Get Rid of Your Headaches & Migraines - Borrow Time Books
Dr Dawn Harper says: Either loosen your ponytail or let your hair hang loose. Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, hold it for a few seconds, then relax it so that it falls into the bottom of your mouth.
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A study at the university of Kiel in Germany found that peppermint oil applied to the forehead helped to numb the pain of a headache. Simply smooth over your forehead every 30 minutes. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommends acupuncture for tension headaches. Try some of the techniques using acupressure — applying finger pressure to certain points in the body.
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For a sinus headache, apply pressure with your fingers to the points at either side of the crook of your nose at the tips of your eyebrows, suggests Justine Hankin, from the British Acupuncture Council acupuncture. Take a few breaths into the back and sides of your ribcage. Repeat three times, then change direction. Trace again with your nose three times before changing direction.
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Finish with a gentle chin tuck, drawing your chin down and lengthening the back of your neck. Keep your head in contact with mat. A small headband that applies electrical impulses at the centre of the forehead onto the trigeminal nerve implicated in migraines could stop you popping painkillers. Keep a diary to identify triggers, says Dr John Janssen, consultant neurologist at Re: Review key lifestyle factors that may also be playing a part in the onset of a migraine including diet, alcohol, caffeine, dehydration and exercise.
The key thing is to stay hydrated. Taking a lot of painkillers can paradoxically end up making the situation worse by causing medication overuse headache so consult your GP. They can check for abnormality of the nervous system, neck tension, blood pressure and eye examination to make sure there is no evidence of raised intracranial pressure.
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They will be able to review your diary and help with working out a pattern. Eat at regular hours: For help, advice and support Migraine Action — www. The Migraine Trust — www. Occasionally, though, a headache is a symptom of a serious illness, such as meningitis or a brain haemorrhage, and requires urgent medical attention. About three out of four headaches are caused by tension in the scalp or neck muscles due to stress.
Tension headaches tend to occur frequently and cause moderate pain, particularly at the back and front of the head. Other common causes of headaches include hangovers, having irregular meals, long journeys, noise, a stuffy atmosphere, thundery weather, too much sleep, too much excitement, a fever, sinusitis and suffering toothache. Migraine are one-sided severe headaches with eye symptoms and possibly vomiting. MIgraines can run in families. A severe headache with fever, a stiff neck and rash may be a sign of meningitis , a condition in which the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord become inflamed.
A sudden headache that feels like a blow to the back of the head could be a subarachnoid haemorrhage, in which bleeding occurs between the membranes covering the brain. In elderly people, a headache with tenderness of the scalp or temple may be due to temporal arteritis, in which blood vessels in the head become inflamed. If your doctor suspects an underlying condition, you may require tests, such as CT scanning or MRI of your brain, and an opinion from a neurologist. Treatment depends on the cause of the headache.
For example, a tension headache will usually clear up with rest, relaxation and painkillers. My first attack occurred on holiday in and caused severe abdominal pain with vomiting. Some simple lifestyle changes could help prevent attacks, including increasing hydration by drinking two to three litres of water a day, and avoiding coffee as caffeine can be a trigger.
Finally, some small studies have found certain nutritional supplements can help, so are worth trying — especially for those not keen on prescription medication. Always check with your GP first. I get an attack around twice a month, normally a day or two before my period is due. I can remember banging my head against a wall the pain was so severe. Lying still and sleeping helps, while drinking red wine can trigger them. I can go without one for a month, but then have a cluster of three or four within a week.
Though fluctuating hormone levels can influence headache patterns, you're not completely at the mercy of your hormones. Your doctor can help you treat — or prevent — hormone-related headaches. The drop in estrogen just before your period may contribute to headaches. Many women with migraines report headaches before or during menstruation. Your menstrual-related migraines may be treated in several ways. Proven treatments for migraines are often effective for treating menstrual migraines.
If you have several debilitating headaches a month, your doctor may recommend preventive treatment with NSAIDs or triptans. If your menstrual cycle is regular, it may be most effective to take preventive headache medication starting a few days before your period and continuing through up to two weeks after the start of your period.
If you have migraines throughout your menstrual cycle or you have irregular periods, your doctor may recommend that you take preventive medications every day. Daily medications may include beta blockers, anticonvulsants, calcium channel blockers, antidepressants or magnesium. Your doctor might also consider monthly injections of a calcitonin gene-related peptide CGRP monoclonal antibody to help prevent your headaches, especially if other medications aren't effective. Doctors will likely review any other medical conditions you may have to determine which medications may be most appropriate for you.
Making lifestyle changes, such as reducing stress, not skipping meals and exercising regularly, also may help reduce the frequency, length and severity of migraines. Hormonal contraception methods, such as birth control pills, patches or vaginal rings, may change existing headache patterns — headaches may improve or worsen, or sometimes stay the same.
For some, hormonal contraception may help reduce the frequency and severity of menstrual-related migraines by minimizing the drop in estrogen associated with the menstrual cycle. Using hormonal contraception to prevent menstrual-related migraines may be appropriate for women who haven't been helped by other methods. Other women may first experience migraines while using hormonal contraception. If you experience migraines while using hormonal contraception, talk to your doctor. Estrogen levels rise rapidly in early pregnancy and remain high throughout pregnancy.
Migraines often improve or even disappear during pregnancy. However, tension headaches usually won't improve, as they aren't affected by hormone changes. If you experience chronic headaches, ask your doctor about medications and therapies that can help you during pregnancy before you become pregnant.
Many headache medications may have harmful or unknown effects on a developing baby. You and your doctor might want to have a thorough discussion about whether you should use medications during pregnancy. After delivery, an abrupt decrease in estrogen levels — along with stress, irregular eating habits and lack of sleep — may trigger headaches again.
Although you'll need to be cautious about which headache medications you take while you're breast-feeding, you'll likely have more options than you did during pregnancy. Your doctor can tell you which medications you may take while you're breast-feeding. For many women who have had hormone-related headaches, migraines may become more frequent and severe during perimenopause — the years leading up to menopause — because hormone levels rise and fall unevenly. For some women, migraines improve once their menstrual periods stop, but tension headaches often get worse.
If your headaches persist after menopause, you likely can continue to take your medications and use other therapies. Hormone replacement therapy, which is sometimes used to treat perimenopause and menopause, may worsen headaches in some women, improve headaches in others or cause no changes. If you're taking hormone replacement therapy, your doctor may recommend an estrogen skin patch.
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The patch provides a low, steady supply of estrogen, which is least likely to aggravate headaches. If hormone replacement therapy worsens your headaches, your doctor may lower the estrogen dose, change to a different form of estrogen or stop the hormone replacement therapy. Some women are more sensitive to the effects of hormones. If headaches are disrupting your daily activities, work or personal life, ask your doctor for help.
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A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Free E-newsletter Subscribe to Housecall Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics. Being female has some real health advantages, but not when it comes to headaches — particularly migraines.
By Mayo Clinic Staff. References Todd C, et al. The roles of hormones. Office on Women's Health. Lee M, et al. Headache in pregnancy and postpartum women. Allais G, et al. Migraine in perimenopausal women. Swanson JW expert opinion. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Products and Services Book: See also Medication-free hypertension control Alcohol: Does it affect blood pressure? A cause of high blood pressure? Beta blockers Beta blockers:
