Headache is one of the most common causes of poor health and mood. Headache has various causes. Each type of headache requires specific treatment.
It is interesting that for the centuries-old acquaintance of a person with a headache, she has not only opponents, but also … defenders. The ancient Greeks said that pain is the “watchdog of health”, and today doctors agree that pain is given to us by nature not only as a signal, but also as a protective device. Only she is able to make a person pay attention to his health and give up what harms him.
Causes of a headache
Specialists count up to two hundred (!) different “types” and even more causes of headaches. Among the latter, one can name an injury received many years ago, and many infectious diseases, and intoxication (poisoning) of the body both through food, through breathing, contact with the skin, stress and neuromuscular tension.
A headache can be provoked not only by external causes – harsh light, increased noise level, etc., but also by purely “internal” processes of the body, which are sometimes unknown not only to the doctor, but also to the patient himself.
For example, a headache can be caused by disorders of the endocrine system (hormonal imbalance), various diseases of the vascular system, changes in blood pressure, pathology of the spine, nervous system, and tumors.
bad habits that cause headaches
- Stress
- Alcohol
- Smoking
- Sedentary lifestyle
- High or low pillow while sleeping
Headache due to high blood pressure
With high blood pressure, the pain is usually localized in the cervical-occipital region, has a severe pressing and pulsating character.
What to do: take blood pressure medication. Analgesics are not shown.
With reduced pressure, the pain is less intense and does not have a specific localization and character, it intensifies after sleep, especially during the day, with excessive physical and mental stress, in a stuffy room, with a sharp change in body position (getting out of bed, for example).
What to do: take action to increase the pressure. You can drink strong tea or coffee with sugar, take a cool shower. Eleutherococcus, tincture of peony, radiola rosea, “Coffetamine” increases blood pressure.
Pain as a result of neuropsychic overwork
It has a constant compressive, squeezing character, without a clear localization. It is provoked by emotional overstrain, excitement.
What to do: to relieve pain, you need to relax, take a warm bath, a deep massage of the neck and head helps well, and get a good night’s sleep. If relief is not achieved, take a Paracetamol or Ibuprofen tablet. And try to find time to visit the doctor.
neck headache
As a rule, headache is preceded by unilateral pain in the neck. Headache occurs more often in the neck and temples on the one hand, has a squeezing, squeezing, shooting character. When probing the place where the neck passes into the head and along the course of the cervical vertebrae, asymmetric pain is felt.
What to do: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Naproxen, etc.) and muscle relaxants (Mydocalm, Sirdalud, etc.) help to relieve an attack.
Migraine
It is the most common cause of pain in young women.
A classic migraine attack begins with visual disturbances. You “see” flashes of light, zigzags, stars, flickering “flies”, and the images of real objects become fuzzy, distorted, as if mosaic. Then, within 2-6 hours, a strong throbbing pain in half of the head gradually increases to unbearable intensity. Usually these are the sides of the head, but there are cases when pain occurs in the frontal or facial part, nose, cheek, ear … Light and noise fear appear, since any irritation causes increased pain.
The most common triggers for migraine are:
- Sleep deprivation or too much sleep.
- Overwork, prolonged stay in rooms with artificial lighting, at a computer, TV.
- Prolonged exposure to the sun, changes in atmospheric pressure.
- Medications: oral contraceptives, nitrates, etc.
- Alcohol (including red wine).
- Premenstrual period in women.
- Products containing caffeine (both deficiency and excess);
What to do: avoid provoking factors (especially follow the diet!). With mild and rare manifestations of migraine, conventional analgesics taken at the very beginning of an attack, or drugs containing caffeine and ergot alkaloids (Coffetamine, Vasobral, etc.) can help.
If migraine attacks are intense and prolonged, take the time to consult a neurologist. Drugs for the treatment of migraine are expensive, have a very narrow use and a large number of contraindications, therefore, they should be prescribed only by a doctor after a thorough examination.
