The
pounding is excruciating, the pain persistent, This is no garden variety
headache, You tell yourself. This must be something more.
Don’t be so sure.
The National Headache Foundation estimates that every year, 45 million
Americans suffer from standard head pain severe enough to cause them to
miss work or visit a doctor. Just about anything can spark a head
splitter - missing your
morning coffee stress, muscle tension, colds and the flu, low blood
sugar, allergies and fatigue. And
reducing stress exercising can ease just about all headaches. Stretching
tight muscles, draining your sinuses with medication, eating small meals
throughout the day, taking pain relievers or massaging your head and
scalp.
Not
so with migraines, which are characterized by severe, throbbing pain
restricted to one side of the head and often accompanied by nausea and
sensitivity to light and other stimuli. About 10 to 15 percent of people
mainly women suffer from migraines, which tend to run in families,
Menstruation, birth control pills, some foods such as chocolate, cheese
and monosodium glutamate, poor air quality and stressful situations
bring them on, While Some women find relief by quietly in a dark room,
using an ice pack to constrict blood vessels in the head
.
A
headache is very rarely the sign of a serious neurological disorder. But
if you have a headache coupled with any of the following symptoms or
scenarios, seek medical help immediately.
-
Eye pain or
double or burred vision
-
A
severe head injury
-
Weakness or loss
of feeling in any part of the body
-
Nausea, vomiting
or convulsions
-
A blackout or
fainting spell
