Understanding Headache Pain and Finding Relief

THE BASICS OF HEADACHE PAIN

Headaches happen when the nerve endings in different parts of your head and neck become irritated. There are many different kinds of headaches that occur for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the most common:

• Tension headache
  • Dull pressure or tightness on both sides of the head and sometimes the neck
  • Can last anywhere from half an hour to a whole week
  • Can cause fatigue in some people
  • Exact cause is unknown—stress appears to be a common trigger
• Migraine
  • Throbbing on one or both sides of the head
  • Can range from moderate to severe pain
  • Usually lasts 4-72 hours
  • Can cause additional symptoms, like nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sounds
  • Exact cause isn’t entirely understood, but environmental factors and genetics may contribute
  • Triggers include stress, changes in sleep patterns, certain foods and food additives (like the sweetener aspartame), certain types of medications, and hormonal changes in women
• Cluster headaches
  • Sharp, severe pain that comes on quickly, usually around or behind one eye>
  • Occur in frequent attacks, or “clusters,” that can go on for weeks or months
  • Each attack can last 15 minutes to 3 hours
  • Can cause additional symptoms, like tearing, runny nose, congestion and agitation
  • No known causes, but an abnormal hypothalamus (part of the brain that plays a role in nervous and endocrine systems) may play a role
  • No known triggers, but drinking alcohol during a cluster headache can cause an even worse headache

“Get back to living your days uninterrupted by pain.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

The first step to relieving your headache pain is trying to figure out what kind of headache you have. Consult with your doctor for a diagnosis as some can be serious.

Migraine Headaches | Johns Hopkins Medicine

By far the most common type of headache we see in our practice, migraines are the most frequent cause of disabling, recurring headache pain.

Individual migraines are moderate to severe in intensity, often characterized by a throbbing or pounding feeling. Although they are frequently one-sided, they may occur anywhere on the head, neck and face — or all over. At their worst, they are typically associated with sensitivity to light, noise and/or smells. Nausea is one of the most common symptoms and it worsens with activity, which often results in patient disability. In many respects, migraines are much like alcohol-related hangovers.

Migraine pain can be felt in the face, where it may be mistaken for sinus headache — or in the neck, where it may be mistaken for arthritis or muscle spasm. Complicating the diagnosis of migraine is that the headaches may be accompanied by other “sinus like” symptoms, including watering eyes, nasal congestion and a sense of facial pressure. Most patients who think they have sinus headache in fact have migraines.

In up to 25 percent of patients, the migraine headache pain may be preceded by an aura, a temporary neurological syndrome that slowly progresses and then typically resolves just as the pain begins. While the most common type of migraine aura involves visual disturbances (flashing lights, zigzags, blind spots), many people experience numbness, confusion, trouble speaking, vertigo (spinning dizziness) and other strokelike neurological symptoms. Some patients may experience auras without headaches.

Migraines are about three times more common in women than men, and may affect more than 12 percent of the U.S. adult population. Migraines often run in families, and can start as early as elementary school but most often in early adulthood. They often fade away later in life, but can strike at any time. The most common cause of recurring, disabling headache pain, migraines are also the most common underlying cause of disabling chronic, daily headache pain. While migraines are the No. 1 reason that patients see a neurologist, most cases are handled by primary care physicians.

Things that can make the headaches more likely to occur include:

• Alcohol

• Weather changes

• Lack of sleep

• Schedule changes

• Dehydration

• Hunger

• Certain foods

• Strong smells

• Teeth grinding at night

• Menstruation

Despite their dramatic symptoms, migraines are almost never due to an underlying problem that will show up on any testing, even on brain MRIs. Many experts do not recommend brain imaging at all, even in severe cases, as long as the patient’s symptoms are typical for migraines and a thorough neurological examination is normal.

There are extremely rare families that have migraines as a result of a single genetic mutation in one of four known genes that can lead to the condition called familial hemiplegic migraine. There are no genetic tests for the vast majority of patients. Because the condition cannot be diagnosed by scan or blood test, the diagnosis is “clinical” — made by an experienced physician.

Migraines that are severe, frequent or accompanied by neurological symptoms are best treated preventively, usually with a combination of dietary modification, lifestyle changes, vitamins and daily prescription medications. Most of our best preventive medications are often used for other medical purposes as well; the majority are blood pressure drugs, antidepressants or epilepsy medications. Individual headache attacks are best treated early, often with one or more of the following types of medications: triptans, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anti-emetics (anti-nausea), and sometimes narcotics or steroids.

Migraines typically last a few hours to a couple of days and respond well to specific treatments. However, in some patients, the migraine is particularly severe and long-lasting — and may even become chronic, occurring continuously for weeks, months or even years. If improperly managed or left untreated, intermittent migraines may essentially transform into a chronic daily headache, with continuous and smoldering symptoms that periodically erupt into a “full-blown” migraine. This condition is extremely difficult to treat.

Other patients may develop increasingly frequent headaches as a result of overusing their short-acting headache medications. See medication overuse headache. While they are considered primary headaches, meaning they have no known underlying cause, migraines are associated with an increased risk of stroke, brain scarring as seen on MRI scans, a heart defect called a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and other medical conditions.

At the Johns Hopkins Headache Center, located at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical center, we have expert physical therapists, nutritionists and psychologists who work closely with our neurologists to help manage patients with frequent migraines. Biofeedback and relaxation techniques are available to complement our standard medical treatments.

Cluster headache – The Migraine Trust

Symptoms

Cluster headache features a severe headache often described as ‘boring’,  burning or piercing. It comes on suddenly, often without warning and only affects one side of the head (although it can change sides). It usually occurs behind or around your eye.

You may also experience one or more of these:

• red or watering eye
• drooping or swelling of the eyelid
• a smaller pupil
• sweaty face
• blocked or runny nose
• restlessnesspeople often pace, rock back and forth or hold their head.

Attacks usually last between 15 minutes and three hours. You may have multiple attacks a day, up to eight for some people.

Many people find attacks come on at night, and you may wake up with it in the middle of the night.

Some people do experience nausea and sensitivity to light during cluster headache. Some people have aura, but this is considered rare.

The pain usually ends suddenly. Most people are pain free but exhausted after an attack

Pattern of attacks

You’re likely to experience bouts of frequent attacks (cluster periods) which last from weeks to months. These are then followed by a period of remission where you have no headache for months, or even years.

During a cluster period the headaches can occur every day, every other day and sometimes many times a day. It can also occur at the same time of day.

You may find the start of the cluster, and the duration is consistent from one bout to another. Some people experience cluster headache seasonally – during the spring or autumn, and at the same time each year.

Cluster headache can be episodic or chronic:

• episodic cluster headache – bouts last from two weeks to three months (sometimes up to a year) and most often occur once every one or two years.
• chronic cluster headache – persistent attacks for more than a year without remission, or remission lasts less than three months. Up to 2 in 10 people with cluster headache have chronic cluster headache.

Cluster headache tends to get better with age, with people having less frequent bouts and prolonged periods of remission.

Headaches | Migraines – Causes, Diagnostic Tests and Treatment

A headache is pain in the head or upper neck. They may be primary (not associated with a medical condition) or secondary (caused by an injury or medical condition). Primary headaches include tension, migraine and cluster headaches. Most headaches are not indicative of a serious medical problem. However, you should seek medical attention if it is severe or unusual, does not respond to treatment and worsens over time, frequently recurs or is accompanied by injury, seizures, vomiting or fever or by changes in speech, vision or behavior.

Your doctor may order head MRI, head CT or lumbar puncture to help diagnose and evaluate your condition. If your headache does not have a serious underlying cause, your doctor may try to identify headache “triggers,” such as stress or certain foods, and recommend preventive medication, lifestyle changes or pain relievers to manage your symptoms.

What is a headache?

A headache is pain in the head or upper neck. The two major types of headaches are primary headaches, which are not associated with a medical condition or disease, and secondary headaches, which are caused by an injury or underlying illness, such as a concussion, bleeding in the brain, an infection or a brain tumor.

Primary headaches include tension, migraine and cluster headaches.

Symptoms of a tension headache include pressure and a band-like tightness that begins in the back of the head and upper neck, and gradually encircles the head.

Cluster headaches are headaches that occur in groups, or clusters, over a period of several weeks or months separated by headache-free periods of months or years. During the headache period, the cluster headache sufferer experiences several episodes of pain during the day, each of which lasts 30 to 90 minutes. These attacks, which often occur at the same time of day, include sharp, penetrating pain around or behind one eye, watering of the eye and a stuffy nose.

Migraine headaches cause intense, throbbing pain, often on one side of the head. Nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light, sound and exertion often accompany migraines, which can last several hours or up to three days. Some migraine sufferers experience a visual disturbance called an aura prior to the onset of the migraine. Auras are flashing lights, wavy lines, blurry vision or blind spots.

Most headaches are not indicative of a serious medical problem. Some people have occasional headaches that resolve quickly, while others experience frequent and debilitating pain. You should seek medical attention if your headache:

• is severe. If you believe it is your “worst headache ever,” seek emergency medical care.
• is different from your usual headaches in terms of its location, severity or accompanying symptoms, such as numbness or vision loss
• starts suddenly, or is aggravated by exertion
• causes pain significant enough to wake you from sleep
• does not respond to treatment, and instead worsens over time
• recurs frequently
• is accompanied by any of the following:
  • a head injury that involves a loss of consciousness, even for a few seconds
  • seizures or convulsions
  • recurrent vomiting
  • dizziness and impaired balance
  • fever or stiff neck
  • changes in speech, vision or behavior.

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How are headaches diagnosed and evaluated?

To diagnose the cause of headaches and to rule out underlying medical conditions, physicians obtain a patient history and conduct a careful neurological examination. Diagnostic testing may include the following imaging tests:

• CT imaging of the head: Computed tomography (CT) scanning combines special x-ray equipment with sophisticated computers to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body. Physicians use CT of the brain to detect bleeding caused by a ruptured or leaking aneurysm, stroke, brain tumors and diseases or malformations of the skull. CT angiography (CTA) may be performed. In CTA, a contrast material may be injected intravenously and images are obtained of the cerebral blood vessels.
• MRI of the head: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a computer to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and virtually all other internal body structures. Physicians use MRI of the brain to examine the anatomy of the brain and to assist in the diagnosis of tumors, developmental abnormalities, blood vessel problems (such as an aneurysm), disorders of the eyes and the inner ear, stroke, disease involving the pituitary gland and certain chronic disorders of the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis. A congenital condition called a Chiari malformation, which can produce headaches, can be easily diagnosed with MRI.
• Lumbar puncture (also called a spinal tap): This diagnostic test involves removing and analyzing a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid—the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord — from the lumbar (or lower) region of the spinal column. Physicians use a lumbar puncture to help diagnose infections, including meningitis (infection of the membranes covering the brain) and encephalitis (infection of the brain itself), inflammatory conditions of the nervous system, including Guillain-Barre syndrome and multiple sclerosis, bleeding around the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage), and cancers involving the brain and spinal cord.
• CT Angiography: If your doctor suspects you may have an aneurysm, you may undergo CT Angiography.

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How are headaches treated?

Provided one of the serious conditions noted above is not present, relatively simple treatment options can be considered. To treat symptoms and prevent the frequency and severity of headaches, physicians may try to identify headache (particularly migraine) “triggers,” such as stress or certain foods, and recommend treatment options including:

• preventive medications and treatments.
• lifestyle changes, including stress management and relaxation techniques.

• pain-relieving medication, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Children and adolescents should avoid taking aspirin. In rare cases, aspirin can cause Reye Syndrome, a serious and potentially fatal condition.

If your headache is the result of an underlying medical condition or injury, your physician will discuss treatment options with you.

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Which test, procedure or treatment is best for me?

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This page was reviewed on January, 27, 2020

How to Relieve Headaches Without NSAIDs

How to Relieve Headaches Without NSAIDs

Posted on
February 14, 2020

When your head is throbbing, it’s natural to reach for the bottle of Ibuprofen in search of relief. Tension and even migraine headache sufferers often swear by the benefits of NSAIDs, or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These medications are designed to ease inflammation and reduce pain, but they can also bring along unwanted — and even potentially serious — side effects. Recent research has shown that NSAIDs can lead to a small, but real increase in cardiovascular problems, including heart attack and stroke. In people with certain risk factors, they can also cause bleeding, blood pressure, and kidney problems. NSAIDs can also negatively affect your stomach and digestive system. 

If your physician has prescribed you NSAIDs, then it’s important to continue taking them as directed.Your doctor knows your own personal medical history and risk profile.  However, if you aren’t prescribed NSAIDs, there are some alternatives that can often help manage headaches just as well as anti-inflammatories. 

Alternatives to NSAIDs for Headaches

• Use heat or ice. A heating pad, heat wrap, ice pack, or other device designed for use in hot and cold therapies can also make a difference for headaches. Try placing the device at the nape of your neck or over the part of your head that is aching. Be sure to follow any instructions listed for your device. 
• Rest. If possible, taking a nap can make a huge difference for your headache. 
• Dim the lights. Bright lights can make headaches worse, particularly migraine headaches. Close the curtains in your home or don sunglasses if you must be out of the house. 
• Try a peppermint or aromatherapy. Many people find that popping a peppermint is soothing for headaches. Aromatherapy, too, can sometimes help reduce the intensity of head pain. 
• Practice relaxation techniques. Stress is a powerful headache contributor. Making time for relaxation will help to prevent stress-induced headaches. Try activities like reading a book, relaxing with a bath, or attending a yoga class.
• Take preventative methods. As much as you can, take steps to understand your headache triggers. Keeping a headache diary or log can help you see how your lifestyle affects your pain. You can then try to reduce those triggers. For instance, you might need to take breaks from the computer at work or try out eyeglasses that are made to filter blue light. You can try limiting caffeine, minimizing triggering foods like chocolate, getting enough sleep at night, or reducing stress. 
• Speak with your doctor. Talk with your physician about your headaches, especially if they are new and intense. Your doctor can provide you with  additional remedies and treatments for your pain.

Looking for a Pain Management Center in Jacksonville?

Riverside Pain Physicians is a pain management clinic that specializes in even the most difficult pain management scenarios. We have several locations in Jacksonville to help you manage your pain close to home. Our center for pain management is staffed with experts who have years of experience in the field. Contact us today for more information on how we can help you with your chronic headaches. You can also follow us on Facebook.

Tags: Pain Management Jacksonville

How to Spot a Tension Headache

How to Spot a Tension Headache | TYLENOL®
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>9 in 10

adults will experience a headache at some point

2 in 3

children will have a headache by the age of 15

Knowing how to spot a tension headache, the most common type of headache, can help you treat and maybe even avoid them in the future.

Tension Headache Checklist

• Dull, aching head pain
• Sensation of tightness or pressure across your forehead or on the sides and back of your head

• Tenderness on your scalp, neck and shoulder muscles
• The feeling of being stressed, depressed or anxious (happens to us all sometimes)

What Causes a Tension Headache?

Not sleeping enough.

Skipping a meal.

Drinking Alcohol.

Stress, depression or anxiety.

Clenching your jaw.

Straining your head or neck muscles.

When to call the doctor about your headache

• +2 headaches per week.
• A sudden, severe headache possibly accompanied by a stiff neck/fever
• You feel confused, short of breath, weak, are experienceing loss of vision or lose consciousness
• Your pain get worse over a period of time past a few days

• If you have a headache after a head injury
• Your headache is triggered by exertion, coughing or bending
• You have persistent/severe vomiting not caused by another disease
• If you have a persistent, nonstop headache (and usually don’t get them)

Not every tension headache means you have to call your doctor, but they can be a sign of a more serious issue that needs care. Please talk to your physician about your symptoms to get the treatment you need.

Pain relief you can count on.

Learn more about safe acetaminophen usage.

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A new era for migraine relief

Jessica Ailani, MD, director of the MedStar Georgetown Headache Center, had been treating a woman for several years with Botox injections, a standard treatment to relieve frequent, debilitating migraine. The patient, a health care researcher, was doing okay but not great, so she asked if any other options might work better.

Ailani decided to try galcanezumab, a new medication in a class called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors. A few visits later, the woman reported publishing three scientific papers in the past seven months — more than her output for the previous eight years.

“She said, that’s the difference — the cognitive clarity, being myself, being able to function. I can make a commitment because I know I’m going to feel good,” Ailani recalls. “She said I’m back to that person I was 20 years ago.”

For decades, science provided no major breakthroughs to migraine sufferers. But now research at teaching hospitals and elsewhere is finally offering hope to patients like Ailani’s, who sometimes experienced limited or even no success with earlier methods. A new type of drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration in recent years blocks a pain pathway associated with migraine. In addition, new devices use electrical or magnetic pulses to quell migraine-related brain activity. And work continues as researchers seek more answers to aid the 38 million migraine sufferers in the United States.

“Gone is the day that we just use treatment options that were approved for other indications for our migraine patients…. We are now in an era where we understand what is happening in migraine inside of the brain.”

Amaal J. Starling, MD, Mayo Clinic

Importantly, the new discoveries are the first treatments designed specifically for migraine. Previous drugs had been developed for conditions such as epilepsy or high blood pressure and recruited into the battle against migraine.

“Gone is the day that we just use treatment options that were approved for other indications for our migraine patients in clinical trials and find that they might be effective,” says Amaal J. Starling, MD, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. “We are now in an era where we understand what is happening in migraine inside of the brain. Based on our understanding, we’re designing treatment options.”

These new treatments “all are testament to the fact that if you dig at it enough and start to understand what’s important in the disease, you can actually target a therapy to that,” says Peter Goadsby, MD, a professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. “It’s a really exciting time to be in neurology broadly and particularly in headache medicine — to have people whose lives have been blighted by the problem where it’s just turned around. They come back and their lives have been transformed. The look on their faces is priceless.”

The burden of migraine

Migraine is not just about headaches. Attacks can include symptoms such as throbbing pain, nausea, vomiting, and acute sensitivity to light and sound. They may be preceded by aura — nerve-related symptoms such as flashes of light, blind spots, difficulty speaking, and tingling in the face, arms, or legs. Migraine may last four hours or three days. Attacks may occur rarely or several times a week.

According to the American Migraine Foundation, 1 in 5 U.S. women have migraine. So do 1 in 16 men and 1 in 11 children. Because migraine is common and debilitating, the burden on personal wellness and economic productivity is staggering. In 2016 the combination of medical costs and lost productivity due to migraine in the United States totaled $36 billion, according to a study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.

“There are so many people who are brilliant and successful who have had to walk away from work because this disease has completely destroyed them.”

Jessica Ailani, MD, MedStar Georgetown

“It takes careers away from people,” says Ailani. “You know, they could have been a teacher and now they’re an assistant. They could have been a professor and now they’re the janitor in the hallway. There are so many people who are brilliant and successful who have had to walk away from work because this disease has completely destroyed them.”

For a long time, researchers didn’t know how migraine worked. “The understanding used to be that migraine was a blood vessel disorder — they dilated and they constricted,” says Stephen Silberstein, MD, director of the Jefferson Headache Center of Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. “But now we know that blood vessels are innocent bystanders.” Instead, Silberstein explains, it’s primarily a disorder of the trigeminal nerve and its connections. That nerve wraps around the eyes, forehead, and mouth, and among other roles, affects sensation in a person’s face.

Thirty years ago, Goadsby did some of the earliest work establishing that abnormal nerve activity preceding migraine released a flood of proteins called CGRPs, which produced pain in some people with migraine as the compound latched on to a neural receptor. This CGRP activity could be measured by increased concentrations of the peptide in the blood. In fact, administering CGRP could induce migraine in many patients. Understanding this CGRP pathway opened the door to new migraine treatments.

Locking out CGRPs

The newest drugs for migraine block the effect of CGRP by preventing it from grabbing its neural receptor. Some of these drugs latch onto the CGRP. Others lock onto the receptor. Both block the action of CGRP.

These drugs fall into two additional categories.

First are several small-molecule compounds known as gepants. “They compete with CGRP to jump on the receptor,” Goadsby explains. “They have a half-life that’s measured in hours. If you take a gepants, the effect of it is gone tomorrow.” FDA approval of several gepants is pending. 

“The major thing I have seen — and we have data — is that these drugs often work when other drugs have failed. That’s the game changer.”

Stephen Silberstein, MD,  Sidney Kimmel Medical College

Second are monoclonal antibodies, a collection of large proteins. “They live in the body for weeks, up to a month, and they either latch onto the antibody or latch onto the CGRP or the CGRP receptor,” says Goadsby. Three monoclonal antibodies won FDA approval last year, and a fourth is being reviewed.

“The major thing I have seen — and we have data — is that these drugs often work when other drugs have failed,” says Silberstein. “That’s the game changer. They’re an alternative.” For example, one CGRP study with patients who were unsuccessfully treated in the past found that 30% had their monthly migraine days cut in half.

For “super-responders,” perhaps 20% of migraine patients, CGRP inhibitors can be life-changing, notes Starling. Unfortunately, they don’t work for everyone, suggesting a different pathway is at work in those patients.

One potential option is lasmiditan, recently approved by the FDA for acute migraine treatment. It targets a second pathway that plays a role in migraine, the serotonin 5-HT1F receptor. It works much like triptans, a much older class of drugs. Because it is more specific to the pathway relevant to migraine, it doesn’t constrict blood vessels, as the old drug does, so it can possibly be used for patients with coronary artery disease, a history of stroke, or uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Says Ailani, “We need more things like this. We need to figure out those other pathways and how do we shut these switches off so we make people feel like the person they were supposed to be.”

Pulsing devices to the rescue

Also new in migraine treatment are neuromodulators, devices that use electrical or magnetic pulses to calm an electrical wave associated with migraine called cortical spreading depression.

“When a migraine attack starts there is this abnormal electrical activity that travels over the brain surface area,” Starling explains. “And so the theory was, if we have a device that stops cortical spreading depression, then maybe we can stop a migraine attack once it has already started.”

The FDA recently cleared several devices for treatment of acute migraine and prevention of migraine. One, the single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation device, is roughly the size and shape of a binocular case. Starling demonstrates by holding it to the back of her head with both hands and pressing two buttons. The device makes a sharp click as it sends a magnetic pulse into the scalp. Other than the noise, there’s no physical sensation, she says.

Starling has been recommending the device for daily use to reduce the frequency of migraine —“four pulses in the morning, four pulses at night — and they could also use it as needed,” she says.

Such devices have several advantages over other treatments. They are noninvasive and seem to have minimal side effects, if any. They can be used whenever needed without contraindications for other drugs or medical conditions such as autoimmune conditions, heart disease, or pregnancy.

There’s a big drawback, though: The devices are pricey, even to rent, and not usually covered by insurance.

Starling says neuromodulation has success similar to CGRP inhibitors. “In general it is effective in about 50% of patients,” she says. “And in that 50% of patients, it has at least a 50% reduction in migraine days.”

Patients often ask Starling why no one treatment will work for every person. “The thing is, migraine is a genetic disease. We have identified about 40 genes that have associations with migraine. And everybody has a little bit of a different combination of these different gene mutations,” she explains.

“Everybody’s migraine is different, and so not one treatment option is going to be effective for everyone,” Starling notes. “I dream about the day where I can do a genetic analysis on somebody and then I can say, based on your genetic analysis this is the treatment option that’s going to work for you.”

Other options

Other treatments are being investigated, such as the anesthetic ketamine, which has been proven effective in treating persistent depression. “It may act as a neuromodulator,” says Silberstein. Treating patients with ketamine for four to five days can appear to break a cycle of chronic migraine, he says. Ketamine for migraine is now being tested in a pilot study.

There’s also evidence that some new treatments work synergistically with older treatments, such as Botox injections, says Silberstein. In particular, he says, adding antibodies to Botox treatment appears more effective than antibodies alone.

Among the standard treatments that can improve the effectiveness of any new drug or device are lifestyle changes. A study currently underway at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is exploring the effects of lifestyle modifications, such as avoiding certain foods and improving sleep, on one type of migraine.

“Adequate sleep is important,” says Silberstein. “If you don’t get it you need to find out why.” Sleep apnea is “a major aggravating factor for migraine and health in general,” he says. “That’s one thing that’s frequently missed and easily corrected.”

Regular exercise and relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation can help stave off migraine attacks, he says. “You can’t avoid stress, but you can handle it better. No matter what, these are good things to do.”

Although Silberstein believes “diet is overblown” as a remedy, migraine sufferers should limit monosodium glutamate and the nitrites and nitrates found in processed meats. Otherwise, he says, “Healthy eating. Don’t get drunk. Don’t starve. Don’t withdraw from caffeine.”

Diets that are low-fat, plant-based, and high in omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce the pain of migraine, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Elimination diets are useful in identifying foods that may trigger migraine in patients, says the PCRM. Also, carrying too little weight is associated with greater risk of migraine, and carrying excess weight is even more problematic.

As scientists continue to seek additional answers to what works well for migraine, it’s important that patients who are suffering see their doctors, even if treatments in the past produced little or no success, experts note.

“Things are very different right now,” says Ailani. “It’s an exciting time in our field. I think that this is a great time to see patients who have headaches because we have so much to offer them.”

Scientists told the whole truth about weather dependence

https://ria.ru/20190730/1556982005.html

Scientists told the whole truth about weather dependence

Scientists told the whole truth about weather dependence – RIA Novosti, 07/30/2019

Scientists told the whole the truth about meteorological dependence

With sudden changes in atmospheric pressure, headaches, rainy weather exacerbates rheumatism, and with a cold snap, the risk of a heart attack increases. Not all of … RIA Novosti, 30.07.2019

2019-07-30T08: 00

2019-07-30T08: 00

2019-07-30T11: 48

science

discoveries – RIA science

climate

heart attacks

stroke

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MOSCOW, July 30 – RIA Novosti, Alfiya Enikeeva.With sudden changes in atmospheric pressure, headaches, rainy weather exacerbates rheumatism, and with a cold snap, the risk of a heart attack increases. Not all of these common beliefs are supported by scientific research. Damp weather makes bones ache? In June 2012, two dozen Australians with osteoporosis of the knee registered on a special website. Everyone had a button in their personal account that they had to press whenever they felt joint pain for more than eight hours in a row.At the same time, it was necessary to indicate how much it hurts. These data were sent to scientists from the universities of Melbourne and Sydney, who compared them with indicators of temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and precipitation in the patient’s area. The weather was also recorded on the days when the subjects did not hurt. The first results showed that there was no connection between the change in weather and pain in the joints. Then they decided to expand the sample and extended the project until July 2014. During this time, over three hundred volunteers took part in the study, each monitoring pain for an average of three months.The conclusions were the same: the onset of pain and its intensity did not correlate in any way with temperature changes or changes in atmospheric pressure. At the same time, the second part of the research team involved in a similar project almost a thousand volunteers complaining of persistent back pain. Experts watched them for about two years and came to a similar conclusion: the lower back hurt, regardless of whether the sun was shining outside or it was raining. The work of Australian scientists is fully consistent with the results of Norwegian specialists.They analyzed nine scientific studies on the subject of weather dependence in patients with arthritis and in none found a consistently recurring case of the effect of weather on joint pain. However, Dutch scientists, who have followed two hundred patients for two years, argue that there is such a connection. In their subjects, the intensity of knee pain increased slightly with increasing air humidity and atmospheric pressure. When Headaches Begins One in seven adults in the world complains of migraines.The exact causes of its occurrence are still unknown, although there are suggestions that the headache is associated with congenital features of the structure of nerve cells. Nevertheless, many patients tend to believe that their head begins to ache solely because of the change in weather. German scientists back in 2010 showed that there is a grain of reason in this belief. For a year, they observed 20 Berliners suffering from migraines and compared their records of pain attacks with the weather conditions in the city. In about a third of the subjects (six people), pain actually worsened on cold, wet days.Japanese scientists similarly tested 34 volunteers with chronic migraines. Indeed, they all began to complain of a severe headache even with a slight drop in atmospheric pressure. On the other hand, headaches, on the other hand, made themselves felt on days when atmospheric pressure was high, according to a Canadian study in which twenty migraine patients took part. According to the Taiwanese experts, who analyzed the records of 66 patients, migraine attacks are the result of a cold snap.Half of the volunteers had more headaches in winter than in summer. On the other hand, American experts believe that migraine attacks are more frequent on warm and humid days. Almost all work is based on the analysis of statistics of doctor visits or patient surveys. Conducting clinical trials according to all the rules, with control and experimental groups of volunteers, is not easy. Especially when it comes to people with arthritis or chronic migraine.However, German scientists decided to try their luck. Seventy-five perfectly healthy volunteers were placed in climate chambers for several days – special devices that simulate levels of atmospheric pressure and humidity. As a result, it turned out that low pressure and high humidity really affect a person – he begins to smell worse, but nothing more. However, the influence of some weather factors on health is confirmed without such experiments. In particular, several studies at once associate a sharp cold snap with an increase in the number of cardiovascular diseases.Japanese doctors, after analyzing the data of 28 thousand patients, showed that at temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius, cases of cardiac arrest outside the hospital increase by 11 percent every five degrees. According to Swedish cardiologists, heart attacks occur ten percent more often in freezing temperatures.

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discoveries – RIA Science, climate, heart attacks, stroke

MOSCOW, July 30 – RIA Novosti, Alfiya Enikeeva. With sudden changes in atmospheric pressure, headaches, rainy weather exacerbates rheumatism, and cold weather increases the risk of a heart attack.Not all of these common beliefs are supported by scientific research.

Do your bones ache due to damp weather?

In June 2012, two dozen Australians with knee osteoporosis registered on a special website. Everyone had a button in their personal account that they had to press whenever they felt joint pain for more than eight hours in a row. At the same time, it was necessary to indicate how much it hurts.

These data were sent to scientists from the universities of Melbourne and Sydney, who compared them with indicators of temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and precipitation in the patient’s area.Also, the weather was recorded on those days when the subjects did not hurt anything.

The first results showed that there was no connection between the change in weather and pain in the joints. Then they decided to expand the sample and extended the project until July 2014. During this time, over three hundred volunteers took part in the study, each monitoring pain for an average of three months. The conclusions were the same: the onset of pain and its intensity did not correlate in any way with temperature changes or changes in atmospheric pressure.At the same time, the second part of the research team attracted to a similar project almost a thousand volunteers complaining of persistent back pain. Experts watched them for about two years and came to a similar conclusion: the lower back hurt, regardless of whether the sun was shining outside or it was raining. January 10, 2017, 16:31 in the joints, showed that all manifestations of bad weather are in no way associated with exacerbations of arthritis or rheumatism.The works of Australian scientists are fully consistent with the results of Norwegian specialists. They analyzed nine scientific studies on the subject of weather dependence in patients with arthritis and in none found a consistently recurring case of the effect of weather on joint pain. However, Dutch scientists, who have followed two hundred patients for two years, argue that there is such a connection. In their subjects, the intensity of knee pain increased slightly with increasing air humidity and atmospheric pressure.

When the head starts to hurt

One in seven adults in the world complains of migraines. The exact causes of its occurrence are still unknown, although there are suggestions that the headache is associated with congenital features of the structure of nerve cells. Nevertheless, many patients tend to believe that their head begins to ache solely because of the change in weather. German scientists back in 2010 showed that there is a grain of reason in this belief. For a year, they observed 20 Berliners suffering from migraines and compared their records of pain attacks with the weather conditions in the city.In about a third of the subjects (six people), pain actually worsened on cold and humid days. Indeed, they all began to complain of a severe headache even with a slight drop in atmospheric pressure. According to a study by Canadian scientists, in which twenty patients with migraines took part, headaches, on the contrary, made themselves felt on those days when atmospheric pressure was high.According to Taiwanese experts who analyzed the records of 66 patients, migraine attacks are the result of a cold snap. Half of the volunteers had more headaches in winter than in summer. On the other hand, American experts believe that migraine attacks are more frequent on warm and humid days.

Proven by experiment

The weak point of most studies on the effect of weather on well-being is subjectivity. Almost all work is based on the analysis of statistics of doctor visits or patient surveys.Conducting clinical trials according to all the rules, with control and experimental groups of volunteers, is not easy. Especially when it comes to people with arthritis or chronic migraine.

However, German scientists decided to try their luck. Seventy-five perfectly healthy volunteers were placed in climate chambers for several days – special devices that simulate levels of atmospheric pressure and humidity. As a result, it turned out that low pressure and high humidity really affect a person – he begins to smell worse, but nothing more.However, the influence of some weather factors on health is confirmed without such experiments. In particular, several studies at once associate a sharp cold snap with an increase in the number of cardiovascular diseases. Japanese doctors, after analyzing the data of 28 thousand patients, showed that at temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius, cases of cardiac arrest outside the hospital increase by 11 percent every five degrees. According to Swedish cardiologists, heart attacks occur ten percent more often in freezing temperatures.September 29, 2018, 08:00 Science “This is the most effective method.” The scientist told how to avoid a heart attack

“Treatment of depression will not allow the headache to become chronic”

The woodpecker does not have a headache. And 90% of people have pain. Does a migraine lead to a stroke and can a headache be cured on its own?

Says the President of the Russian Society for the Study of Headache, Professor of the Department of Nervous Diseases and Neurosurgery at the 1st Moscow State Medical University named after I.I.Sechenov of Russia Guzel Tabeeva.

– Guzel Rafkatovna, there is a joke that the head is a bone, and therefore it cannot hurt.
– Headache occurs not in bone structures or in the substance of the brain, but in structures equipped with pain receptors (membranes, walls of cerebral vessels, paranasal and venous sinuses, etc.). Diseases or conditions that involve these structures and are accompanied by headaches. The headache may be secondary (i.e.e. a symptom of any disease) and primary. 95% of all headaches are primary headaches (migraines, tension headaches, cluster headaches, etc.). Even a thorough examination of such patients usually does not explain why they have a headache.

Progress is evident

– This means that there is no answer to the question of why some people have a headache all the time, while others never.
– 90% of people are familiar with headaches.However, everyone treats her differently. Some do not pay attention to her. Others control headaches with symptomatic treatments and medications. But there are patients who experience everyday pains and attach great importance to them. Therefore, it seems that only they have a headache. It should be understood that at first all patients have an episodic headache. But in some patients, over time, the frequency of episodes of headache increases, they change in nature, and the pain becomes almost daily, severe and chronic.

– How to deal with a headache so that it does not progress?
– Studies in which some patients were followed for many years have shown that several factors contribute to chronic headache. The first is depression. Even with a minor affective disorder, the headache becomes more severe and begins to acquire other unpleasant symptoms – sleep disturbances, pain in the neck, back and muscles, and other disorders form over time.In this case, the best results are given by the treatment of depression.
Another common case is the abuse of analgesics or their prophylactic use. For example, a person knows that a headache occurs in response to an experience, and on the eve of a difficult day, he takes painkillers in advance. As a result, the effectiveness of the analgesic decreases, and in order to achieve the desired effect, it has to be used more often and in large doses. In women, excess weight makes a chronic headache, in men – snoring during sleep.

DIY

– Can a headache be healed on its own?
– Headache is such a frequent complaint that in every case it is impossible to see a doctor, and you have to resort to self-medication. However, in order to help yourself on your own, you need to get complete information about your disease, and this usually requires a medical consultation. You can treat yourself until the headache limits your activity.If she forces you to radically change your plans (cancel business meetings, travel, etc.), you need to go to the doctor.
A doctor is also required in cases where the usual manipulations that previously helped stop working – he will advise other ways to relieve headaches. It is strictly necessary to consult a doctor if the nature of the headache has changed or a new symptom has arisen that did not exist before.

Medicines or pain relievers

– Is it true that any migraine sooner or later ends with a stroke?
– There are rare genetic diseases, one of the manifestations of which is migraine, the other is stroke.The risk of ischemic stroke is also increased with frequent migraines accompanied by aura. However, this only applies to patients who have other risk factors for cerebral accidents (smoking, use of high-dose oral contraceptives, the presence of cerebral circulation disorders in parents, etc.).
In most cases, migraine is an unpleasant, but not dangerous disease that affects the quality, but not the duration of life. Any attack ends sooner or later (maximum duration – 3 days).And if you learn to stop it, you can live long and happy with a headache.

– Is it true that there are no specific drugs for headache?
– Until recently, there really were no specific drugs for the treatment and prevention of headache. The drugs were selected intuitively. For example, doctors have noticed that treating hypertension with beta-blockers leads to a decrease in migraine attacks. Later, specific molecules were found that trigger headaches, and drugs were developed that act directly on them.In the 1990s. were introduced into practice specific drugs for the relief of migraine headaches. Therefore, today, for any type of headache, you can choose an effective drug treatment.

– They say people with migraines are talented and extraordinary?
– Migraine is observed in 20% of the population. Among them, of course, there are talented and extraordinary people who capture their experiences on canvases, in poetry, etc. In particular, the migraine aura provokes visual illusions that can be depicted by the patient.Experts often “see” elements of such aura phenomena in the works of artists.

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Migraine is a disease that causes prolonged, intense, sometimes completely intolerable headaches.Migraine can completely deprive a person of sleep and rest, destroy his career and personal life. How to overcome this ailment? What treatments can modern and ancient medicine offer?

What is migraine and how is it dangerous?

There is an opinion that migraine is a disease of aristocrats, a kind of whim of people with an excess of free time. And we, working people, have no time to suffer from some kind of headache! However, only those who are not affected by this attack think so.

Signs of migraine

Indeed, many people call migraine any headache, but this is fundamentally wrong. A number of factors distinguish migraine from the usual malaise due to overwork or hypertension.

1. Localization of pain. This feature is reflected in the very name of the disease: migraine – distorted by French grammar ημικρανία (“hemicrania”) – half of the head. One of the hallmarks of migraine is the localization of pain sensations that cover only one hemisphere or part of it.However, some interpret the Greek name in their own way – the head splits in two. And they are not far from the truth.
2. The nature of the pain. Migraine is characterized by intense throbbing pain. Many patients say that the sensations resemble an attack of acute toothache, but, of course, they have a different localization.
3. Strength of pain. A migraine attack literally knocks down, depriving a person of the opportunity to engage in any useful activity. The condition can be accompanied by phobia and noise: sounds and bright light lead to increased pain.

Mechanism of migraine

Despite the fact that migraine has been known since ancient times, the principle of pain formation is still not fully understood. With a high degree of probability, we can say that migraine is not associated with intracranial and arterial pressure, and is not caused by tumors and injuries, and is not a consequence of mental stress. There is a correlation between migraine and stroke [1], but whether migraine is a consequence of stroke or its cause is not completely known.

At the moment, there are several hypotheses explaining the mechanics of pain, and all of them, one way or another, relate to the vessels of the brain. Apparently, this is the reason for the pulsating nature of pain.

Among the most possible causes of pain syndrome is the narrowing of the vascular lumen, which causes insufficient blood supply to certain parts of the brain – that is why migraine pains have a clear localization. According to another version, the vessels, for various reasons, expand unevenly, provoking a reaction in the form of pain.

If the internal mechanics of migraine are of more interest to specialists, then the factors that directly provoke an attack are an urgent question for ordinary patients.

Causes and provoking factors

Fortunately, the experience of observing migraine patients over many centuries has revealed what usually precedes a wave of pain. The main triggers (“triggers”) of migraine are generally known:

• Neurological factors. Stress, fatigue, strong feelings lead to a migraine attack.
• Nutritional factors. We have already mentioned alcohol. Moreover, the leader in this sad competition is not vodka, but sparkling wines, champagne, cider. That is, drinks containing gas that accelerate the absorption of alcohol. The use of a number of foods can also lead to an attack, including nuts, chocolate, cheese, fish.
• Hormonal preparations. Hormonal contraceptives are often accompanied by migraine attacks.
• Sleep disorders. And it does not matter whether the violation of the regime is expressed in a lack of sleep or its excess.
• External factors. Changes in the weather, fluctuations in atmospheric pressure can provoke an attack. A trip to another climatic zone.

If you are prone to migraine attacks, be sure to consider the latter factor when planning long trips and travel. Agree, it’s a shame to spend the whole vacation with a headache.

Types of migraine

The International Classifier of Diseases ICD-10 distinguishes between the following types of migraine [2]:

1. Common migraine (migraine without aura) – localized throbbing headache.It is considered the most common type, although it is not possible to calculate the exact share in the total number of migraine diseases. Many patients do not go to the doctor, as they mistake migraines for a common headache (the so-called tension headache – HDN).
2. Classic migraine (migraine with aura) – an aura in this case is a complex of specific sensations that precede an attack and accompany it. Specific manifestations of the aura are purely individual and can be visual (apparent zigzags, multicolored spots, flashes of light), sound (“ringing in the ears”), tactile (tingling and numbness), olfactory, gustatory.Less common is a violation of the sense of balance and position in space, a distortion of perspective, the apparent size of objects and the distance to them (Alice’s syndrome). Sometimes the aura manifests itself in the form of a growing sense of anxiety.
3. Migraine status – prolonged attacks that do not go away after sleep and rest, sometimes last for days, bringing the patient to exhaustion.
4. Complicated migraine – often accompanied by loss of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, epileptic seizures.The attack may end with a stroke (migraine stroke [3]).
5. Other migraine – This category includes specific types such as retinal migraine (accompanied by the appearance of a blind spot in one or two eyes), ophthalmoplegic migraine (pain in the optic nerve) and other rare types.

Consequences of migraines

As noted above, a prolonged attack of complicated migraine can result in migraine stroke.The vessel affected by the attack loses its ability to expand after spasm, which leads to blockage, the formation of atherosclerotic plaque and the development of an ischemic focus [4].

Important!
Pulsating localized headaches may indicate the formation of a cerebral aneurysm [5].

However, as a rule, migraine does not lead to such deplorable results. The consequences of a migraine are rather social. Exhausting, prolonged headaches disrupt the normal alternation of sleep and rest, undermine vitality and markedly reduce the quality of life.

Patients suffering from headaches suffer significant financial losses, which consist of the costs of the treatment itself, as well as lost profits due to forced time off, which in most cases are not paid. After all, not only patients, but also doctors take migraines not seriously enough!

Information for thought!
Probably every able-bodied Russian understands how difficult it will be to get sick leave due to migraines.Often the only noteworthy parameter of the disease for doctors in district polyclinics is an increased body temperature.

Migraine has a negative impact on social activity, breaks social ties, harms family life, which cannot but affect the general depression of the patient. According to statistics [6], depression is diagnosed three times more often in people with migraine than in healthy people.

This is more than enough to take the disease seriously and not neglect treatment.

Prevalence and risk groups

Headache in general and migraine in particular is one of the most common ailments. According to WHO estimates [7], from 50 to 75% of the world’s working-age population have experienced headaches over the past year. One third of them complained of migraines.

At the same time, the harm of migraine is globally underestimated, the attitude towards this disease is sarcastically disregarding. Meanwhile, according to data for 2013 [8], migraine ranks sixth in the world in terms of the number of years lived with disability (YLD).

Who is at risk? According to the WHO [9], the disease affects people during puberty and reaches a peak by the age of 35–45 years. It is noteworthy that women are more susceptible to migraines. The number of visits to a doctor about this ailment from women is recorded twice as often.

It has also been established that migraine is of a genetic nature, therefore, heredity plays an important role in the likelihood of the onset of the disease.

How to treat migraine: means and methods of therapy

As with other types of headaches, the diagnosis of migraine is based largely on patient complaints and does not require additional examination.The basis of diagnosis is a thorough questioning of the patient and verification of complaints with the symptoms indicated in the International Classifier of Headaches (ICGB [10]).

Sometimes objective symptoms can be identified, which can be expressed in reddening of the fingertips, as from severe cold (Raynaud’s syndrome), moisturizing of the palms, hyperexcitability of the facial muscles (Khvostek’s symptom), but in most cases the diagnosis of migraine is possible only on the basis of patient complaints. Because of this, according to WHO estimates, only 40% of patients [11] receive a correct diagnosis.

Medication

Medicines for migraine are used to eliminate the symptoms of the disease – to eliminate severe pain. For migraines with aura, the drug may be taken beforehand to avoid or relieve the attack. All drugs used for migraine can be divided into main groups:

1. Analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs. General purpose pain medications, most of which are available over the counter without a prescription.These include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or diclofenac.
2. Ergot preparations. The alkaloids in ergot can tone the blood vessels in the brain and suppress the production of serotonin, which causes migraine pain. In this regard, preparations based on ergot extracts are narrowly targeted anti-migraine drugs, practically useless for tension headaches (HDN) and other types. They can be used both directly during an attack to stop it, and for prophylactic purposes – in courses of up to two weeks.This group of drugs has a number of side effects and contraindications (for example, it is not prescribed for patients with coronary heart disease) and is used only as directed by a doctor.
3. Triptans (5-hydroxytryptamine derivatives). These drugs stop vasospasm by acting on the vascular wall, blocking the pain signal at the level of the trigeminal nerve receptors. Triptans are remarkable for the fact that they relieve the symptoms of complicated migraine – phobia and noise, nausea and vomiting. They are also highly targeted anti-migraine agents.

Is it possible to do without drugs? In this case, you should turn to the methods of traditional medicine.

Non-drug therapy

Migraine has been known to mankind since time immemorial, and all these countless years the human struggle with this disease continues. Although it has not been possible to defeat the disease, unfortunately, until now, methods of physiotherapy have been developed that allow to reduce suffering to the possible minimum. Chinese traditional medicine has been particularly successful in this.

Countless treatises have been written on the medicine of ancient China, but we will only touch on the basic principles of physiotherapy in the fight against migraine.

Important!
One of the main principles of Chinese medicine is a gentle effect and a gradual increase in its strength. The course always starts with the minimum frequency, dosage, duration … The intensity of the effect increases gradually, taking into account the results of the previous therapy session.

Physiotherapy sessions are carried out taking into account the diagnosed cause of the disease and according to different schemes. Thus, the doctor can provide assistance in the periods between attacks. The purpose of such a physiotherapeutic effect is to eliminate or (if complete elimination is impossible) to minimize the influence of factors provoking an attack: stress, increased muscle tension in the neck-collar zone, vascular spasms. But if the patient comes with an acute attack, then he will be provided with assistance immediately – to relieve and relieve pain.

Since ancient times, traditional methods have also been known to be highly effective:

1. Acupressure, or acupressure. The method consists in the impact (directly with fingers or special stacks) on biologically active points, each of which causes a response that has been tested over the years in the body.
2. Acupuncture or acupuncture. The effect on bioactive points is made with the finest sterile needles. Due to the fact that the needles are thin and sharp, the procedure is practically painless.
3. Tuina massage. Traditional Chinese massage tuina is a visiting card of the ancient medicine of the Celestial Empire. The movements verified for centuries, combined with knowledge of the energy zones of the human body, can achieve remarkable results. In case of migraine, massage of the neck-collar zone and shoulder girdle is especially effective.
4. Hydrotherapy. For a long time, medicinal baths have been considered in China as an effective method of treatment, allowing to combine the power of all four elements: water, fire (traditionally, the procedures were carried out in thermal springs heated by underground fire), air (hydrogen sulfide baths) and earth (mud wraps).

Although traditional medicine in China is an alternative, it makes good use of advances. Electro-acupuncture is very popular – a method in which the effect of acupuncture is enhanced by a small current. No less popular is electrophoresis with herbal formulations specially selected by Chinese doctors.

How to relieve a migraine attack?

If you have not been able to avoid a migraine attack, how can you reduce the pain? The methods of relief depend on the duration and intensity of the attack:

1. Mild attack lasting up to days – non-steroidal analgesics, anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, acetylsalicylic acid) are used.Keep in mind that drugs in the form of rectal suppositories differ much faster. This is also true if the migraine attack is accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Codeine-containing drugs are highly effective, but their use is threatened with addiction. In their composition, along with codeine, they can be contained in various combinations: paracetamol, metamizole sodium, naproxen, drotaverine hydrochloride, phenobarbital, caffeine, pheniramine maleate.
2. More severe multi-day attacks require increased measures.In this case, drugs from the triptan group are indicated – zolmitriptan, eletriptan, sumatriptan. Triptan drugs constrict the vessels of the brain and reduce the sensitivity of the receptors to serotonin. In case of chronic migraine, characterized by prolonged attacks of high effectiveness, you should consult a doctor in advance. A properly prescribed triptan drug, taken within two hours of the onset of an attack, can completely stop its progression.

Prevention of headaches

The basis for the prevention of migraine attacks is the maximum elimination of migraine triggers, provoking factors.An important role in this is played by the normalization of the daily routine, the correct alternation of the cycles of work and rest, the avoidance of nervous overstrain and stress loads.

It would be useful to have a diet that excludes or reduces the consumption of foods that provoke the production of serotonin – smoked meats, cheeses, chocolate, alcohol.

Anticonvulsants and antidepressants may also be prescribed for prophylaxis.

As you can see, migraine is a serious illness that significantly poisons life.Since modern medicine cannot completely defeat this disease, you can learn to live with a migraine and even enjoy life. We hope our advice will help you.

Is it true that acupressure will help get rid of headaches without pills

Acupressure ^{is an acupressure technique that has come down to us since ancient China. Its essence lies in the effect on certain points of the body associated with one or another organ. Including the head.}

In general terms, acupressure therapy looks like this. You have a headache – you have massaged an area of ​​skin, say, on your arm for 1–5 minutes – the pain is gone. Without any pills.

Sounds fantastic at first glance. But it seems to actually work. At least there really is scientific evidence for the effectiveness of acupressure.

What Science Says About Acupressure

There is little research on this topic. But the existing ones look very promising.

So, in one small work ^{, scientists found out if acupressure can help four adults suffering from chronic headache. The patients underwent acupressure sessions 2-3 times a week for six months. The results appeared by the end of the first week: according to the subjective feelings of the participants in the experiment, the number and duration of headaches decreased.}

After six months, the effect became evident and measurable: the number of headache attacks decreased from an average of seven incidents per week to two.And the duration was almost halved.

In another study, ^{, researchers investigated how one hour of acupressure affected 21 women with headaches. The patients received acupressure every day for two weeks. Result: the headache of all women began to hurt less often and not as badly as before.}

In general, acupressure makes sense to try. It is safe and can really relieve you of headaches quickly and for a long time. Consider only one thing: acupressure is an auxiliary therapy.If you are haunted by repeated or very severe bouts of pain, you need to consult a physician.

Where are the acupressure points and how to massage them

Before starting the massage, create the conditions for this.

• Find a quiet place. This can be, for example, a bedroom or bathroom, where nothing will distract you.
• If possible, dim the lights and play soothing music for relaxation.
• Get into a comfortable position.Sit or lie on your back, relax.
• Breathe slowly and deeply.

Find an active point on the body: look where it is located in the picture and start feeling the skin. The desired place will respond to pressing with a light pain signal.

Here are five of the most famous ^{points that are believed to be massaged to relieve or relieve headaches. You can try acupressure both independently and with the help of a loved one.}

1.“Third Eye”

Photo: mapo_japan / Shutterstock

The name speaks for itself: this point is located on the bridge of the nose, clearly between the eyebrows.

Press firmly here with the index finger of either hand and maintain pressure for about 1 minute. Option: Massage ^{third eye in small circular motions, being careful not to relieve pressure.}

This massage is believed to help relieve eye strain and sinus pressure, common causes of headaches.

2. Hole in the bamboo

Photo: coka / Shutterstock

These paired points are found on the inner side of each eyebrow – where the bridge of the nose meets the browbone.

Using your fingers, press on both points at once. Maintain pressure for 10 seconds. Then let go and try again.

This type of acupressure also relieves ^{sinus pressure and helps with eye fatigue.}

3. “Gates of Consciousness”

Photo: VanoVasaio / Shutterstock

These paired points are located at the back, above the neck, at the very base of the skull – they are depressions on both sides of the spine, between the vertical muscles of the neck.

Press down on the gate with the index and middle fingers of both hands. Option: Clasp your hands at the back of your head and press your thumbs into the cavity at the base of the skull. Massage for 10 seconds. Then remove your fingers. Repeat after a few seconds.

This massage can ^{relieve tension headaches in the neck.}

4. Shoulder points

Photo: Albina Gavrilovic / Shutterstock

They are located approximately halfway between the shoulder joint and the base of the neck.You need to activate these points one by one: first the left one, pressing it with the index and middle fingers of the opposite (right) hand, then the right one.

Massage in circular motions for a minute. ^{is thought to help relieve tension headaches.}

5. “Connecting Valley”

Photo: Funstock / Shutterstock

This point is located on the skin bridge between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. Pinch the valley with the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand and squeeze hard for 10 seconds.Then, being careful not to relieve pressure, draw circles with the pad of your thumb — 10 seconds in one direction, 10 seconds in the other. Repeat the procedure for the other hand.

This massage also helps ^{with tension headaches.}

This material was first published in December 2016. In November 2020, we updated the text.

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How to protect children from COVID-19 and prepare for school: advice from a pediatrician

The coronavirus pandemic continues to gain momentum.Thousands of new cases are registered in Kazakhstan every day

At the same time, if earlier complications from coronavirus developed only in adults and the elderly, then with the advent of the Delta strain, doctors increasingly began to talk about health problems in children. Sputnik Kazakhstan correspondent spoke with the capital’s pediatrician Bakhytgul Murzabekova about how parents should protect the health of their children, what parameters to keep under control, taking into account the approach of the new school year.

In Pavlodar, the condition of the traditional format of study was announced

According to the physician, the forecasts of medical doctors about the growth of morbidity among children and young people are fully justified.

“Children suffer from COVID as a respiratory viral infection with more pronounced symptoms. Very high fever, severe headache, symptoms of intoxication, weakness, lethargy, fatigue, the central nervous system suffers during the rehabilitation period. Therefore, it is very important to maintain contact with a doctor, because COVID is progressing, “the doctor said.

The number of victims of coronavirus in Kazakhstan exceeded 6 thousand

The pediatrician emphasized that in the capital, the flow of children with complaints of the post-like condition has increased.There is a general decrease in immunity and deficient conditions in the level of vitamins and minerals.

Bakhytgul Murzabekova also listed the tests that need to be taken once a year, regardless of the child’s health complaints. In addition, the pediatrician talked about what parents should pay attention to in case of an asymptomatic course of the coronavirus.

How children will learn in the new school year

As a practical advice for parents, the metropolitan pediatrician advised to monitor the regimen of her child.Adequate sleep, diet and diet, exclusion of “junk” food and drinks, as well as a healthy psycho-emotional environment in the family.

“Scabies – the first signs, treatment at home” – Yandex.Q

Scabies is a parasitic skin infectious disease characterized by skin lesions with a scabies mite, or itching (Sarcoptes scabiei). The pathogen mite is distinguishable with the naked eye (upon close examination) as a point, white or yellowish, no larger than a poppy seed.

The high contagiousness of scabies in humans is explained by the short period of time during which the scabies mite is able to invade human skin. This period of time is 15-20 minutes.

At night, the female mite gnaws through the passages in the skin, and lays eggs in the morning. The life cycle of an itch mite is 2-8 weeks. Then the causative agent of scabies dies and decomposes in the laid passages. Outside of humans, the tick dies quickly enough. The activity of the itch mite at night increases the risk of infection for the whole family if one bed is used.

In this article, we will look at what scabies looks like in humans, its symptoms and the first signs in the initial stage after infection with a tick. In addition, we will touch on the topic of how to treat scabies at home, and what medications can cope with the disease as quickly and efficiently as possible.

How can you get scabies, and what is it?

Let’s take a closer look at what it is. The causative agent of scabies in humans is a special scabies mite (a miniature insect that lives on the human skin), which easily tolerates low and high temperatures, is resistant to disinfection, and is hardy.Infection occurs in the process of personal contact with the patient, his belongings, in public places, sexually.

A female scabies mite acts as a carrier of infection. Having settled under the skin, it begins to make subcutaneous passages and lay eggs there. After a few days, the eggs turn into larvae. In this form, they will stay for a week and a half, after which they turn into an adult.

The disease is extremely contagious, its incubation period lasts up to 14 days.A fleeting touch of the skin of a person affected by scabies is enough – and you can become infected, and the treatment of scabies is long and unpleasant.

First signs

Let’s note the first signs of scabies, which determine this ailment. If this symptom was found, any dermatologist with one hundred percent certainty will establish an accurate diagnosis:

The appearance of itch passages – they look like a small whitish strip up to 1 cm long. Most often, channels laid by ticks are located on the abdomen, buttocks, feet, in the armpit, on the palms and in the folds of the elbow.Disturbing itching, worse at night. This is due to the increased activity of the female in the evening. Rashes and characteristic itching appeared in other family members after direct contact with an infected person.

In children, scabies is much more severe than in adults. When diagnosed with scabies, treating a child often involves removing parasites from all areas of the skin, including the face and scalp.

Symptoms of scabies

The incubation period for scabies lasts 10-14 days.After this time, the tick larvae reach the state of adults and begin to reproduce. But when a person develops the first symptoms of scabies after infection, it is difficult to predict. This is influenced by the age of the ticks that have entered the body and the speed of their spread over the skin.

Itching is characteristic of scabies, which intensifies at night, as well as paired nodular-vesicular rashes (see photo). Scabies passages outwardly resemble thin stripes slightly protruding above the surface of the skin, which can run in a zigzag and rectilinear manner.Usually the scabies mite ends with a white and transparent blister in which the body of the mite can be seen (white dot). In rare cases, itch moves cannot be detected (this is the so-called scabies without moves).

The most popular sites of scabies mite lesions are the interdigital space, abdomen, lateral parts of the body, elbows, mammary glands, buttocks, genitals, mainly in men.

What scabies looks like: photo

We offer detailed photos for viewing in order to know exactly what scabies looks like in humans, and what symptoms it leaves on the skin in the initial stage.

Diagnostics

In principle, a simple visual examination is sufficient for an accurate diagnosis of scabies. However, sometimes microscopic confirmation is required that all symptoms are caused by the tick. For examination, a drop of petroleum jelly is applied to the damaged area of ​​the skin and then scraped. When examining scrapings, either the parasites themselves or their waste products, eggs and excrement are found.

Treatment of scabies in humans

Spontaneous scabies never go away and can continue for many months and years, sometimes worsening.To cure a patient with scabies, it is enough to destroy the mite and its eggs, which is easily achieved by using local remedies. Do not self-medicate, and do not use folk remedies. Currently, a number of effective drugs have been developed to combat this disease. See a dermatologist and you will be prescribed adequate therapy.

In general, the following drugs are used to treat scabies at home:

1. Benzyl benzoate. The skin is treated with an ointment or water-soap suspension for 2-5 days.
2. Spreagel. The affected skin is treated with a spray for 3 days, if necessary, the course of treatment is repeated after 10 days.
3. Sulfuric ointment. Once a day, before going to bed for 5-7 days, the ointment is rubbed into the affected skin.
4. Permethrin. With the help of a cotton swab, the affected areas are lubricated, the duration of treatment is 3 days.
5. Lindane. The whole skin is lubricated with the lotion, the drug is left for 6 hours, it is applied once.
6. Crotamiton. The affected surfaces are smeared with cream 2 times a day for two days.
7. Ivermectin. Damaged skin areas are treated with ointment once, if necessary, the treatment is repeated after 14 days.

How to treat scabies effectively? Also, to achieve the best results at home, the following rules must be followed:

1. When scabies is diagnosed, all members of the identified focus (family, children’s team) undergo treatment.
2. Patients should not wash or change bedding while treating scabies.
3. Clothes and other items that the patient has come into contact with are disinfected.
4. Treats for scabies are applied to the whole body, not just to the affected area.

Scabies ointment should be rubbed into the skin with particular care, avoiding the face and scalp. More attention should be paid to the space between the fingers, hands. The greatest localization of ticks is located in these places. Scabies in children can develop into a purulent infection, so children are treated with both the face and scalp.Make sure that the scabies remedy does not get into the child’s mouth and eyes: this is important!

The prognosis for the treatment of scabies is favorable: if the disease is identified and therapy is organized on time, then 100% of patients are cured.

Spregal

Aerosol preparations for the treatment of scabies are easier to use and their volume is sufficient to treat the patient and contact persons. Reviews of people about the disease of scabies claim that it is quite effectively treated with Spregal aerosol.It is sprayed 20-30 cm from the skin, leaving no free areas, after 12 hours, the body and the epididium are sanitized. One application is enough, but in case of complicated forms of scabies, it is recommended to repeat the procedure.

Benzyl benzoate

An effective, inexpensive and powerful remedy for scabies. The duration of therapy is determined by the doctor depending on the severity of the disease. The minimum course is 2-3 days, on the recommendation of a dermatologist, repeat the treatment.

Children need 10% drug, adults – 20% ointment. Wash well before applying the product, put on clean clothes. Before using the ointment, you should know that it causes a very strong burning sensation of the skin for 10-15 minutes, so do not apply too much of the drug at a time.

During pregnancy and lactation, the use of benzyl benzoate is prohibited.

Sulfuric ointment (5-10%).

Currently in developed countries it is no longer used due to unpleasant odor, staining of clothing, irritating effect on the skin and mucous membranes, transdermal absorption with potential effects on the kidneys.However, in Africa and the poorest countries of the South. In America, sulfuric ointment is still used due to its cheapness.

Until now, sulfuric ointment is prescribed in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Application scheme: adults 20% concentration, children 10%, rub the ointment all over the skin every day at night for 5-7 days. On the sixth or eighth day, the patient washes and changes underwear and bedding.

How do you know if you have scabies? My friend has a sister whose child allegedly fell ill with scabies, I can’t sleep well now because it seems to me that I’ve got sick from them.Some blisters began to appear on my stomach and head. The hospital says it’s an allergy.

Benzyl benzoate really works very well against scabies.