Headache is defined as pain in the head or upper neck. It is one of the most common locations of pain in the body and has many causes. All kinds of pains are bad. But there is nothing as mentally exhausting as a headache. It affects our well-being, our productivity and even our social existence. After a headache we feel mentally drained and physically exhausted.
The possible causes of a headache range from a relatively harmless common headache or common cold to life-threatening emergencies like meningitis or even the unlikely occurrence of a brain tumor. Various types of headache are possible: common headache, migraine, cluster headache, sexual headache, or other types of headache.
Tension headaches are the most common type of primary headache; as many as 90% of adults have had or will have tension headaches. Tension headaches are more common among women than men.
Migraines give you a throbbing headache, sometimes accompanied by nausea as well. The pain is so severe that it can render you incapacitated till the time you treat it by swallowing a painkiller. Though over the counter medications, such as Aspirin, or other painkillers can prove to be of help, once you have a migraine attack, they are not completely safe. In fact, natural migraine remedies are what you should use, to treat the pain and avoid the side effects of drugs as well.
It is important to identify your migraine at the initial stages, to treat it at the earliest. Migraine pain can intensify very quickly, when left untreated. If your head aches on one side only, you feel nauseated, your face becomes hot and light or sound bothers you, your headache may be a migraine. You may also suffer from vomiting, visual disturbance and dizziness. Once you are sure it’s a migraine, treat it in the right way.
Tension headaches are sometimes helped by measures to relax the tight muscles. These include massage, hot showers and heating pads on the back of the neck or cold packs. Biofeedback and muscle-relaxation training may be helpful.
Some people find relief with other non-traditional techniques, such as acupuncture, hypnosis or meditation. Non-prescription pain relievers often help occasional tension headaches. If not, prescription analgesics may do the trick. These include Aspirin with Codeine (Empirin with Codeine); Acetaminophen with Codeine (Tylenol with Codeine); Aspirin, caffeine, and Butalbital (Fiorinal); or Aspirin and Oxycodone (Percodan).
For chronic tension headaches, prescription analgesics aren't always useful. They tend to lose their effectiveness, encourage dependency, and cause "rebound" headaches when they wear off. A less addictive and often more effective alternative is a tricyclic antidepressant, such as Amitriptyline (Elavil) or Imipramine (Tofranil), which can affect the pain pathways in the brain. Tricyclics must be used for several weeks before they take effect. Since much lower doses of the antidepressant are needed for pain than for depression, there are generally few or no side effects.
Drugs that constrict blood vessels, notably ergotamine (Ergostat), may relieve migraines if taken at the first sign of the headache. Once a migraine is established, the only recourse is to take a narcotic, such as Meperedine (Demoral) or Codeine, head for a darkened room and try to sleep it off. Recent studies show that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, such as Ibuprofen (Motrin), Indomethacin (Indameth), and others can alleviate migraines, sometimes as effectively as Ergotamine. A new drug, Sumatriptan (Imitrex), appears to ease migraines about as well as Ergotamine, with much milder side effects.
Your other option is to talk to your doctor about preventive medicines for migraine headaches. Studies have found that certain cardiovascular drugs and certain antidepressant medications have been highly effective in the prevention of migraines. New studies are being done all the time. Who knows, maybe eventually they will find a cure for your migraine headaches. But for now all you can do is try to prevent them or if you feel one coming on, try to treat it as quickly as possible.
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