Headache treatments

For most people headaches are a nuisance. For others, headaches can be the source of untold misery. Headaches prevent us from functioning at our fullest, and in fact at times are disabling, disturbing, and downright debilitating.

Headaches come and go and their duration is short or seemingly forever. Recurring headaches wreck havoc on those who suffer from them, especially if they are severe. Headaches occur at anytime, even waking us up in the middle of the night. When one does occur, we may become sensitive to sound and light. We may feel nausea. We may even feel the need to vomit. These are all disturbing symptoms that bring misery to headache victims.

If a headache is accompanied by intense eye pain, this might indicate symptoms of glaucoma, an eye disease that can lead to blindness. Again, quick medical attention is required in this instance.

What causes headaches has been a mystery that has plagued mankind for centuries, and although we’ve come a long way in alleviating the pain from this annoying and sometime debilitating condition, headaches and their causes may always remain a mystery.

Headaches falling under the label of “chronic” are the most difficult to treat as the pain from these may result from some unknown psychological or emotional cause. Even a person’s lifestyle can produce certain kinds of headaches, such as tension headaches.

By becoming aware of the causes, headaches can at time be thwarted. Sometimes a simple change in diet will be all that is required in order to help keep this pain at bay. Just by making that one simple change in a person’s eating habit may alleviate an oncoming headache. Or making a change in one’s lifestyle, which in turn alleviates stress, may also prevent headaches from occurring.

Nonetheless, those who suffer from this type of pain can only say that headaches reduce their joy when they do occur. This is because headaches affect the very core of who we are. And if we have a low or high pain threshold, the pain we feel may be if the threshold is high, mild, or if the threshold is low, excruciating.

There are as many types of headaches as there are types of pain in the body: Migraines, tension headaches, cluster headaches, sinus headaches. Also headaches can be produced by a plethora of causes, such as head injuries, high blood pressure, infections, such as an ear infection, a tumor(s) in the brain, dental and oral problems (known as TMJ or temporomandibular disorder), hypoglycemia, certain medications, environmental toxins. Eyestrain, arthritis in the area of the neck and spine, neck injuries such as a whiplash can also trigger certain types of headaches.

Dilating or constricting blood vessels usually is one cause of migraine headaches. Low levels of a chemical in the brain known as serotonin may also bring on this type of headache. Serotonin is also known to affect a person’s tendency toward developing clinical depression, as low levels may be responsible for depressive episodes. As levels rise, depression is reduced.

Migraines are classified as two types: classical and common.

Pre-symptoms occur with the classical type, ultimately forecasting the onset of a migraine. Visual symptoms such as blurred vision, small flashing bright lights, even partial blindness, a small blind spot called a scotoma may be experienced. Numbness, tingling, slurred words are some of the other symptoms that may occur.

During a migraine headache, nausea, vomiting, mental cloudiness, even chills may be some of the symptoms that occur with this type of a classical migraine.

In the common migraine again a mental fuzziness may occur. Certain craving for foods, such a chocolate may be present as well as edema, or swelling in various parts of the body. Awakening in the middle of the night may also occur. This form of headaches can last from one to several days. Here there is also an increased sensitivity to light and sound.

Stress, fluctuation in hormone levels, certain foods, emotional illnesses such as depression, medications, even climate changes, such as when the barometric pressure falls before a storm can all be contributing factors to triggering a migraine attack.

Certain foods can bring on a headache, such as too much or too little caffeine as in caffeine withdrawal, or from ingredients in foods such as MSG (Monosodium glutamate) that is found in Chinese foods, canned soups, processed meats, TV dinners, tenderizers and seasonings. MSG induced headaches bring on similar symptoms found in migraines. Nitrates/nitrites found in hot dogs, smoked fish, bacon, canned hams, etc. may cause the onset of head pain. The consumption of too much alcohol, particularly wine, which contains tyramine, an element known to trigger an attack. Alcohol consumption can result hours later in what is known as a “hangover” type of headache.

This is one reason why it is important to read all food labels to ensure such ingredients as MSG, nitrates, etc. if one is sensitive to these elements is not present.

Migraine headaches for some reason occur more often in women than in men. This can be attributed to hormonal changes, such as a rise or drop in estrogen levels.

In case of cluster headaches, these usually produce pain that occurs on one side of the head and can last anywhere from a half-hour to several hours. The name cluster is used as these headaches occur in groups (or clusters) anywhere from four to eight episodes a day. This particular type of headache is the most painful as the pain is most often described as someone poking a sharp knife or “red-hot poker” in the eye. It has also been noticed that a specific type of personality, i.e. ambitious, driven individuals and most if not all of them men are associated with this type of headache. Many of those who do suffer from this type of headache are heavy drinkers and smokers. Channel blockers and cortisone have been prescribed and found to offer some relief from the cluster type headaches.

Several types of medications are often used to alleviate the pain of headaches. Analgesics, mood-altering drugs, and preventive drugs will help end the pain from most headaches. Most of us use the “abortive” approach, i.e. by taking a couple of aspirins (acetylsalicylic acid), acetamenophen such as Tylenol, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or ibuprofen such as Advil. These along with an additional ingredient, Codeine will help stop the pain of a headache once it has begun. Others may opt for a prescribed medication that may work to prevent the onset of a headache. These are usually prescribed in order to prevent the migraine headaches.

Biofeedback training, where through the use of special electronic equipment, sufferers of headaches can learn how to regulate the circulation of their own blood flow, which in turn may alleviate stress, or tension in the muscles that may trigger a headache.

By taking some kind of an antihistamine as well as a decongestant will usually alleviate the pain associated with sinus headaches. Also the use of a hot steam vaporizer will add beneficially to this treatment.

Repeated occurrences of headaches my require tests to determine if a more serious, even life threatening condition is present. A CAT scan, which is a computerized process that takes numerous X-rays, or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) which uses a magnetic field, instead of radiation, that also produces computerized images of the body can help determine the cause or at least rule out brain tumors, or a cerebral hemorrhage—both of which are extremely serious life threatening situations.

Whatever type of headache is present, it is always a good thing to check with a doctor to become informed of the most recent medical treatments as well as recent medications that are now available in order to treat any type of headache.

Again, any headache that comes on suddenly and especially if accompanied by a fever requires immediate medical attention.