Post by The Big PINK One♥ on Apr 7, 2008 12:36:18 GMT -5
I get chronic headaches, lately due to hair being pulled back too tight & lighting being too bright, I've concluded.
Now you: What methods help you get through or prevent headaches?
When I have a headache, I have a checklist I immediately go through just before I dig through my purse for a lone ibuprofen with a half-a-fuzzy-Altoid chaser:
If I have not yet main-lined a caffeine source, am I at least on my way to the coffee maker for a cup?
Have I recently consumed eight glasses or whatever the amount of water the nice news lady reports is appropriate this week?
Is the child screaming/ vomiting/ Mommy!-Mommy!-Mommy-ing!/ home for some contrived preschool holiday?
If caffeine, hydration or a small child are not the reason for my headache, I can go ahead with the ibuprofen and move on with my day. But what about headaches that fall outside the boundaries of kids and coffee? What about the nastiness of recurring headaches or why your temples ache when you wear certain headbands or you feel awful whenever your co-worker meets the UPS guy wearing that one flirty perfume? What then?
Since we all get them at some point and since we've all likely had no reason why or experienced them for odd reasons, why not explore five little facts about headaches that might help us prevent or understand what's going on in our noggins:
1. Your perfumes, lotions and other highly-scented culprits can be a killer. According to this headache specialist, although you may like certain smells, they may also be activating nerve cells in your nose. In turn, crank up the nerve system responsible for head pain. If you are bothered by certain scents or feel bombarded (just walk through the detergent aisle for a sample of scent over-stimulation), try to go fragrance free in as much of your life as possible. Of course, you can't control the man on the bus who clearly bathed in Drakkar Noir, but you can clear your home, workspace, body and clothing of as many triggers as possible.
2. You're most likely having a tension headache. Sure, you can keep blaming your boss or your wonky Blackberry or even the spreadsheet you've been reading for seven hours straight. The reality is that the stress you are experiencing is not only responsible for bringing on the pain but for the accompanying contractions of the scalp, neck and facial muscles. Ninety percent of headaches are tension related and usually disappear when the stress goes away. Warm showers or compresses on the neck, shoulders and scalp are among the recommended treatments. However, since your (ahem) boss might not be keen on that during staff meetings, simple massage techniques or neck exercises might help alleviate the muscle contractions and pain. Tension headaches can be really problematic for some people -- including anxiety,pain doing daily things like holding the phone or chewing gum, or acute or chronic tension headaches -- and if you are among them, prescription medication, physical therapy, antidepressents or meeting with a counselor may help.
3. Your period's more than a pain in your...ummm, uterus. Hormone-related or menstrual migraines make all that bleeding, rifling for please-help-me-one-last-tampon in your gym bag and general crankiness all the more unfair and real when you have a period. This article says that women have migraines three times more often than men and of the females suffering from them, 70% are likely to have menstrual migraines. Fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone make women more apt to have a headache. One of the many treatments for migraines (check in with your doc to talk about what would work best for you) is acupuncture (hmmm, do you think that would work on the salty-sweet cravings too?).
4. Your pretty ponytail, chandelier earrings and workout headbands might be giving you a "cranial cramp." The connective tissue in your scalp could be irritated by any head gear that's too tight or earrings that are too heavy. These headaches might also be due to skin sensitivity related to migraines and might be a warning sign that a whopper is on its way. I know you'll choose relief over sassiness, and simply loosening or repositioning your ponytail, ditching the earrings or letting your locks free should help.
5. Your treatment option might not come in a pill. Some people find relief for headaches of all kinds in alternatives to drugs. Fresh peppermint, essential oil of oregano, rinsing the nose with a saline solution of salt and warm water, reflexology, massage and addressing stress and applying stress management techniques are all natural methods of coping with headaches. Be sure to keep your doctor updated on the alternative therapies you are interested in or are using. Wouldn't it be wonderful for you if relief was just a sniff or spa visit away?
Now you: What methods help you get through or prevent headaches?
