Hysterical About Headaches? Posted: 10-25-07 04:00am
Headaches are one of the most common
health grievances of students, adults and
even children, Headaches are very common
and usually do not point to a serious
illness. But even a mild headache can
disrupt your daily activities
What actually happens in your body to
cause headache?
The skull bones and brain tissues do not
have pain sensitive nerve fibers. But
muscles of face, mouth, throat, neck ,
scalp and blood vessels on the surface and
base of brain are sensitive to pain as
they contain pain sensitive nerve fibers.
The tip of these nerve fibers gets
stimulated by various causes like stress,
muscle tension, lack of sleep etc. The
stimulated nerve tip sends message up the
length of the nerve fiber to the related
nerve cells of Brain. Brain locates the
region of stimulated nerve tip based on
these signals and we feel the pain or
ache.
The headache may be mild, chronic or
severe depending on the underlying cause
and pain bearing capacity of the
individual. Our body produces natural pain
killing proteins called endorphins. One of
the theories suggests that people with low
endorphin levels suffer from severe
headache and other chronic pains in
comparison with people having high
endorphin levels.
What triggers headache?
• Anger
• Muscle tension
• Missed meals
• Vigorous exercise
• Sexual excitement
• Infections like Common cold , Flu ,
Fever , Ear infection ,Tooth infection
Sinus infection , Pneumonia , etc
• Coughing - too much coughing can cause
a form of traction headache.
• Brain or head conditions Meningitis
,Encephalitis ,Head injury ,Heatstroke,
Sunstroke
• Before, during, or after menstruation
• Hunger
• Medications (Many drugs designed to
relieve pain can actually cause headache
when the drug is stopped after a period of
prolonged use.)
• Alcohol and caffeine withdrawal
• Not getting enough sleep
• Reading for long periods of time or
eyestrain
• Doing repetitive work
• Staying in one position for a long
time, such as working at a computer.
The same causes of head ache have been
explained in Ayurveda also. These causes
vitiate all the three doshas (vata, pitta
and kapha). The vitiated doshas cause
tension, migraine, sinus and other head
aches.
Few common types of headache are Tension
headache, Migraine headache and sinus
headache.
Tension headache:
Tightening of muscles of face and neck
cause tension headache. It is
characterized by a dull ache in forehead
or back of head and pain in neck and
shoulders which travels to head. Causes
like less sleep, stress, reading for a
long time, and working in front of a
computer for long hours can precipitate
tension headache.
Migraine Headache :
Migraine headache is caused when blood
vessels of head get too much dilated or
constricted . Females are more prone to
this type of headache than males and
migraine tends to run in families.
A person suffering from migraine headache
feels like vomiting becomes too sensitive
to light, sound and other activities. Few
people experience spots or flashes before
headache.
Few facts like menstruation in females,
caffeine, alcohol, aged cheese, cured
meat, stress, change in sleeping pattern,
strenuous exercise trigger migraine
headache.
Sinus Headaches
A sinus headache surfaces when fluids in
the nose are not able to drain well and
pressure builds up in sinuses. A cold,
dust allergies, dirty or polluted water
air travel may cause this type of
headache.
Sinus headache causes pain in forehead,
cheek bones, nose and stuffy nose. The
headache increases when face is bent or
touched. The symptoms are worse in the
morning.
Although headaches are very common, It is
recommended to consult a doctor about your
headache.
Go to an emergency departmentif any of the
following symptoms occur:
• Pain that develops very rapidly
• A change in concentration or ability
to think
• A change in level of alertness
• Altered speech
• Weakness, numbness, or difficulty in
walking
• Changes in vision
• Headache with a stiff neck or neck
pain, or if light hurts your eyes
• If you feel that this the worst
headache of your life
• Headache with dizziness, or a feeling
that you are falling to one side
• Headache from an injury or blow to the
head
• Headache with fever.
Home remedies for tension headache.
For tension headaches massage few drops of
peppermint oil or eucalyptus oil on
temples.
Massage the scalp with slightly warmed
sesame oil. This relieves tension headache
and induces sleep.
Regular exercise, yoga and meditation
reduce the stress levels and keep the
tension headache at bay.
Persons of vata type can use hot water
bags on aching parts and a hot shower will
be of good help.
Persons of pitta type can use cold or
ice packs on aching parts and wrap a wet
cold cloth around neck.
Home remedies for migraine headache.
Make a note of facts which trigger the
headache and also the foods. Try to avoid
these .
Try muscle relaxation exercises.
Progressive muscle relaxation, meditation
and yoga are definitely going to help.
Relax at least for half an hour everyday
by doing your favourite activities like
listening to music, gardening, taking hot
water bath etc.
Stick to you a regular sleep pattern and
get enough sleep but don't oversleep.
Avoid sleeping during the afternoon.
Rest in a dark, quiet room when you feel a
headache coming on. Place an ice pack
wrapped in a cloth on the back of your
neck and apply gentle pressure to painful
areas on your scalp.
Home remedies for sinus headache.
• Breathe in warm, moist air.
• Moist the nasal passages with the help
of saline nasal spray. A saline spray can
be used up to six times per day.
• Do not smoke. If you smoke, quit.
• Avoid second-hand smoke and polluted
air.
• Avoid exposure to anything that
triggers allergy or sinus symptoms.
• Wash your hands frequently to avoid
colds.
• Seek treatment for a persistent cold
before sinusitis sets in.
• Avoid alcoholic drinks. Alcohol can
cause swelling of nasal and sinus tissues.
