Headaches

What is a Headache?

"Headache" for most people is seen as "a pain in the head"

Taking a more precise, medical definition of this term, "headache" is defined as "a pain in felt deep within the skull... Most headaches are caused by emotional stressor fatigue but some are symptoms of serious intercranial disease." (Oxford dictionary of nursing. 4th edition. 2003. p. 213.)

In everyday language, we may therefore say a headache is:

-- a pain located deep inside the head
-- the majority of headaches are tiredness caused by emotional stress (feelings of worry about one's personal life/work that prevent one from relaxing)
-- a smaller numnber of headaches are caused by a serious disease inside the sufferer's cranium (or skull).

Different Kinds of Headache

There are many kinds of headache.

One very painful kind is the migraine or migraine headache. This is a headache that is often felt on just one side of the head (the name "migraine" comes from the Greek words "hemi-graine" meaning "half pain". Almost 30 million Americans suffer migraines. This kind of headache is most commonly experienced by people between ages of 15 and 55, and is experienced three times more commonly by women than men.

Another common type of headache is the tension headache that is often felt as a dull ache across the the brows or across the skull.

How can I relieve my headache?

Most people relieve headaches by taking painkillers (analgesics), which are available at your local pharmacist without a doctor's prescription.

Migraine headaches can require specialized kinds of medicines that can stop (or greatly lessen) an attack that has started. Such medicines are normally available only with a doctor's prescription.

There are special headache exercises which relieve headaches and migraines. Massage, acupressure, cold packs, menthol put on the forehead and temples -- these are offer effective relief for many people. Acupuncture, osteopathy, and biofeedback can help with more severe attacks.

How can I avoid headaches happening in the first place?

For most people, headaches can be avoided by following a moderate lifestyle involving a healthy diet, regular exercise, and stress management.

If you find that certain triggers (e.g. seeing bright lights or strobe lights; smelling certain perfumes or fragrances; drinking alcohol; eating cheese or chocolate; getting over-stressed; not getting enough sleep; hearing loud noise) start your headaches or migraines off, then try to avoid those triggers.

For migraine sufferers, where a healthy lifestyle is followed but the migraines still occur, there are preventative medicines (prophylactic medicines) that, when taken regularly, can lower the frequency and severity of attacks. Again, such medicines are available only with a doctor's prescription.

Non-pharmaceutical approaches to help stop attacks occuring include: diet modification (avoid cheese, chocolate, preservatives, MSG, red wine); gentle exercise; stress management; relaxation therapy; meditation; acupuncture; acupressure; biofeedback; chiropractic; and yoga.