So many people complain of frequent headaches. And it’s the stressful lifetime that we blame in most cases. Headaches caused by stress are often referred to as tension headaches, yet, painful episodes can appear unrelated to stress. Middle aged and older adults are more exposed than teens and young adults, who complain less often of headaches.
Medical conditions and frequent headaches
There are health problems that cause headaches:
- heart disease;
- infections;
- tumors;
- diabetes;
- metabolism-related health problems etc.
Eye conditions can cause headaches, particularly in the short-sighted who have not been diagnosed yet. Straining the eyes because of poor vision puts a lot of tension on the face muscles. Only with corrective lenses will the pain be gone.
Untreated cavities in the teeth and health problems in the jaws may lie at the root of a painful episode. Only a specialist can determine the source of the pain and prescribe an adequate treatment.
Arthritis in the spine is another potential explanation for headaches.
The medication you take to alleviate the pain could in its turn cause a returning headache. It’s preferable to know all you need on side effects and special usage instructions before beginning any medicine.
Even chemicals in food and in cleaning products may cause headaches in people who are sensitive or allergic to the substances.
Changes in barometric pressure sometimes trigger a general body discomfort in very sensitive people, with joint pain and headaches.
The list of possible headache triggers and causes is a lot longer, and it’s impossible to exhaust it. The individual response to the stimuli and triggers in the environment matters most, because what causes a headache in one person, will leave another undisturbed. And finally, it happens with some patients that medicine cannot explain the pain mechanism. There are situations when there is NO understandable cause.
Treatment and prevention
Analgesics like aspirin, paracetamol and ibuprofen alleviate frequent headaches, but they only work on the symptoms. These pharmaceutical agents are not treatments of the condition. It is only through diagnosis that a treatment for the cause can be instated. And, most important, the patients need to learn what alternative options there are that don’t involve the use of pain killers.
Prevention is a tricky concept because it requires full understanding of the situation and cooperation of the patient with the therapist. When you have to get used with frequent headaches in your life, you start to recognize the pattern on which they occur. You may have to keep a diary to identify the other repetitive element in the cycle.
Then, will you be able to make all the changes necessary to actually bring balance to your life and avoid the elements that lead to bouts of pain. The difficulty is that sometimes you have to sacrifice the habits you take pleasure in although they are not good for your health. And that’s when the battle of will and determination begins. What would you actually choose between smoking and having the same frequent headaches? I hope you’d say quitting…