families, it seems likely that genetics can play a role. In any event, a wide range of factors can trigger an attack; among them are excessive caffeine, various foods or scents, naps, dry winds, changes in altitude or seasons, hormonal fluctuations or birth-control pills, missing a meal or stuffy rooms. Migraines may also occur in the aftermath of intense emotions such as excitement or anger. Exercise, sexual activity or very cold foods can also kickstart a migraine.
Cluster headaches are so called because they tend to come in bunches over one or several days. Typically they begin several hours after a person falls asleep and are sometimes preceded by a mild aching sensation on one side of the head. The pain is severe, non-throbbing, piercing, and usually located in and around the eye. This is generally accompanied by nasal congestion and a flushed face. It lasts from 30 minutes to two hours, then diminishes or disappears altogether, only to recur a day later. A barrage of four or more attacks may occur in the course of the day, and cluster headaches can strike every day for weeks or months before going into long periods of remission. The vast majority of sufferers are men. Cluster headaches are most common in heavy smokers and drinkers and those with high levels of stress. Sometimes a certain kind of food may also be responsible.
Sinus headaches are characterised by a pain in the forehead, nasal area, eyes and sometimes the top of the head. In some cases, they also produce a feeling of pressure behind the face. Inflammation or infection of the membranes lining the sinus cavities can give rise to such headaches. Also, the headache pain may stem from suction on the sinus walls, which occurs when nasal congestion creates a partial vacuum in the sinuses. Sinus headaches typically result form basic seasonal allergies, or from cold or flu.
Whatever the type of headache, you must never ignore it. And immediately rush to the doctor if you have the following symptoms:
* A dull, steady pain that feels like a band tightening around your head. You may have a tension headache.
* Throbbing, begins on one side, and causes nausea or sound or light sensitivity. You may have a migraine
* A non-throbbing pain around the eye, with nasal congestion on that side of your face. You may be suffering from a cluster headache.
* A steady pain in the area behind your face that gets worse if you bend forward and is accompanied by congestion. It could be a sinus headache.
* A terrible pain accompanied by vomiting, limb weakness, double vision, slurred speech or difficulty in swallowing could mean a severe headache.
* Your headache is the kind you have never had before. It occurs first thing in the morning and is persistent throughout the day.
Remember never to take your headaches lightly, for they could be far more serious than you think.
