Headaches: Treatment depends on your diagnosis and symptoms

Headaches: Treatment depends on your diagnosis and symptoms

Do you take aspirin or acetaminophen for all your headaches? For some types of headaches, that’s not the best approach. Here’s why.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Your head hurts. Again. The first step in foiling your frequent headaches is determining what type of headache you have. Sometimes headaches are a symptom of another disease or condition; sometimes there’s no clear cause.

Take a close look at your headache signs and symptoms. Keeping a headache diary might help determine your headache type. Note when your headaches occur, your symptoms, and potential triggers, such as food, stress or changes in sleep.

There are many types and sub-types of headaches. Chronic daily headaches, which occur 15 days or more a month, are one sub-type. Tension-type headaches and migraines are also common sub-types of headaches. They can both be chronic, though they aren’t always. Other types of chronic daily headaches include:

• Hemicrania continua, a one-sided headache that can feel like a migraine
• Primary stabbing headaches, which last for a few seconds and can occur several times throughout the day
• Primary exertional headaches, caused by exercise
• Chronic paroxysmal hemicranias, sharp, one-sided headaches that can cause tearing or a congested nose
• Medication overuse headaches, which occur from overusing pain medications for headaches for at least three months. These headaches occur at least 15 days out of the month.

Other headache types include:

• Cluster headaches, which cause severe pain on one side of the head and occur off and on for weeks over the course of a few months. Cluster headaches are associated with one or more signs and symptoms, such as tearing, nasal congestion and nasal discharge. These occur on the same side as the pain.

Tension-type headaches

Tension-type headaches, the most common variety of headaches:

• Might be felt as a tight band of pain around your head, a dull ache or pressure
• Might cause mild to moderate pain on both sides of the head
• Vary widely in frequency
• Can be occasional
• May occur more than 15 days a month (chronic)
• Last from 30 minutes to a week

Treatment

Most occasional tension-type headaches are easily treated with over-the-counter medications, including:

• Aspirin
• Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others)
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others)

Daily prescription medications, including tricyclic antidepressants, might manage chronic tension-type headaches. Alternative therapies aimed at stress reduction might help. They include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Biofeedback
• Massage therapy
• Acupuncture

Migraines

Migraines are another common type of headache. They affect three times more women than men. Migraines typically:

• Cause pain that is moderate to severe
• Pulsate
• Cause nausea, vomiting, or increased sensitivity to light or sound
• Affect only one side of your head, but can affect both sides
• Worsen with activity such as climbing steps
• Last from four to 72 hours without treatment

Treatment

Migraine treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms and preventing additional attacks. If you know what triggers your migraines, avoiding those triggers and learning how to manage them can help prevent migraines or lessen the pain. Treatment might include:

• Rest in a quiet, dark room
• Hot or cold compresses to your head or neck
• Massage and small amounts of caffeine
• Over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) and aspirin
• Prescription medications including triptans, such as sumatriptan (Imitrex) and zolmitriptan (Zomig)
• Preventive medications such as metoprolol (Lopressor), propranolol (Innopran, Inderal, others), amitriptyline, divalproex (Depakote), topiramate (Qudexy XR, Trokendi XR ,Topamax) or erenumab-aooe (Aimovig)

Recognize emergency symptoms

Seek emergency care if you have:

• A very severe, sudden headache
• Headache after a head injury or fall
• Fever, stiff neck, rash, confusion, seizure, double vision, weakness, numbness or difficulty speaking
• Pain that worsens despite treatment

These symptoms suggest a more serious condition, so it’s important to get a prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Take control

Almost everyone gets headaches, and many are nothing to worry about. But if headaches are disrupting your activities, work or personal life, it’s time to see your doctor. Headaches can’t always be prevented, but your doctor can help you manage the symptoms.

May 10, 2019

Show references

1. Headache information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Headache-Information-Page. Accessed June 26, 2018.
2. Headache diary: Keeping a diary can help your doctor help you. National Headache Foundation. https://headaches.org/resources/headache-diary-keeping-a-diary-can-help-your-doctor-help-you/. Accessed June 26, 2018.
3. Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The international classification of headache disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia. 2018;38:1.
4. Bajwa ZH, et al. Evaluation of headache in adults. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed June 26, 2018.
5. Kasper DL, et al., eds. Headache. In: Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. 19th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2015. https://www.accessmedicine.mhmedical.com. Accessed June 26, 2018.
6. Taylor FR. Tension-type headache in adults: Pathophysiology, clinical features, and diagnosis. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed June 26, 2018.
7. Tension-type headache. American Migraine Foundation. https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/understanding-migraine/tension-type-headache/. Accessed June 26, 2018.
8. May A. Cluster headache: Treatment and prognosis. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed June 26, 2018.
9. May A. Cluster headache: Epidemiology, clinical features, and diagnosis. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed June 26, 2018.
10. Headache: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Hope-Through-Research/Headache-Hope-Through-Research. Accessed June 26, 2018.

See more In-depth

.

Migraine – Treatment – NHS

There’s currently no cure for migraines, although a number of treatments are available to help ease the symptoms.

It may take time to work out the best treatment for you. You may need to try different types or combinations of medicines before you find the most effective ones.

If you find you cannot manage your migraines using over-the-counter medicines, your GP may prescribe something stronger.

During an attack

Most people find that sleeping or lying in a darkened room is the best thing to do when having a migraine attack.

Others find that eating something helps, or they start to feel better once they have been sick.

Painkillers

Many people who have migraines find that over-the-counter painkillers, such as paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen, can help to reduce their symptoms.

They tend to be most effective if taken at the first signs of a migraine attack, as this gives them time to absorb into your bloodstream and ease your symptoms.

It’s not advisable to wait until the headache worsens before taking painkillers, as it’s often too late for the medicine to work.

Tablets you dissolve in a glass of water (soluble painkillers) are a good alternative because they’re absorbed quickly by your body.

If you cannot swallow painkillers because of nausea or vomiting, suppositories may be a better option. These are capsules that are inserted into the bottom.

Cautions

When taking over-the-counter painkillers, always make sure you read the instructions on the packaging and follow the dosage recommendations.

Children under 16 should not take aspirin unless it’s under the guidance of a healthcare professional.

Aspirin and ibuprofen are also not recommended for adults who have a history of stomach problems, such as stomach ulcers, liver problems or kidney problems.

Taking any form of painkiller frequently can make migraines worse. This is sometimes called a medication overuse headache or painkiller headache.

Speak to a GP if you find yourself needing to use painkillers repeatedly or over-the-counter painkillers are not effective.

They may prescribe stronger painkillers or recommend using painkillers along with triptans.

If they suspect the frequent use of painkillers may be contributing your headaches, they may recommended that you stop using them.

Triptans

If ordinary painkillers are not helping to relieve your migraine symptoms, you should make an appointment to see a GP.

They may recommend taking painkillers in addition to a type of medicine called a triptan, and possibly anti-sickness medicine.

Triptan medicines are a specific painkiller for migraine headaches. They’re thought to work by reversing the changes in the brain that may cause migraine headaches.

They cause the blood vessels around the brain to narrow (contract). This reverses the widening of blood vessels that’s believed to be part of the migraine process.

Triptans are available as tablets, injections and nasal sprays.

Common side effects of triptans include:

• warm sensations
• tightness
• tingling
• flushing
• feelings of heaviness in the face, limbs or chest

Some people also experience feeling sick, a dry mouth and drowsiness.

These side effects are usually mild and improve on their own.

As with other painkillers, taking too many triptans can lead to a medication overuse headache.

Your GP will usually recommend having a follow-up appointment once you have finished your first course of treatment with triptans.

This is so you can discuss their effectiveness and whether you had any side effects.

If the medicine was helpful, treatment will usually be continued.

If they were not effective or caused unpleasant side effects, your GP may try prescribing a different type of triptan as how people respond to this medicine can be highly variable.

Anti-sickness medicines

Anti-sickness medicines, known as anti-emetics, can successfully treat migraine in some people even if you do not experience feeling or being sick.

These are prescribed by a GP, and can be taken alongside painkillers and triptans.

As with painkillers, anti-sickness medicines work better if taken as soon as your migraine symptoms begin.

They usually come in the form of a tablet, but are also available as a suppository.

Side effects of anti-emetics include drowsiness and diarrhoea.

Combination medicines

You can buy a number of combination medicines for migraine without a prescription at your local pharmacy.

These medicines contain both painkillers and anti-sickness medicines.

If you’re not sure which one is best for you, ask your pharmacist.

It can also be very effective to combine a triptan with another painkiller, such as ibuprofen.

Many people find combination medicines convenient.

But the dose of painkillers or anti-sickness medicine may not be high enough to relieve your symptoms.

If this is the case, it may be better to take painkillers and anti-sickness medicines separately. This allows you to easily control the doses of each.

Acupuncture

If medicines are unsuitable or do not help to prevent migraines, you can try acupuncture.

Some GP surgeries offer acupuncture, but most do not, so you may have to pay for it privately.

Evidence suggests a course of up to 10 sessions over a 5- to 8-week period may be beneficial.

Find out more about acupuncture

Seeing a specialist

If the treatments above are not effectively controlling your migraines, your GP may refer you to a specialist migraine clinic for further investigation and treatment.

In addition to the medicines mentioned above, a specialist may recommend other treatments, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

In January 2014, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved the use of a treatment called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for the treatment and prevention of migraines.

TMS involves holding a small electrical device to your head that delivers magnetic pulses through your skin.

It’s not clear exactly how TMS works in treating migraines, but studies have shown that using it at the start of a migraine can reduce its severity.

It can also be used in combination with the medicines mentioned above without interfering with them.

But TMS is not a cure for migraines and does not work for everyone.

The evidence for its effectiveness is not strong and is limited to people who have migraine with aura.

There’s also little evidence about the potential long-term effects of the treatment, although studies into the treatment have so far only reported minor and temporary side effects.

These include:

NICE recommends that TMS should only be provided by headache specialists in specialist centres because of the uncertainty about the potential long-term side effects.

The specialist will keep a record of your experiences using the treatment.

Treatment for pregnant and breastfeeding women

In general, migraine treatment with medicines should be limited as much as possible when you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

Instead, trying to identify and avoid potential migraine triggers is often recommended.

If medicine is essential, your GP may prescribe you a low-dose painkiller, such as paracetamol.

In some cases, anti-inflammatory medicine or triptans may be prescribed.

Speak to a GP or your midwife before taking medicine when you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

Page last reviewed: 10 May 2019
Next review due: 10 May 2022

Home remedies to get rid of headaches

Nobody knows how debilitating a headache can be more than a person who suffers from them. In fact, certain kinds of headaches like migraines are so severe that they can hamper your productivity and alter your quality of life for the worse. Several studies have shown that headaches are a public health concern that cause financial burden on the society due to absenteeism and diminished productivity. For instance, in the United Kingdom, 25 million working days are lost every year because of migraine! If you suffer from persistent headaches you must visit your health care practitioner as headaches can be a symptom of a number of underlying medical conditions. These home remedies that we have listed out will offer you some relief from your symptoms. However, do check with your doctor before you try any of them

1. Why do we get headaches?
2. What causes headaches?
3. Types of Headaches
4. Home remedies for headaches

Why do we get headaches?

Many of us tend to think that headaches are a pain that originate from the brain. However, that is not the case because while the brain makes us sense pain in different parts of our bodies, it is unable to feel any pain itself. So the pain we feel when we get a headache usually emanates from the nerves, blood vessels, and muscles that cover our head and neck. We feel pain when these muscles or blood vessels expand, contract, or go through other changes that activate the nerves around them to send a pain signal to the brain.

What causes headaches?

Headaches can be caused by a number of reasons and some of the most common triggers include stress, dehydration, computer or TV fatigue, loud music, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, hunger, sleeplessness and eye strain. Certain infections like influenza, sinus, throat infection, UTIs and ENT infection are also known to cause headaches. Sometimes hormonal changes could trigger a headache—for example, the dreaded period headache! Some kinds of headaches, like migraines, could also be hereditary.
 

Types of Headaches

Migraine

Migraine is a severe throbbing pain that is usually located on one side of the head. These recurrent, and often life-long, headaches are sometimes accompanied by light and sound sensitivity and nausea. These attacks, that may last for a couple of days or more, are worsened by any physical activity. Migraines are more common in women than men and mostly affect those in the 35-45 year age bracket.

Tension headaches

A tension headache is characterised by a squeezing, painful sensation, much like a tight band around the head. One of the most common kinds of headaches, these usually start at the onset of puberty and affect more women than men. They may be triggered by stress or certain musculoskeletal problems in the neck area. These painful episodes can last from a few hours to a few days.

Cluster headache

A cluster headache is not very common and is characterised by recurring brief but severe headaches that emanate from behind the eyes. There is usually redness and tearing in the eyes accompanied by a blocked nose and droopiness of eyelids.

Sinus headache

Sinus headaches that accompany a viral or bacterial infection have symptoms like aching teeth, a lack of smell, pressure in your eyes and cheeks. Sometimes these kind of headaches can be induced by seasonal allergies that also cause runny noses, sneezing and watery eyes.

Thunderclap headache

A thunderclap headache is a short, intense burst of pain that may not last longer than five minutes. Do not ignore this kind of a headache as this could be a symptom of something serious like a brain aneurysm, stroke, or a brain haemorrhage. This headache is often likened to a lightning strike inside the head. Do get in touch with your doctor or visit the hospital immediately if this happens.

Exertional headache

Have you noticed how sometimes you get a headache after an intense bout at the gym or even during an orgasm? Well, this kind of a headache is called an exertional headache and is triggered by exercise. These can last for five minutes or up to a couple of days. A kind of migraine, these throbbing headaches can make you nauseous.

Home remedies for headaches

While there are a number of OTC painkillers that you may take for relief, the following home remedies have been shown to be very effective against headaches.

Drink more water

Yes, it is as simple as this. Drink enough water and keep yourself hydrated throughout the day to stave off tension headaches. Studies have shown that inadequate intake of water and dehydration is a common cause of tension headaches. If your headache is related to dehydration, you will find that drinking water can give you relief within 30 minutes to three hours.

Add more magnesium in your diet

Research has shown that magnesium is very effective against headaches. An important mineral that is essential for the proper function of many of our bodily processes like blood sugar control and nerve transmission, magnesium supplements have been shown to reduce the severity and frequency of migraine headaches. In fact, studies have shown that those who get migraine attacks tend to have low levels of magnesium in their brains during attacks and a general magnesium deficiency. Do ask your doctor before taking any magnesium supplements as they can cause a stomach upset in some people. You could also introduce magnesium into your diet naturally by eating more of pumpkin seeds, mackerel, dried figs, and dark chocolate.

Cut down on alcohol

If you have had a hangover, you would have guessed that drinking alcohol does increase your chances of getting a headache. Studies have shown that alcohol consumption tends to trigger migraines and cause tension and cluster headaches in people who are prone to headaches. This is because alcohol expands the blood vessels and causes them to widen and allow more blood to flow. This expansion or vasodilation, as it is called, causes headaches. There is another way in which alcohol causes headaches—a diuretic, it makes you lose more water and electrolytes in the form of urine thereby causing dehydration that in turn causes and worsens headaches.
 

Sleep well

Lack of sleep is one of the leading causes of headaches, besides being harmful for your health in general. Not getting enough sleep has long been linked to heart disease, diabetes and obesity, however, now studies have also shown that sleep patterns have a direct link with headaches as well. For instance, those who get less than six hours of sleep have been shown to get very severe and frequent headaches. Interestingly, excessive sleep can also lead to headaches, so one should ideally try to sleep between six to nine hours a night to reduce headaches.

Avoid high-histamine foods

Certain foods like aged cheeses, fermented food, beer, wine, smoked fish and cured meats are high in a substance called histamine. Studies have shown that histamine in these foods can trigger migraines in people who are sensitive to it. An inability to expel excess histamine from the system due to impaired renal function could also lead to headaches.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are highly recommended as a safe and effective home remedy for headaches. These concentrated aromatic extracts from certain plants can be applied directly or through a carrier oil or sometimes even ingested. For headaches, peppermint and lavender essential oils have been shown to be particularly useful. Dab a little peppermint essential oil to your temples for relief from a tension headache or a sinus headache. You could also apply a few drop of peppermint oil to your pillow for a pain-free sleep. Lavender oil is effective against migraine pain and its symptoms when inhaled. It works against anxiety, depression, stress and thereby relieves headaches caused by anxiety and stress. You could also put a few drops of this oil in a steam inhaler and inhale the fumes. Other essential oils that are effective against headaches are basil oil for tension headaches and migraines; eucalyptus essential oil for sinus and tension headaches; rosemary essential oil for sinus and hormonal headaches; lemon citrus oil for all types of headaches like migraines, sinus and tension; geranium oil for hormonal and tension headaches; Roman chamomile essential oil for stress-related headaches and tension headaches; flaxseed oil for migraines;

You could also drop a few drops of an essential oil in a warm footbath. Soak your feet in warm water so that the blood is drawn to your feet, thereby reducing the pressure on the blood vessels in the head. You could also add a dash of mustard to the water.

B-complex Vitamins

Studies have shown that taking a regular vitamin B complex supplement can help reduce the frequency and severity of headaches. A study showed that those who took 400 milligrams of riboflavin (vitamin B2) daily for three months reported fewer migraine attacks. Add riboflavin in your diet in the form of almonds, sesame seeds, fish and hard cheeses. The other B vitamins like folate, B12 and pyridoxine are also very effective against headaches. These vitamins are water soluble, hence you may take them safely as the excess will be flushed out of your system easily.
 

Cold Compress

A cold compress has been shown to be particularly effective against headache symptoms. The cold compress makes the blood vessels contract, decreases inflammation and slows nerve conduction thereby leading to less pain. Studies have also corroborated this with one survey showing significant relief after applying a cold gel pack. You could fill a waterproof bag with ice, wrap it in a towel and apply it to the back of your neck, head and temples for relief from migraine.

Eliminate the food triggers

Certain kinds of food, like chocolate or caffeine, can trigger a severe headache in some people. If you feel that some food is causing your headaches, try eliminating it from your diet and see if it makes a difference. Common food triggers that cause headaches are aged cheese, alcohol, chocolate, citrus fruits and coffee.

Caffeinated Tea or Coffee

While some people may be intolerant to tea and coffee, many others report relief from headaches after having caffeinated beverages like tea or coffee. Caffeine works by constricting blood vessels, alleviating anxiety and by increasing the effectiveness of headache medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. However, do note that if you suddenly reduce your caffeine intake, you might get withdrawal symptoms that also cause terrible headaches. So do be mindful of how much coffee or tea you are having.

Acupuncture

If you are okay with having pins and needles inserted into your body, you could try acupuncture, an ancient Chinese medical procedure. Studies have shown that having pins inserted at certain points of the body to stimulate them, does offer significant relief from migraines and other headaches. In fact over 22 studies have found that acupuncture is as effective as common migraine medications when it comes to reducing severity and frequency of headaches.

Herbal remedies

If you have been popping pills for your headaches and are tired of taking so many medications, you could try some herbal remedies instead. It has been seen that some herbs like feverfew and butterbur are very effective in reducing inflammation and pain. Butterbur is super effective against migraines and at least three studies have shown that it significantly reduces migraine attacks. However, do take the advice of an medical expert before you try any of these herbal remedies as they have to be administered in specific doses.
 

Ginger

The humble ginger is a powerful remedy against headaches. The large amounts of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory substances in them help reduce the severity of migraine pain. In fact some studies have shown that they are more effective than many conventional migraine medicines. Ginger also helps tackle nasty symptoms like nausea that accompany migraines. Sip on a strong adrak chai or you can take ginger as a supplement in capsule form.

Exercise

While some kinds of headaches are caused by exercise, others are alleviated by it. For instance, studies have shown that working in about 40 minutes of cardio exercise daily helps reduce headaches in the long run. However, do not make the mistake of exercising during a migraine attack or your conditions will be exacerbated. Yoga is a good way to get in exercise and achieve the deep relaxation that is so important to beat headaches.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

5 Holistic Remedies for your Kid’s Headache

Headaches are a common complaint in children of all ages. I can personally empathize with all of my headache-suffering patients because I started having chronic headaches when I was just a young child. Different types of headaches can have different root causes, but all headaches are bothersome and potentially disruptive to your child’s daily activities. While headaches are common, they deserve a complete, possibly urgent evaluation in the following scenarios:

• Headaches wake your child up in the morning or are associated with morning nausea or vomiting (urgent)
• Headache is associated with fever and/or neck stiffness (urgent)
• Headaches occur more than 3 days a week
• Your child is unable to participate in activities such as school or extracurricular activities more than twice a month due to headaches
• You are at all concerned by the frequency or intensity of your child’s headaches

If headaches are only occasional, or if worrisome conditions are ruled out after a thorough evaluation, the conventional recommendation would be to give acetaminophen or ibuprofen when your child has a headache. However, the holistic approach we take at CentreSpringMD is to find the root cause, encourage preventive measures like good nutrition, hydration and sleep, and provide natural remedies when headaches do hit. Here are my five favorite integrative and holistic remedies for headache treatment and prevention in children.

1. Peppermint Oil

Pure, therapeutic grade peppermint oil is a potent and effective remedy for both headaches and associated nausea. I always recommend diluting essential oils before applying them topically, and always keep the oils away from the eyes. Peppermint oil can be applied to the temples (in children old enough not to rub it into their eyes), forehead, and back of the neck to help calm a headache when it hits. This can be repeated as frequently as needed until the problem is resolved. You can also apply the diluted peppermint oil to the upper abdomen and to the insides of the wrists to help with any nausea.

2. Magnesium

Magnesium can be used both to acutely treat a headache, as well as to help prevent more chronically occurring headaches. An easily absorbable form of magnesium like Magnesium Glycinate, is my recommendation. The dose is determined by the child’s age and size, as well as by what has worked for them in the past. Since magnesium is relaxing, the daily preventive dose is best given in the evening.

3. Riboflavin

Even in the conventional world, Riboflavin (also known as Vitamin B2) is given to help prevent headaches, with evidence most available specifically for migraines. Again, the daily dose would be determined depending on the child’s size and age.

4. Acupuncture

Both standard and needle-free acupuncture can be used as a treatment for acute headaches, and also as a preventive strategy for chronic headaches. This is a therapy that we are happy to be able to offer at CentreSpringMD, performed by our certified acupuncturist.

5. Eliminate Food Triggers

I often encourage kids who suffer frequent headaches to keep a headache diary to include a log of their food/drink intake. Food sensitivities can be a root cause for recurrent headaches, so looking for food associations in a headache diary often helps find the culprits. Remember that symptoms from food sensitivities are not always immediate; they can take 24 hours to 5 days to develop. A few years ago, I discovered that the root cause of my headaches was a significant gluten/wheat sensitivity. I know now that the onset of my severe headache or migraine is not until at least 24 hours after accidental ingestion. Sometimes, just eliminating common food culprits like wheat/gluten, dairy (especially hard cheeses), MSG, and chocolate can be enough to decrease the frequency and severity of headaches. If doing this does not do the trick, we can test for food sensitivities using our ALCAT or IgG testing modalities.

One of the most gratifying things I get to do as a holistic pediatrician is treat headaches, especially since I suffered so regularly from headaches most of my life. Finding the root causes, and supporting the body as it heals is a favorite part of my job. Do you have a favorite natural headache remedy? Let us know in the comments!

Can Coffee Get Rid of Your Headache?

Nothing will slow you down faster than a pounding headache.  You know the headaches that I’m talking about.  Headaches that are so bad you feel the pounding in your head every time your heart beats.  When this happens to you, what do you normally do?  Reach for the over the counter pain relief, of course.  But what do you do if you don’t have any pain reliever handy?

You may not have heard that coffee could actually help cure your headache before it gets out of hand and really ruins your day.  This is due to the caffeine content present in each cup of coffee you drink.  Conventional wisdom says caffeine can help relieve a headache, and it can also help your body more easily absorb various pain relievers that you take so you can get rid of that headache much more quickly.

How it Works

Now that you know you can drink a cup of coffee to help with your headache, it is important that you understand why before you go pouring pot after pot of coffee down your throat every time you start to feel a little twinge of pain behind your eyes or on your head.   There are two main schools of thought on how and why coffee can help you get rid of your headache, and it all comes down to the caffeine.

The first theory attempts to address why a headache happens in the first place to show why coffee, or rather the caffeine in coffee, works to help relieve the pain.  Headaches typically occur when the body releases adenosine.  This chemical inflames the blood vessels which results in the throbbing sensation and pain.  The caffeine found in a typical cup of coffee, however, puts a stop to your body’s production of adenosine and then helps to constrict the blood vessels.  By doing so, the pain and throbbing slowly subside and you start to feel normal again.

The second theory is based on several studies of caffeine.  The studies have found that caffeine can increase the effectiveness of pain relievers by helping your body absorb the pain medication much faster than you normally would.  The theory believes that while not totally effective on its own, coffee can help speed up the process of ridding yourself of that pesky headache if you drink it when you take typical pain medication for your head.   Because of this theory, you will find that many pain relievers, both over the counter and prescription, contain caffeine along with their main pain relief ingredients.

No products found.

Caffeine in Pain Relievers

As a result of multiple studies that found caffeine helps your body absorb typical pain medication, many drugs contain caffeine along with their other active ingredients.  This is why you may feel more awake in addition to being pain free after you take the medication.

Some of the more popular over the counter pain relievers that contain caffeine are:

• Goody’s
• Excedrin
• Midol
• Anacin
• Bayer
• NoDoz

Many prescription pain medications also use caffeine.  Some of the more popular medications are:

• Cafergot
• Fiorinal
• Norgesic
• Triaminicin

These are only a few of the most common drugs that contain caffeine as part of their pain relief mission.   Check the label of your pain relief drug or check with your pharmacist to find out if your pain medication contains caffeine.

Types of Headaches

There are many types of headaches out there.  They could be sinus headaches, allergy headaches, cold headaches and even migraines.  The question becomes, how effective will coffee be against all these different types of headaches.  In most cases, the cause of the headache is much the same as all the rest.  Even migraines, arguably the worst type of headache around, can be improved with coffee.  Your mileage may vary, however, and if you don’t solve the underlying problem that is causing the headache, such as sinus pressure from a cold, they headache could easily return.

Caffeine Addiction

You need to remember, the caffeine you find in coffee is a drug, and like so many drugs, it is addictive.  If you drink too much coffee or other food and drinks that contain caffeine, your body could become addicted to it.  If that happens, your body will become used to having caffeine in its system and will crave it once it has processed and removed the caffeine from your body.   This could lead to withdrawal symptoms that make you feel sluggish and even cause a headache instead of put a stop to one.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Typically, when you go through caffeine withdrawal, you will experience several symptoms.  They include:

• Headache
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Nausea

If you drink five or more cups of coffee a day for a long period of time, there is a good chance that your body will become addicted to caffeine and you could experience these symptoms if you suddenly drastically decrease the amount of coffee you drink each day.  If this happens, you need to remember that the symptoms are only temporary, and will go away in a few days if you don’t drink anything else with caffeine in it.  Of course, the other way to solve it is to drink more coffee or other caffeinated food or beverage.  When you do, you will notice that your headache and other symptoms will begin to subside within 30 minutes to an hour after drinking your cup of coffee.

Rebound Headaches

Caffeine has also been known to cause rebound headaches especially when consumed through the use of pain medications.  A rebound headache is caused by the overuse of pain medication that, in the end, often has the opposite effect and cause you to have a headache.  Unfortunately, when this occurs, using the pain medication or drinking coffee won’t do much to help you.  In this case, all you can do is cease drinking coffee and other caffeinated drinks and stop taking the medication that is causing the headache.  It may take some time for the medications and caffeine to leave your body, but once they do you will find that your rebound headaches will vanish as well.

Other Caffeine Sources

In addition to coffee and some pain medications, you can find caffeine in many other foods and beverages.  So, if you have a headache and no pain reliever or coffee is available, try reaching for one of these food or drinks:

• Chocolate
• Cola
• Tea
• Cocoa mix

It should be noted that none of these foods and drinks including coffee are ever the best substitute for taking traditional pain relief medication.    As we have already discussed, too much caffeine can cause caffeine addiction, limiting the effects that caffeine will have on your body and even causing headaches if you begin consuming less and less coffee.

The Most Benefit

So how do you use coffee to your advantage when you have a headache?  First, don’t drink too much of it.  Sure, drinking some every day will be ok.  But those that drink five cups of coffee or more each day are very likely to become dependent on the caffeine.  This means that when you do use it to treat a headache, your body will be so used to it that you won’t see as many benefits.

Second, try to always take your pain medication with a cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage.  However, before you do this, make sure that our medication isn’t already loaded with the stuff, otherwise you could ingest too much caffeine.  You also want to make sure you are properly hydrated before you begin using caffeinated products.  Soft drinks and coffee won’t do much to help you quench your thirst and hydrate your body, and in many cases they just make it worse.

Finally, try slowly drinking a cup of coffee with your pain medication.  Don’t drink it too fast or drink too much.  The goal is to use the coffee to help with the headache while allowing your pain medication to do the heavy lifting.  However, if pain medication isn’t around, don’t overcompensate by drinking more coffee.  Instead, slowly drink your cup of coffee and allow your body to absorb the caffeine so it slowly relieves your symptoms.

So, the next time you have a headache and don’t have any pain medication handy to knock it out, try pouring yourself a nice, warm cup of joe.  Not only will the caffeine in your cup of coffee help you feel more energized and help you get through the day, but it will also help you relieve the pain you are feeling as a result of that nasty headache that is slowing you down.  Of course, I wouldn’t recommend you always use coffee as your chosen pain reliever.  Too much of anything isn’t good and that includes the caffeine found in coffee.  However, if used correctly in place or in conjunction with a good over the counter pain reliever, coffee can quickly put the kibosh on your headache so you can get back to work and play and enjoy your day pain-free.

How To Get Rid Of A Migraine With Massage For Headaches

Getting a massage for your headache is one of the best natural headache treatments there is. And odds are, you could use some headache relief every now and then, since research shows nearly everyone has an occasional headache.

Which Type of Headache do You Have?

Believe it or not, there are three different categories of headaches and six different individual types within those categories. They range from common and benign to potentially serious.

Tension-Type Headaches: Tension-type headaches (TTH) are the most common of all headaches. Though their exact cause is still unknown, TTH are typically characterized by recurring feelings of tightening or pressure in the head that lasts from minutes to weeks. Tension-type headaches are often mistaken for migraines, although the two present very differently.

Vascular Headaches: The umbrella of vascular headaches includes four different subtypes of headaches, including cluster, sinus, and migraine headaches. Migraines are intense headaches on one or both sides of the head, usually accompanied by nausea, and light or sound sensitivity. They may also be preceded by an “aura,” a visual disturbance which may appear as shimmering lights, fractal lines, or stars. Migraines are up to 3 times more common in women than in men, due to hormonal differences.

Traction-Inflammatory Headaches: This type of headache is rare but can be serious, with a wide range of possible causes. In this case, the headache is serving as the canary in the coal mine, sounding the alarm about a more serious issue within the body. This type of headache should be treated by your healthcare provider as soon as possible to rule out potentially serious causes.

Natural Relief for Migraine & Tension Headaches

Massage therapy has proven to be an effective measure for reducing both chronic migraines and tension headaches. Research shows that professional therapeutic massage can decrease pain, tension, duration, intensity, and frequency of headaches. Massage also eases the muscle tension in the neck, jaw, and shoulders, which can cause headaches in the first place.

Studies have shown that massage reduces the frequency of migraines and even reduced pain in the midst of an active migraine. Scalp massage show particular promise for reducing migraine pain. And when you can barely bring yourself to leave your darkened room, scheduling an in-home massage may be a lifesaver when the alternative is navigating through brightly lit traffic to find some relief.

For sufferers of tension headaches, massage may not only prevent them but also reduce their frequency. One study found that even just 30 minutes of massage showed significant physical and psychological improvements.

Do You Suffer from Regular Headaches?

If you’re living with headaches, a regular massage should be part of your self-care routine. It’s easier and more affordable than ever with Zeel’s Massage Membership. With flexible options, you’ll enjoy up to 33% off regular rates, rollover credits that never expire, and most importantly, the comfort of knowing you’ll have a therapeutic massage waiting for you every month.

Margo Carroll

Margo Carroll is a marketing strategist and email funnel copywriter for online business owners. She has worked with many massage therapists and has been featured in Massage magazine, the Massage Business Blueprint and MindBodyGreen. Learn more about Margo at margocaroll.com and on LinkedIn.

How to get rid of Headaches

So, what if tomorrow you woke up and didn’t have a headache ever again? So many patients that I see suffer from headaches, migraines, sinus headaches, headaches from all sorts of different things. If you woke up tomorrow and didn’t have another headache ever again, what would you do differently with your lives?

Hi, I’m Dr. Chris Hood from Hood Chiropractic, and today I’m going to give you three simple things you can start doing right now, if you have headaches, to start making them better. The first thing is, there are different types and causes of headaches and all of us have those, but the type I see the most common right now, this years, is what we call cervicogenic headache. And when I say cervicogenic, I don’t mean women’s body parts here. I mean cervical, like, neck cervical spine. I know it sounds crazy but right now we’re living in a technology world where everyone has something we like to call techno neck. From texting all the time, people on computers all the time, my average patient will spend seven to eight hours a day on a computer. When you’re in that posture and your head is forward like that…I’d like you think of your muscles in the back of your neck, to your traps, to the mid of your arms all the way up to your eye are contently trying to pull your head back.

So, the majority of the headaches that I currently see now in my office are caused from the repetitive stress of people being on the computer for long periods of time, texting, techno neck, the posture of looking down. You know that old age posture where you see people get into? You’re going into the posture prematurely and don’t even realize it. It’s going to cause headaches, neck pain. Okay! Headaches! What do we do to reverse that?

Number one, at the end of a long day, you’ve been working hard, you’re that person playing video games, on the phone, or you’re just at work all the time, and you’re in that computer posture. Reverse that posture! At the end of the long day go ahead and lay your head off the end of the edge of the bed. I know it sounds crazy but if you were a little kid like me and use to read those ‘choose your own adventure books’ maybe I’m dating myself but saying that, basically when you read upside down when you’re a kid, that’s what I want you to do. I want you to put your shoulders off the end of the bed, lay your head back, put your arms at your sides and take a couple of deep breaths in and just relax. Let those muscles relax, let your spine relax, you’ll be able to decrease the amount of muscles spasms in the back and start working on your posture and it’ll start calming those headaches down. That’s number one

Number two if you have a headache and the headache is getting worse and your trying all these other things, do yourself a favor, don’t put heat on it! A lot of people will get in the shower, start to stretch their neck out start to stretch their head out, that’s going to make things worse. Lite ice, the way you want to do that, most people never taught you this before, they’ll say “yeah ice this” but no one knows how, right? Wet paper towel on your bare skin, the back of your neck. Because the muscles are pulling, remember the cause of that headache, those symptoms, that techno neck, wet paper towel on your bare skin, ice pack on the wet paper towel, you can use a bag of peas, bag of carrots, I don’t care, just something icy. 20 minutes only! When you put it on its going to be cold, it’s going to burn, it’s going to ache, it’s going to go numb. 20 minutes pull it off there, between the icing and the stretching should calm it down immensely, so those are the first two things if you’re getting headaches, it’ll help.

Number three Ergonomics. Listen guys you can’t help it in our modern society using technology and I get that, my patents see that. I go out of my way to help my patients with lifestyle modifications so you know so that they can get better quicker. So, what we want to do here, is when you’re at work, a couple basic things. The monitor of your computer should be at eye level or above. Most people are on a laptop now a days, so they’re looking down the whole time. You want it eye level or above, so you’re looking up putting your spine into that natural curved position. That naturel curved position brings your head over your shoulders. You also want to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water during the day, in our modern fast paced society a lot people are using those highly caffeinated beverages, coffee, just to get through the day, and every time you drink a caffeinated beverage it actually acts as a diuretic and you lose water, and chronic dehydration guess what, causes headaches. So, that’s the forth thing!

So, let’s review what we’ve talked about. Number One, you want to stretch your head at the end of the day, right off the bed and let those muscles relax that are going up into your head and your neck. Number Two, you want to go ahead and ice it, if it’s really a problem, if you have a bad headache and you ice it down a little bit in the back of the neck you’ll feel better right away and on top of that, you’ll know it’s coming from the muscles of the neck

Number three, right, Ergonomics. Ergonomics at work. be aware, if you have no choice at work but to be on a laptop or posture down that way then do yourself a favor, ever hour or so get up stretch with your head back, three deep breaths in, stretch you upper back and neck it’ll help

And number four, of course, drinking plenty of water. I meant to do three, we did four here. It’s an extra bonus, it’s for free! So, the forth one, what you’re going to do, drink plenty of water. You want to do three liters a day, that’s 6 bottles of water a day. I know what you’re going to say “Dr. Chris! If I drink that much water I’m going to have to pee a lot,” Good! You’ll get more excurses walking back and forth to the toilet okay. So, there’s an extra health tip you didn’t even expect. So, at my practice when I see patient with headaches, what I tend to see in our society is that their head is starting to translate forward from their body because of technology.

So, as you translate forward, you can actually see this on an x-ray, so when people come in my office that have chronic history of headaches, and you know it’s not allergy related and you know its tension and stress headaches, and you know where it coming from, that type of posture, we take an x-ray, it’s the only way we can determine if the spinal bones are misaligned. When the spinal bones are misaligned because you trained them to get in this forward astray, old age nursing home posture prematurely, right, cause you’re in your 20 or 30s and you’re in this posture the muscles are in spasm, the only way to identify that is with a digital radial graph or an x-ray. So, we take a normal x-ray and in an x-ray. The spine should have this normal curve where your head is back over your shoulders, when you get that techno neck or that hump in your back and the head forward it causes headaches.

So, the goal and care in my office is to correct that, bring the posture back into normal alignment through general adjusting and some really basic exercises in the office and at home so that we can get to the cause of the problem. The headaches are being caused by abnormal posture and abnormal structure we correct the posture put it back to normal, correct the structure.  Your body heals, functions and operates the ways it’s supposed to. SO, those are your tips today,

I’m Doctor Christopher Hood from Hood Chiropractic. I hope that helps with the headaches. More importantly if there’s anything we can do to help…It’s all good in the hood here at Hood Chiropractic. Have an amazing day, it was good taking to you.

How to cure a headache – Rossiyskaya Gazeta

Headache is many-sided and changeable. Sometimes it is just a feeling of heaviness and discomfort, sometimes it is sheer torture, such that it is impossible to open your eyes and lift your head off the pillow. Doctors say there are 300 reasons for the appearance of a headache. With 150 diseases, the patient complains primarily about having a headache. But since there are many reasons, it is important to establish why it still hurts.

Meanwhile, most of the population is treated independently, does not come to doctors at all, says a professor at the Department of Nervous Diseases at the 1st Moscow State Medical University.THEM. Sechenov, President of the “Russian Society for the Study of Headache” Guzyal Tabeeva. They blame it on fatigue, stress, “bad blood vessels” … Fortunately, most often it is bypassed: only 5 out of 100 attacks give a reason for hospitalization. And yet it is silly to hope at random.

Why does it hurt?

“In 40% of cases there is tension headache caused by an increased tone of the muscles of the neck and head,” explains Guzal Tabeeva. whose head hurts, uses symptomatic remedies thoughtlessly, and they do not help, and even aggravate his condition, can lead to chronic pain. “

There are a great many sources of headache. Banal lack of sleep, stress, osteochondrosis, colds, flu. Often, pain is provoked by a deficiency in the body of trace elements – potassium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus. There are meteosensitive people – atmospheric pressure changes, blood vessels react with spasms, pain arises. Doctors also call such a reason as chronobiological cycles – when the head hurts, for example, strictly on the full moon.

When should I see a doctor?

If we are talking not about a one-time malaise, but repeated attacks, if the pain does not go away on its own, does not stop with analgesics, increases, accompanied by symptoms such as drowsiness, confusion, this may indicate such serious diseases as meningitis, stroke, tumor brain.

If the head hurts more than 15 days a month, we are talking about a chronic disease, and in these cases it is also necessary to carry out diagnostics, to understand the causes of the disease.

Writing a diary

If the patient’s condition is not acute, but pain has become a habitual phenomenon, one must try to understand for oneself what provokes it. And for this – to keep a diary. Record when and with what intensity the attack occurred, what provoked it. This will help the doctor understand the nature of the pain and prescribe adequate treatment.

Tense? Relax

Tension headache – occurs most often. The usual, well-proven ibuprofen-based remedies help to cope with pain. Non-drug therapy – relaxing massage, warm (not hot!) Bath, sleep. Natural sedatives, tea with chamomile, tincture of motherwort, valerian, peony help. Self-massage of the head is also good: the usual prolonged brushing of the hair increases blood flow, and the muscles relax.

Pain from the plate

Even food can provoke headaches.The reason is in substances affecting blood vessels:

– Tyramine – found in chocolate, hard cheese, sour cream, salted fish, smoked meats, beer.

– Monosodium nitrate and glutamate – deli meats, sausages, Chinese and Korean cuisine (in particular, Korean salads), bouillon cubes, chips, flavored croutons.

– Caffeine – but here a headache arises from a lack of it, usually with low blood pressure.

How to deal with migraine

Sometimes the patient can diagnose himself.For example, the symptoms of a migraine are very characteristic. We can recall Pontius Pilate (from Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita”). He suffered from the classic manifestation of migraine. Irritation, anticipation of a seizure and fear of pain, intolerance to odors (Pilate could not stand the scent of rose oil …), and when pain comes, intolerance to light – all these are typical signs of a migraine attack.

In addition to correctly selected drugs (usually powerful combination drugs), doctors give the following recommendations:

1.Sleep hygiene – observe the regime, without deviating from the usual time to fall asleep by two hours.

2. Physical activity – at least 30 minutes three times a week. Do what you like – you need positive emotions. Yoga and meditation are good.

3. Regular meal regimen. You cannot skip breakfast. Liquid – at least 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day. Skipping meals can trigger seizures.

4. If the migraine is “food”, identify your triggers – cheese, chocolate, red wine, etc.and follow a diet.

Migraine: what to do if pain relievers don’t help?

14% * of the world’s population suffer from migraine attacks, the average duration of which is 18 hours. 68% * of migraine sufferers are between 35 and 45 years old. Among them there are three times more women than men. Aigul Kudaibergenova, a practicing neuropathologist and candidate of medical sciences, announced these figures at an event dedicated to the launch of the Migraine Control application in Kazakhstan.

“No one can say for sure what exactly is causing my headache”

Our heroine Bota Suleimenova had her first migraine attack four years ago.Now it is a part of her life: migraines can remind of themselves once a month or several times a week. It interferes with work and life.

Bot Suleimenov:

– The first attack happened in the winter of 2015, when I flew to Almaty on vacation.It was a night flight, and when I got home, I immediately fell asleep. When I woke up, I still had a headache. I thought it was due to the change of time zones. The painkillers did not help, the pain did not stop for 2-3 days: I could not get up, I felt sick, it hurt to open my eyes. Then I was diagnosed with migraine.

As a child, I had a concussion, at the age of 10-11 I developed constant headaches. Then they diagnosed intracranial pressure, so all my conscious life these pains seemed to be something common.Everyday life was not particularly disturbed, but when I was in my first years of university, there was probably a period of exacerbation. I was again referred for MRI and examination, which again only confirmed intracranial pressure.

According to some doctors, the migraine occurred as a consequence of intracranial pressure, but no one can say for sure what exactly is causing my headache. Maybe because of intracranial pressure or migraine, or because of all together.

Nobody knows for sure what causes migraines

Migraine is a chronic disease, the main symptom of which is an attack of a throbbing headache.Sometimes migraines are accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light and sounds: ordinary sounds and soft light intensify the already excruciating pain.

Neurological disorders can also speak of migraine: dizziness, temporary visual impairment, lethargy. At the same time, migraine is associated with external factors – nutrition, regimen, stress level.

The causes of migraine are not visible on MRI, and pain is a very subjective indicator that is extremely difficult to measure. In the intervals between attacks, the person looks quite healthy, which supports the spread of the myth about the illusory nature of the disease.

Headache often and severely, but the diagnosis of migraine is too early

There are many types of headaches, but globally they can be divided into primary and secondary. Secondary pain occurs as a consequence of any deviation. Migraine, on the other hand, belongs to the primary – for its occurrence, any previous trauma and deviations are not necessary.

Primary headache, as a rule, is not life threatening, but greatly impairs its quality.

Migraine is often confused with tension headache. The pain of tension can arise from the characteristics of upbringing, the psychological qualities of the personality, the level of stress or prolonged positional loads.

People describe this pain as pressing, mild or moderate, more often bilateral. It appears in the afternoon or after stress. If tension headache lasts for several days, it may be accompanied by photo- and phonophobia, as in migraine, but this rarely happens and is never accompanied by nausea or vomiting.At the same time, a person can move, eat, work, and physical activity does not increase the pain, and even sometimes relieves it. With migraines, physical activity is extremely difficult.

Psychotherapy can be effective for tension headaches, but not for migraines.

“Medicines do not always work quickly”

Bota Suleimenova: – I have had poor eyesight since childhood, so attacks often disappear with an aura. An aura is a short-term visual impairment that signals an impending attack.

Medicines do not always work quickly, so the best solution is to reduce the frequency of attacks. To do this, I try to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy regimen. With an overall improvement in health, the frequency of migraine attacks decreases.

Although often no reason is needed for an attack to occur. You can eat right, maintain an overall healthy body and brain, but seizures still appear. It gets in the way of doing business. I work in an international organization, we have additional sick leave, which can not be confirmed by papers.If I have sudden attacks, I can just lie down at home.

Those close to you try to treat with understanding, but the other person can do nothing to help. Do not disturb is already help.

Migraine has a scenario with certain stages

1. Prodrome – first phase. The symptoms of the prodromal phase include a wide range of phenomena: mood changes, irritability, depression or euphoria, fatigue, sensitivity to smells and sounds.This phase occurs with migraine with or without aura.

2. 30% of people then have an aura , which lasts no more than an hour, it looks like visual hallucinations. And the longer a person looks at colored or flickering objects or drawings, the worse his condition becomes, so he tries to focus on a white wall or a piece of paper.

Aura is a transient neurological phenomenon that occurs before or during a headache. Usually, the aura develops gradually over a few minutes and lasts no more than an hour.Symptoms can be visual, sensory, or motor, and many patients have more than one symptom at the same time.

During the first two phases, you must take a triptan life-saving tablet. This will not stop the pain, but it will significantly ease it and shorten the duration of the attack.

3. During the third phase pain covers the entire head, nausea and vomiting appear, strong phobia and sound. Any movement increases the pain. This phase can last from several hours to several days.

4. Postdrome – the pain subsides, the person falls asleep. On the next day, a person experiences fatigue, he has poor hearing, blurred vision. Abilities are reduced.

If a person has more than 10 migraine attacks a month, he practically does not live. Fortunately, there are few of them, one in three experiences one or less than one seizure per month. But it happens that people do not know about the existence of pills that can help stop a migraine attack, because up to 50% of migraine sufferers still practice self-medication.

Migraine is trying to get people to live in the golden mean

People with migraines are more susceptible to fleeting factors called triggers that increase the risk of headache attacks.

Among the most common triggers:

• Hormonal – menstruation, ovulation, use of oral contraceptives.
• Food – the consumption of alcohol, glutamate, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, celery, cheese.
• Weather – Weather changes can affect the balance of chemicals in the brain and trigger seizures.
• Behavioral – not getting enough sleep or sleeping too long, feeling hungry or overeating.

If you keep a diary of the occurrence of migraine attacks and the circumstances in which these attacks manifested themselves, you can identify your individual characteristics. People who know their triggers and avoid them are less likely to experience seizures and significantly improve their quality of life.For convenience, you can keep a diary of migraine triggers in the mobile application. Such a Migraine Control application was recently announced by SANTO. Useful materials about migraine on the Internet can be found under the hashtag #SUMMigraineReduces.

You can download the application using these links:

Migraine is controlled by special drugs – triptans

Neurologist Aigul Kudaibergenova spoke at the event dedicated to the launch of the Migraine Control application developed by SANTO.According to her, mild migraine attacks can sometimes be stopped by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but still, in most cases, for mild, moderate and severe migraine attacks, doctors recommend using drugs with triptans.

According to Aigul Kudaibergenova, a properly selected drug helps to eliminate headache as quickly as possible – within two hours. In this case, the headache should not occur again after a few hours or 1-2 days. Preparations with triptans, according to the neurologist, must be taken before the onset of the third stage of migraine.The sooner you take the pill, the less migraine will manifest itself.

Triptans are antagonists of serotonin, which is also called the hormone of good mood. Triptans interact with the vessels of the brain and, roughly speaking, block pain impulses.

At the same time, up to 50% of people suffering from migraine ignore drugs with triptans – this is due to the widespread practice of self-medication.

Being carried away with analgesics, in addition to migraines, they risk earning a drug-related headache.

* Source : A.V. Amelin et al. Migraine (pathogenesis, clinical picture and treatment) St. Petersburg, 2001.

Chronic migraine

What is chronic migraine?

Chronic migraine – a disease in which the head hurts 15 days a month or more. At the same time, attacks typical for migraine are at least eight times a month . This is the description given by the III International Classification of Headaches.

How does chronic migraine occur?

As a rule, before a person develops a chronic migraine, he suffers from more rare attacks (episodic migraine). When the disease becomes chronic, the headache may lose its migraine features. It can become bilateral, compressive rather than pulsating. The accompanying symptoms become weaker – vomiting, light and sound phobia. However, although chronic migraine is less similar to the classic one, it is also sensitive to specific anti-migraine drugs – triptans.

What is the problem with chronic migraine treatment?

Up to 3-4% of people worldwide suffer from chronic daily or almost daily headache. The main reason for which is chronic migraine. However, it is usually difficult for doctors to diagnose. They take it for a chronic tension headache, they believe that the pain is caused by osteochondrosis or insufficient blood supply to the brain (which does not correspond to modern scientific ideas about the nature of migraine).

What Really Causes Chronic Migraine?

Large studies were carried out, which revealed that the development of chronic migraine is influenced by:

1. Excessive use of drugs for relieving headaches (pain relievers),
2. overweight,
3. depression, stress and / or increased anxiety,
4. hypothyroidism,
5. Increased frequency of episodic migraine attacks.

One of the significant factors in the transition of migraine to chronic migraine is also considered previous, even for many years, physical or emotional abuse.

However, whether this is all a cause or a consequence of chronic migraine is still under discussion. What is scientifically proven: at the initial stage of the development of chronic migraine, when rare attacks become more frequent, certain biochemical changes occur in the brain. The brain learns pain. If preventive treatment is started at this stage, chronic migraines can be prevented. If more than 6 months have passed since the onset of chronic migraine, the chances of success decrease. Therefore, it is important not to delay treatment.

What if you suspect that migraine attacks are more frequent?

1. Start keeping a headache diary. For example @ Migrebot in Telegram. You need to consider how many days a month you “fall out of life” due to migraines, what medications, including over-the-counter ones, and how much you take, what events preceded the increased frequency of attacks (head injury, started taking a new medication, etc.) ). Try to remember how many times a month you had a headache before 90 150
2. Contact a specialist.Chronic migraines are much easier to prevent than to cure. Don’t wait until it becomes daily!
3. If you take pain relievers with opiates / opioids (codeine, hydrocodone, meperidine, tramadol, oxycodone) and drugs containing butalbital, you will need to stop or reduce their intake.

If the headache has already become chronic

• Do not tolerate a headache, relieve attacks quickly and aggressively (take a sufficient dose of the drug at the beginning of the attack).At the same time, avoid taking the drug of the same class too often. Ask your doctor to advise you on several drugs of different pharmacological groups;
• actively use non-drug methods of treatment;
• if you are overweight, try to get rid of it;
• Ask a specialist for help in treating comorbidities, if any. It is necessary to treat depression, anxiety, sleep disorders.

In the treatment of chronic migraine, openness and honesty between doctor and patient is especially important.Thanks to partnerships, early treatment of developing chronic migraine can give remarkable results.

Literature:

1. “International classification of headaches, 2nd edition (full Russian version)” , 2006, 380 p.
2. Nikitin S.S., Artemenko A.R., Kurenkov A.L. “Treatment of chronic migraine.” // Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry named after S.S. Korsakov. – 2011. – N 5. – S. 85-89.
3. Tabeeva G.R., Yakhno N.N. “Migraine”. // GEOTAR-media. – 2011 .– 624s.
4. Barbanti P., Aurilia C., Egeo G., Fofi L. “Migraine prophylaxis: what is new and what we need?” // Neurol Sci. – 2011. – v.32. – Suppl 1. – S111-115
5. Manack A.N., Buse D.C., Lipton R.B. Chronic migraine: epidemiology and disease burden. // Curr Pain Headache Rep. – 2011. – v.15. – p.70-78.
6. Rothrock J.F. “Migraine” chronification “”. // Headache. – 2008. – v.48. – p. 181-182
7. Rothrock J.F. “Migraine” chronification “: what can you do”. // Headache. – 2009. – v.49. – p. 155-156

90,000 Without pills, the old fashioned way. How to get rid of a headache on your own? | Healthy life | Health

Fresh air

It is believed that headache can arise from hypoxia, i.e. lack of oxygen in the body, arising, for example, due to stuffiness in the room, lack of sleep, etc. In this case, there is a recommendation to get up and walk along the street.It should be understood that in such a situation the headache will not be severe, even, rather, it will not be pain at all, but a slight malaise, which will pass with the flow of fresh air.

If the state is not very active and wants to sleep, this may also indicate a lack of oxygen. In such a situation, it is recommended to relax in a room where it will be fresh, slightly humid (the optimal level of air humidity can be achieved with the help of humidifiers) and ventilated.

– Yes, indeed it is.Often, the head hurts from hypoxia in apartments, offices, especially during the heating season, when the heaters burn out the oxygen we need so much. The best way is to take a walk in the fresh air for half an hour or go out onto the balcony, breathe slowly and deeply for 10 minutes, says , a neurologist of the highest category, Ph.D. Russia) Lyudmila Prozorova .

Herbal medicine and foot bath

Those who suffer from pressure drops are usually able to recognize headaches that begin against this background.Naturally, it is advisable to check your guesses with the readings of the tonometer. With reduced pressure to normalize the condition, people take tonics, for example, tincture of ginseng, etc. In addition, caffeine can also correct the situation – it is enough to drink a small amount of coffee to feel better.

If the pressure is high, other options are usually used at home. Foot baths, herbal warm teas – all this helps to improve the situation. It is clear that we are talking about a slight increase in pressure.If the numbers are very high, you have to fight with official methods.

With the development of headaches, a variety of herbal and plant teas are often recommended. One of the most effective methods is called ginger tea. It is enough to grind a little ginger root and boil it with boiling water.

Neurologist Lyudmila Prozorova agrees with these recommendations.

Massage

Another recommendation for headache therapy without pills is a massage. Gently, you need to walk with your fingertips all over the head, performing massaging movements confidently, but without active pressure.In the process, you can also capture traditional biological points on the head – in the corners of the eyes, in the earlobes, on the back of the head, etc. This manipulation allows you to tone the muscles, strengthen the vascular walls.

– If the causes of the headache are known, and it is not associated with neurological diseases, you can try. This will work if, for example, the reason lies in osteochondrosis, says Lyudmila Prozorova.

Cold use

It is believed that cold compresses can be used to relax muscles.There is a theory according to which clamps and spasms in the collar zone of the neck lead to a deterioration in blood circulation, which becomes the cause of the same hypoxia. And if you relax this tense knot, you can correct the situation.

It is recommended to wrap a few ice cubes in a kitchen towel and apply to the forehead, temples or even the neck area. Here it is important not to apply and press, but to act as if with blotting movements. This method should be approached with caution. After all, it is possible to excessively cool the spasmodic vessels and further worsen the situation.If in the first minutes there is no improvement, then the method is chosen incorrectly.

– But you don’t need to experiment with this option. Because if the cause of the headache is tension, then it is better to relieve it by distracting attention or switching to another type of activity. For example, go for a walk in the fresh air. It will be more effective. And if the cause of the headache is a chronic inflammatory process or migraine, then the cold can aggravate the situation, the doctor notes.

Doctors note that headache is a symptom that should alert you, especially if it recurs with a certain regularity.

“Headache is a very common complaint of patients. It occurs in many diseases, including serious, life-threatening ones. It can be caused by too wide a range of reasons, from traumatic brain injury to infectious diseases, so there is no universal advice on how to alleviate it.

If a person develops headaches, especially long-term ones, it is impossible to tolerate, “drown” the pain with pills and self-medicate. It is necessary to find out the causes of the ailment and completely eliminate them.To do this, you should definitely consult a doctor who will prescribe an examination, establish an accurate diagnosis and give recommendations for relieving pain, including non-drug methods.

The best prevention of headaches is taking care of yourself and keeping the body in good shape: balanced nutrition, moderate regular physical activity, preferably in the fresh air, good sleep, restorative procedures. It must be remembered that self-medication, untimely access to a doctor can lead to irreparable consequences, ”says neurologist Lyudmila Prozorova.

90,000 Migraines can be managed: how to get rid of a throbbing headache

This autumn still pampers Muscovites with warm, comfortable weather. But the inhabitants of our city are well aware of the atmospheric drops in the capital. Here is the first month of autumn, September, according to forecasters, “will end with cool, unstable weather with precipitation and fluctuations in daytime temperatures from +23 to negative values ​​(at the end of the month -1). “Vessels can’t stand”, “head splits”, “damned migraine” – you can often hear from meteorological citizens …

What happens to the person at this time? And can this addiction be avoided?

“A banal migraine,” says our expert, neurologist Aleksey Samsonov, “the result of a chronic neurological disease, which is especially common in people living in a climatic zone with an unstable climate.But an unbearable headache is more often due to violations of vasomotor regulation. What it is? We are talking about a violation of the regulation of the tone of blood vessels, about a possible decrease in vascular tone or about its increase.

In general, migraine is more of a hereditary disease, – explained Aleksey Viktorovich. – The attacks are not constant, but occur periodically. But they are excruciating. A person has the feeling that blood is knocking in different parts of the head, more often in the fronto-orbital-temporal region, lasting from 4 to tens of hours! And pain is accompanied in most cases by nausea, vomiting, poor tolerance to light and loud sounds.There is also drowsiness, lethargy, but after the end of the attack.

Unfortunately, most people with headaches do not seek medical help for a long time. And this leads to improper treatment, a chronic condition of the disease. But that’s not all: the wrong choice of therapy leads to the formation of the so-called drug headache of a particular person.

Although there are ways to treat migraines, stopping the attack. And there is a possibility of prevention, our expert says.And adds:

– The best way to cope with a migraine attack is to extinguish it at the very beginning, when the characteristic precursors of a headache are just beginning to appear. Many people know that at this time there is increased irritability for no particular reason, the desire to drink more water (the thirst can be very strong), sometimes you want to sleep or eat something unusual.

You need to know that when one or more of these signs appear, it is advisable to rest, lie down, try to sleep.Sometimes a hot water bottle with warm or cold water helps, depending on which works best in a particular case. It is known from practice that massage of the face, head and neck, strong sweet tea with lemon can also pause and even stop migraines.

But, knowing about your problem, it is advisable to avoid provoking factors: long travel, change of climatic zones, stress, emotional stress, heavy physical exertion. And also – do not starve, exclude some food products: coffee, white and red wine, chocolate, citrus fruits, etc.

Headache is also provoked by hormonal contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy.

What helps?

– Use relaxation techniques, the neurologist advises. – This will somewhat reduce emotional stress. Lack of sleep and excess sleep should also be avoided. And also – do not get carried away with drugs. They can lead to new spasms of blood vessels in the head.

In theory, it would be necessary to keep a diary of headaches in order to “calculate” the probable provoking factors and understand the general picture of the disease.In a diary, note the time of onset, the duration and frequency of attacks, as well as the situations that preceded them. But who is doing this? Unfortunately, almost no one. But in vain.

And one more simple advice: in the first minutes of an attack, to relieve symptoms, you can take simple or combined analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. This includes regular aspirin. If it does not help, consult a doctor. Indeed, during a severe headache, other pathological processes can occur in the body, explains the neurologist Samsonov.

Well, if migraine attacks are repeated (more than 2 times a month) or severe and do not respond well to therapy with relief agents, you should consult a doctor to decide on the appointment of serious treatment and preventive ways to prevent the disease. Today there are drugs that have an anti-migraine effect – they need to be taken for a long time, and always under the supervision of a neurologist. These are beta blockers, antidepressants, and calcium channel blockers.

And of course, you need to regularly engage in special medical gymnastics, swim, spend more time in the fresh air, look for positive emotions in life.

Alas, this type of headache cannot be cured, but you can significantly improve your condition.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28074 dated September 13, 2019

Newspaper headline:
Migraines can be managed

90,000 Pain after sleep

The causes of pain after sleep are countless. First of all, you need to see a doctor in order to exclude a rather rare, but still occurring disease – ankylosing spondylitis (ankylosing spondylitis).

This disease is characterized by nighttime lower back pain, however, only a specialist can confirm or remove this diagnosis. With ankylosing spondylitis, such a rather specific picture is observed – within three months there are very painful sensations in the lower back, the mobility of the spine in the morning is somewhat limited, the state of rest only increases them. Very pulling and pain in the lower back after sleep.

Another, but already common, cause of nighttime low back pain is osteoporosis.Sometimes, with this disease, lower back pain at night becomes simply unbearable. Morning back pain is also quite common. Then it is advisable to take some kind of pain reliever, and in the morning, all the same, having gathered up the courage, go to the doctor.

Suffice it to say that herniated discs, and osteochondrosis, and muscle spasm, and the so-called instability of the spine, characteristic of postmenopausal women – all this can lead to such an unpleasant phenomenon as night and morning lower back pain.

Only an osteopath can make you a correct diagnosis, especially since the modern level of diagnostics allows you to do this with ease. And modern medicine has enough methods in its arsenal to eliminate all the problems associated with diseases that cause lower back pain at night.

Headache after sleep

The first reason a head hurts after sleep is squeezing of the blood vessels in the head and neck.If you lie on one side for a long time – the vessels on this side of the head are squeezed, narrowed – edema occurs, which will not allow normal blood circulation to resume for a long time. In this case, the nerves in the vessels become inflamed, and to protect the inflamed area, the brain sends signals to the surrounding muscles of the head (temporal, occipital, frontal) so that they strain and protect the diseased area. Muscle tension compresses blood vessels and nerves even more. And when you wake up, you feel heaviness and squeezing on one side of your head.

Consumption of alcohol in the evening greatly contributes to the development of such a process. First, after drinking alcohol, you will fall asleep better and will toss and turn less. Sleep all night in one position. Secondly, alcohol disrupts the absorption of fluids and contributes to the occurrence of edema. In addition, alcohol adds to the bouquet a headache caused by intoxication of the body.

Another way to increase swelling is to drink plenty of fluids before bed.

But the greatest effect is achieved when the vertebral artery is squeezed due to the uncomfortable position of the neck during sleep.The vertebral artery is steamy, and, as a rule, it is also compressed on one side. And after sleeping, you feel a heaviness in the head and neck (on one side) and the pain intensifies when turning the head. Happy owners of cervical osteochondrosis are especially likely to get a headache after sleep.

The second cause of headache after sleep is oxygen starvation of the brain. After all, you often sleep in an apartment with closed windows. And since During sleep, the brain continues to work and needs energy, then due to a lack of oxygen, toxic substances are released, which affect the pain receptors of the cerebral vessels.

The third reason is that due to the horizontal position of the body, the venous outflow of blood from the head is impeded, and therefore, with prolonged sleep, intracranial pressure increases, which also causes a headache.

To increase your chances of having a headache after sleep, be sure to get a couple of extra hours of sleep in the morning. Thus, muscle tension will increase and brain intoxication.

In addition, everyone knows that it is very common to have a headache if you sleep at sunset.The fact is that after sunset, the level of electromagnetic radiation from the sun drops sharply, which affects all internal processes in the body. In a state of wakefulness, the body manages to adapt to new conditions, and during sleep, no changes occur and the electromagnetic balance of the blood is disturbed, which can cause a headache.

For several sessions in the OSTEOMED clinic, the osteopath will not only relieve muscle and intraosseous tension that contribute to some types of headaches, but will also significantly increase the protection of your body to external influences.The headache will not manifest itself, the pressure will normalize, and the mood will improve.

90,000 what is the muscle clamp associated with and how to deal with it

Most of the problems that spoil the reflection in the mirror are known to arise from hormones. The endocrinologist knows this very well and already at the first appointment takes the necessary measures if something goes wrong.

The level of estrogen decreases – age spots appear on the face. The progesterone level swings – there is swelling.The skin has become dry – clearly a disorder with sex hormones. In fact, everything that happens to us, including, of course, age-related changes, is regulated by hormones (even physical and emotional sensations – thirst, arousal, hunger, drowsiness).

Who’s in charge here?

Usually, when you feel tired, you blame it on the fact that you have not been on vacation for a long time. It is so?

If on vacation, instead of climbing a mountain peak or diving, you prefer to sleep in your room, it is possible that the reason is in the thyroid gland.It is a tiny gland (weighing no more than 25 g) at the base of the neck.

The doctor, knowing the hierarchical chain of the endocrine system (and she clearly put everything in its place), quickly establishes a causal relationship and identifies where the failure occurred.

Iodine is captured from food using a special protein transport system and delivered to the thyroid gland. There, the synthesis of the primary hormone T4, thyroxine, takes place. Further, the hormone regulator TSH (this is the abbreviated name for thyroid-stimulating hormone) acts – a very important component in the metabolic system.It is produced in the pituitary gland and controls the thyroid gland, stimulates the synthesis of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), without which metabolism can take place. If, for some reason, T4 and T3 exceeded the norm, TSH turns on regulation and reduces their amount to an acceptable level. This is theory. Let’s move on to practice.

Hyper- and hypothyroidism: what is the difference

Today, women over 35 have a higher risk of developing thyroid disease, and it increases with age.Problems can cause menstrual irregularities to fail, reduce the chance of conception, or complicate pregnancy.

It happens that after childbirth, the risk of developing thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid gland, increases. Postpartum thyroiditis affects more than 10% of women, causing fatigue and irritability. The risk of developing hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland) also increases with age.

The condition is accompanied by irritability, moodiness, nervous excitement, hyperactivity and anxiety, sweating, hypersensitivity to high temperatures, hand tremors, hair loss.

Over time, hypothyroidism (decreased thyroid function) may develop. In this condition, sleep problems are usually disturbed, concentration of attention decreases, a feeling of fatigue and depression arises, sensitivity to low temperatures increases, pains in the back and joints occur, skin and hair become dry.

If you do not start timely treatment and control hormonal status, the risk of developing heart disease increases. And in the case of hyperthyroidism, do not forget about the possible development of osteoporosis.

Myths and truths about the thyroid gland

Thyroid problems are more common in women than in men. Many people think that thyroid problems are directly related to taking oral contraceptives. This is not the case, oral contraceptives cannot affect the condition of the thyroid gland. In the pituitary gland there is a hormonal representation for the ovaries with the production of hormones: prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone. Contraceptives regulate the process and help maintain balance.However, you should only use contraceptives that are appropriate for your age group.

Also, contrary to popular belief, menopause does not affect the thyroid gland in any way. In menopause, the rate of the hormone estradiol may be disrupted. This occurs under the influence of factors such as age-related changes, the duration of climacteric changes, the level of other hormones. Because of this, sometimes there are problems associated with vascular tone, blood pressure may increase.

Seasonal Crisis

What really affects the functioning of the thyroid gland is seasonality – it is very sensitive to temperature changes.Therefore, the transition to winter or summer can be accompanied by painful symptoms. The fact is that the thyroid gland is involved in energy metabolism, the slightest waste of energy has a depressing effect on it.

That is, if you walk in cold weather in light clothes or sleep poorly and irregularly, wait for an alarm from the thyroid gland. Lifestyle and bad habits will immediately affect her condition.

Now, when we are smoothly moving towards summer, iron can also make itself felt.It is not for nothing that at this time there is a complete record in the endocrinologists’ offices. Patients come on their own or in the direction of a local therapist with complaints of increased irritability, tearfulness, resentment, sharp weight loss.

Hypothyroidism, or hypothyroidism, means that the gland does not produce enough hormones to do its job.

Another problem is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, a condition that causes the body to produce antibodies that attack its own thyroid gland.Because of this, metabolism decreases, weight increases, cholesterol levels increase, and all this does not reflect in the best way on appearance.

Bundle

At the first appointment, the endocrinologist will listen to your complaints, and then examine the neck to see if there are changes in the structure of the gland (induration or enlargement). If there is any suspicion of a thyroid problem, you will be given a blood test and an ultrasound (ultrasound) scan. What can the research show? Nodules in the thyroid gland.According to experts, they are formed from a lack of iodine in the body.

Other factors contributing to the appearance of nodes are hereditary predisposition. Gigi Hadid admitted that she has a thyroid disease, and this is the same case.

How are thyroid nodules treated? It all depends on what the node is. There are nodes that were at first colloidal, and then became independent, autonomous, and ceased to obey anyone.To understand these intricacies is the task of an endocrinologist. The decision on the choice of treatment, of course, also remains with the doctor.

Diagnostics according to the rules

Prevention of thyroid diseases is a consultation with an endocrinologist twice a year, starting at the age of 25.

Ultrasound of the thyroid gland and lymph nodes is the safest and most informative diagnostic method that does not require special preparation. Hormone tests for T3 and T4 hormones can give a more accurate picture of how the thyroid gland is functioning.You may also need hormone tests in order to recognize the signs of the disease in time, check the production of hormones and the functioning of the endocrine glands, a biochemical blood test.

It is important to understand that one size approach is unacceptable in the diagnosis of the thyroid gland. It is possible that the doctor will add other laboratory tests to your examination program, as well as consultations from specialists: a cardiologist, a gynecologist, a mammologist.

.