Nowadays, headaches and migraines are very frequent, especially in women, due to the fact that there are various triggers such as: traffic, accumulated work, concerns about a problem, among others; which can cause a headache that you will surely alleviate by taking a pill, because it is the fastest solution you have on hand, but if it does not fulfill its function, it means that your headache is causing something else, you have to be attentive because it can be your body.
Sometimes your body is trying to talk to you, you may be suffering from migraines or migraine headaches. Precisely about these conditions this article deals with, we will show you the differences, the types of headaches, the causes, how to treat yourself when you have a headache episode, you will also know how to anticipate a crisis and some healthy habits to prevent headaches or headaches. . This information is very important, especially so that you learn to differentiate them and you can calm the pain to continue with your routine in a normal way, since having a headache can ruin your day by causing you to have a bad mood, moving away from the people you love, causing interference in the workplace. Do not get overwhelmed, you just have to know its origin in depth, in addition to all the information that we present below, so that you can have control of your mood, relieving that headache that shortens your happiness.
Index
Types of headache
Unfortunately this condition or disease is more common than is believed and there are many types of headaches, probably there are approximately two hundred types, but depending on the symptoms that differentiate them; The doctor will be responsible for providing you with the recommendations regarding the indicated treatment to alleviate it, if it is only the headache or other symptoms accompany it such as: vomiting or diarrhea, etc. In these types of cases, it is best not to self-medicate, because suffering from a headache can be the possible symptom of a serious disease, so that you know how to differentiate them you must know what the types are:
Primary headaches
This headache, (which is the same, a pain or discomfort in some region of the head, can be mild or moderate), is caused by the alteration of brain chemical activity, by tension, and alteration of the nerves, or simply Because it is in your genes , someone in your family lives suffering from these pains, which makes you more likely to suffer them.
Primary headaches are the most frequent and are divided into three types, such as cluster headaches, tension headaches, and finally migraine headaches with aura.There are also less frequent or common primaries, which are characterized by a longer duration, and you will notice that the triggering factor, in general, is a particular activity, although although they are considered primary they can be signs of a silent disease and it is better pay attention to the symptoms in order to rule out if it is due to a disease through which the body tries to give you a warning. These symptoms are: when you have a cough and feel a headache, when you exercise and the headache begins immediately, including sexual activity and finally, if you feel the headache daily and this makes it difficult to function normally in your routine.
Secondary headaches
Just as the primary ones are just headaches that can be caused by physical activities, tension, and other common reasons; Secondary pain is a clear symptom of suffering from a disease such as: acute sinusitis, or you have a blood clot within the brain or perhaps a cerebral aneurysm, that is, a dilation in the walls of a vein or artery, it may you are dehydrated, or have the flu virus, otitis, arthritis, meningitis, encephalitis, glaucoma, CO (carbon monoxide) poisoning, but if you have had a concussion the pains may be telling you that you have post-concussion syndrome, or even worse a brain tumor. You should consult a specialist, if when drinking cold liquids or solids the headache begins, also if you have received a lumbar puncture or spinal anesthesia, which would cause low levels of cerebrospinal fluid, which will lead to intense pain in the head.
Causes of headache
Addressing the causes could put you a step ahead of these pains, in this way you will be aware of the factor that triggers it. You will avoid seeing yourself affected by this factor as much as possible, so that headaches are not recurrent or at least to have better control.
Stress
As we mentioned at the beginning, women have the highest percentage of headaches, one of the most common reasons is stress.In general, women have multiple issues to attend to on a daily basis, regardless of being single or married, with children or without children, they always cover everything they can in the responsibilities they have, in the commitments acquired such as: university, work, education home, friends, and all this sooner or later generates stress that will lead to the deterioration of your health, the pressure in your head will increase, the vessels will decrease in diameter due to the stress you feel and this will cause a headache. As a woman, you should try to live day to day without stress, try to relax and your headache will disappear.
To learn more about how to prevent stress , we have a special article for you.
Much hot
Heat is another cause, especially in countries with a tropical climate, or in seasons with high temperatures, even more than you are used to, and the body dehydrates more easily, unbalancing the process of entering and leaving the cells of minerals, such as sodium and potassium, which in turn will cause a metabolic disorder that brings with it the headache. You must stay hydrated and cool in high temperatures, especially if your body is not used to it.
Sleep a little
The stress of the routine that you carry causes the headache, but if during the day you are fine, and at night you cannot sleep because of so many activities to which you subjected your body; Lack of sleep will undoubtedly cause the headache to occur, because when you sleep you produce a hormone called melatonin, this helps prevent pain, and if you do not sleep it will decrease in great quantity causing you a strong migraine headache. Try to get at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep to prevent this hormone from decreasing and you will not suffer from unpleasant headaches.
Some foods
Another cause of a headache could be the excessive consumption of sausages such as: sausages, also although you will not like to recognize it, chocolate and coffee , alcohol, citrus fruits, yellow cheese, onions, garlic and the cold of the Ice cream can make the blood vessels constrict and will cause a headache, try to avoid this small list of foods or at least significantly reduce its consumption and you will see how the headaches improve.
Skipping meals
Eating things that you should avoid will activate headaches, but not eating is also really harmful to health, especially for headaches, skipping meals will lower your sugar level, causing hypoglycemia and release adrenaline unexpectedly and as a consequence the contraction of the vessels and will cause the headache.
Wrong posture
Our body speaks in different ways so that we can take care of our health, by having an incorrect posture you will feel tension in the spinal nerves and this tension will affect your head, if chronic pain is generated by having an incorrect posture the cause could be a hernia or osteoporosis . You should be vigilant when you feel this tension, and if the pain is not relieved by improving posture, then go to the doctor without a second thought.
Physical overexertion
The physical activities you do to benefit the health of your body. They can become a disadvantage if you overexert yourself after the gym routine, sex, home routines, you could feel a headache, which you should pay attention to because an aneurysm may be causing it or you should only limit your exercise and activities daily without overexertion. Although this will prevent pain, physical inactivity could also cause them, try to maintain balance, physical activity should not be excessive but you should not lead a sedentary life.
Strong smells
You may have a headache so mild that you will not notice it, but when you feel strong odors, gasoline, perfumes, cigarette smoke, paints and solvents, the pain will begin to increase. If every time you smell a strong smell, your headache is noticeable, then try to avoid them as much as possible.
Although some strong smells cause headaches, you will also get a great ally in them through aromatherapy .
When should we go to the doctor for a headache or headache?
As you already know, primary headaches are caused by physical activities, lack of sleep, heat, etc. However, secondary pain can be due to diseases such as: sinusitis, brain aneurysm, otitis, arteritis, meningitis, encephalitis or a brain tumor; This is a cause for concern, but here are the reasons for you to see a doctor as soon as possible:
If you have a headache accompanied by high fever, speech confusion, paralysis or weakness in one part of the body, stiff neck, fainting, blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, and difficulty moving from one place to another, immediately call a doctor or go to emergency consultation.
Other cases in which to go
If you feel that the pains are very frequent, more energetic than usual, they do not improve when taking pills, you cannot work or do what you usually do in your daily routine; but it improves in a period greater than twenty-four hours, you are over fifty years old, if you suffer from cancer and headaches are new to you and you want to control them with treatment but you should not take medication without a prescription and finally if you have had a head injury which you did not care about initially.
Make a pain diary
If you think that you cannot memorize so much information, to determine if the headache is to worry about, then I suggest you make a pain diary, so you will know what causes it, when it started, why, what you were doing on that day that the headache was generated, what symptoms accompany it.
It can help you to write down the following: The date and time, the duration, what you ate in the last 24 hours, if you slept the eight hours in a row, what you were doing when you started to feel the headache, if something is causing stress, if you did or took something to relieve the headache. Do it for at least a month to determine a pattern, review the results and if you find that the triggers correspond to a primary headache, avoid what causes it, but if it is a secondary headache then go to the doctor immediately.
Headache, migraine and headache remedies
The first thing you should do is determine what type of headache you have, if it is in a specific region, and if it is not accompanied by another symptom. Try to relax by relaxing, cover your eyes to prevent the light from affecting you, reduce noises and strong smells; If this doesn’t help, there are certain drugs that will help. It is important that you do not take medications without a prescription, although there are some medications that can be purchased without a prescription, if these do not relieve them then ask your trusted doctor, because he more than anyone knows what you should take, not only to relieve it but also to avoid them.
How to anticipate a crisis
The migraine headache can warn you before the pain begins, this is called a migraine with aura, its symptoms are sensory and can cause blurred vision in one eye, bright or dark spots, and numbness on one side of the body, also if you feel sleepy, symptoms sometimes appear days before your menstrual period and you will know ahead of time that a migraine headache attack is coming.
Understand what triggers your headache
When you do the pain diary you will know what triggers it, do not get carried away by the opinions or experiences of family and friends, because what causes them the headache may not affect you precisely. You will surely listen to advice from your grandmother, have a chamomile tea , or from your best friend, take a paracetamol; But you should not do that if you already know about some types of headaches that may be warning that something is happening in your body or in your brain. However, it is not a bad idea for you to relax with massages, with a break from the daily routine and enjoy the outdoors by walking one afternoon through a natural park.If the pain persists for more than 24 hours without painkillers being able to highlight the pain, then something is happening inside of you, do not let it go.
Treating symptoms separately
The migraine headache is the one that has other symptoms that will make your day the worst of all; vomiting or nausea, sensitivity to light, smells, and noise, bad mood, depression, and drowsiness. What will make you want to be alone, do not let this interfere with your daily performance, so take note of the following tips to make you feel better:
Rest in a dark and quiet place
It is best to avoid anything that causes annoyance or irritability, lie down in a quiet and dark place, try not to be bothered by anyone because people generally will not understand that a bad mood is due to a symptom of your migraine.
Eat light and hydrate
Stay hydrated as much as possible, if you vomit you must compensate for the loss of fluids, also try to eat lightly so that your nausea does not get worse and the vomiting is not so annoying, but if you feel unable to ingest food or water, then try injecting solutions or buy serums to hydrate yourself and prevent the pain from worsening.
Prepare yourself on stressful days
One of the factors that triggers your migraine headache is stress as we already mentioned, traffic, work, family problems, everything that causes your brain to release more norepinephrine (vasoconstrictor that will make the pain worse), you must prepare for those days that you feel overwhelmed and stressed, seek balance with a little fun, relax if you can, because the first thing is to take care of your health to have a full life.
Headache medications
Medications will vary according to the type of headache you have, the doctor will determine which one you have and will give you instructions on the appropriate medication for your case. You should not ingest a higher dose than you need because it will bring serious consequences and you cannot take them every hour if the pain does not subside, so it is important that you leave this in the hands of experts. You must follow the instructions to the letter, do not stop your treatment even if you feel better, finish it and you will see that your migraines will improve.
How to anticipate a crisis and some healthy habits to prevent headaches or headaches
If you want to avoid drugs because you think they can cause you dependency, then try to sleep at least eight hours in a row, do enough exercise without overdoing it, eat healthy, maintain a correct posture, practice yoga, enjoy the outdoors, if you smoke or are surrounded by smokers try to avoid cigarettes as much as possible, perform stretching exercises especially when you spend too many hours sitting in front of a computer, finally if you wear glasses, which are the correct ones and with protection from the incidence of solar rays .
To know the benefits of yoga , we leave you this interesting information.
