Headache here is the most notorious of all human afflictions. They are
ruthlessly non-sparing, and it’s rare to find a man who has never
suffered one. Many diverse conditions can split, throb or nag the head,
and the list includes vascular disturbances, injuries, infections,
intoxicants, hormonal upsets, tumors, and internal organ disorders.
Fortunately,
in nine cases out of ten, headaches are a result of an uneasy and tense
mind. Next prevalent in frequency is the migraine. More frequent in
women, it leads to pounding arteries and a throbbing head. Close on the
heels of migraines follow cluster headaches that are common in men and
occur at night. Then there is a large and assorted group of conditions
that present with a headache.
In
general, physicians today prefer to follow a safe course and put you
through a battery of diagnostic tests to find if the pain is due to a
physical cause. Usually, the tests draw a blank, but they help rule out
conditions of a serious nature. In case you have already been through
the diagnostic drill with a zero result, here are some helpful hints.
Never sleep with your head under the covers:
Many
people pull their head under the covers when they sleep. It is a habit
you can do without. Because if you sleep like a turtle, you receive less
oxygen and that can give you a splitting headache. If it is the creepy
crawlies that bug you, use an insect-repellant. But do not suffocate
yourself.
Stay out of stuffy smoke-filled rooms:
Are
you forced to spend long hours in a place which is stuffy and filled
with smoke? Do your friends, colleagues and visitors light a cigarette
once too often? If yes, the swirling tobacco smoke can give you a
headache because it changes the chemical nature of the air you are
breathing. Cigarette smoke builds up the carbon monoxide, ammonia and
benzopyrene contents in air toxic levels. The remedy is simple. Either
refuse do not allow the nicotine lovers to light up in your room or walk
out.
Keep your room well ventilated:
Even
if your office is a ‘no smoking zone,’ you may still run into trouble
if it is badly ventilated. An unaired room with a low oxygen level can
make you uneasy, set your head throbbing, and impair your concentration.
This threat particularly lurks in modern-day offices with sealed
windows and central air conditioning that are subject to frequent power
cuts. Windows that can be opened easily and the airing of the rooms are a
must in this situation. Architects and builders should ensure such
provisions.
Sleep sufficiently:
Six
to eight hours of sleep each night is an excellent recipe for good
health. But some people do even better. They sleep off a headache. You
can try it too. It works—on most occasions.
Too much of anything is bad:
This
also applies to sleep. Extra hours of sleep can leave you with a heavy
head. You let go of precious hours and feel miserable.
Regular exercise helps:
Exercise
is a wonderful antidote. It acts as an excellent stress-buster. A
forty-five-minute brisk walk, five times a week, can work absolute
wonders for you. Try it. Take a forty-minute quick walk every day and
feel a big difference.
Breathe deeply:
It works. Deep breathing is a great tension-reliever. You are doing it right if your stomach is moving more than your chest.
Eat on time:
The
lack of food is another head-buster. If you skip or delay meals, it
causes an automatic drop in your blood sugar and may result in a
splitting headache. If you are prone to such attacks, beat them with
frequent small meals and snacks, especially fresh fruit, salad and
yoghurt.
Protect your eyes:
Bright
light—be it from the sun, television or a video display terminal—can
lead to squinting, eyestrain, and finally a headache. Wear sunglasses if
you are going to be out in the sun for a long time. And if you are
working on the computer, take frequent short breaks. Allow the eyes a
moment of rest by looking away from the screen now and then. Look into
the distance or close your eyes.
Avoid rush-hour traffic:
It
is good for your health in general and head in particular. It allows
you to escape traffic snarls and frayed tempers, but more importantly,
you save yourself from high levels of carbon monoxide, which causes
headaches.
Seek quiet:
Excessive
noise is a common trigger for tension headaches and migraines. Avoid
late-night jaguars, disco-dandiyas, ear-splitting music and dance
parties.
Avoid late nights:
Many
people land up in a severe headache simply because they stay up late at
night. Watching a late-night movie, playing rummy or painting the town
red may not seem such a good idea at the end of the day.
Curtail cocktails:
Alcoholic
beverages can cause severe headaches. Restrict yourself to a small
amount, and it probably will not hurt. If you hit your head on the
rocks, do not take aspirin. It can irritate your booze-inflamed stomach
and cause serious problems. Try a cold shower, instead. It may help by
constricting the swollen blood vessels in your head.
Pace yourself:
Overwork
and fatigue are two common culprits that can give you a dull ache or a
full-blown migraine. Watch out and do not overstep your limits.
Go easy:
Not just on your body, but on your mind too. Never nurture unrealistic expectations, and you will breathe so much easier.
Develop a sense of humour:
Laughter is the best medicine. This fact applies equally well to pains and aches. You can, quite often, laugh a headache away.
Learn to relax:
If
you experience tension headaches frequently, it is time you went to a
yoga teacher or a psychotherapist, learnt relaxation exercises, and did
them regularly.
Make peace with moody weather:
Some
people are weather-sensitive. They experience headaches and other
unpleasant reactions if the weather and atmospheric conditions change. A
big swing in any of the meteorological factors—relative humidity, air
temperature, force and direction of the wind, and cloudiness—leaves them
indisposed. They are knocked off their feet with a headache, an
inexplicable low feeling, sleep problems, reduced working capacity,
alteration in the mood, and, sometimes, pain in the joints.
If
you suffer from such super-sensitivity to the vagaries of the weather
gods, do not despair. You have no control over the weather, but you can
avoid the splitting headaches by following a few simple rules. Lead an
active life and stay out in the open as much as possible. Do plenty of
exercises. If none of this works, take a sedative, or an analgesic pill,
just as the weather shows the first signs of change. For those who
suffer from pronounced weather reactions, it is best to rest and relax
until the weather gods relented.
Give yourself time to acclimatise:
Oxygen
levels get rarefied at high altitudes. This can give even a robust and
healthy person a headache. To avoid this, take rest and go easy on the
first few days. The body needs a few days to acclimatise.
Take a pill right away:
In
case you opt for paracetamol or some other painkiller, take it right
away— as soon as you suffer the first symptoms. Otherwise, it will not
do much good.
Do not make painkillers a habit:
Never
get into the habit of popping a painkiller now and then. It is risky.
Analgesic abuse has destroyed many kidneys and livers and claimed many
lives.
Wear
a headband. This age-old home remedy has merit to it. It decreases the
blood flow to the scalp, lessens the throb and pain, and is an easy and
practical device.
Try Vitamin B6:
Some
women suffer from a premenstrual headache. This is due to the natural
hormonal changes taking place around this period. If this is the trouble
with you increase your daily intake of vitamin B6 to at least 2.5 mg.
Take plenty of green vegetables, legumes, whole cereals and milk. Relief
can sometimes come that easy.
See an optometris:
You
sure could take an eye test. Optical errors of the eye are a potent
cause of eyestrain and headache. You should exclude this possibility.
Rule out sinusitis:
Inflammation
of the sinuses is more common than you may be inclined to believe. So,
in case you experience a recurrent pain in the forehead, cheek and nasal
areas that gets worse on stooping and jarring of the head, think of it
as a possible sign of sinusitis. Let an ENT doctor check it out.
Check blood pressure:
Occasionally,
it is a headache that calls attention to high blood pressure. Limited
mostly to the more severe cases where the diastolic pressure shoots up
to 110 points or more, the characteristic feature of this headache is
that it occurs in the early morning and affects the back portion of the
head. It is a kind of an alarm bell, which continues to ring for some
hours, then stops. Do not ignore this warning sign.
Mind your neck:
Spondylosis
of the neck vertebrae can also lead to pain in the occipital region.
This happens because the bony spurs pinch the nerve roots. Maintaining
your neck in good health by keeping proper posture and strengthening the
neck muscles through a regular exercise programme is the best way out.
For more details, refer to section Neck Pain.
Be Warned:
Occasionally, headaches are warning symptoms of a serious internal disease. Here are the red flags:
• You are above forty and never had recurring headaches before.
• The headaches have changed in nature—they are getting stronger, occur more frequently or have changed location.
• The headaches have begun to disrupt your life. You cannot sleep or have missed work on several occasions.
• The headaches are accompanied by suspicious symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, blurred vision or memory loss.
If
you observe any of these symptoms, see a doctor. He would talk to you
in detail, examine you thoroughly and may ask for a CT scan or MRI of
the head. That can help identify if there is a physical reason for the
headache, and guide the best course of treatment in good time.
By-Dr. Yatish Agarwal
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