SOOTHE THAT ACHING HEAD

As if it is not enough that women have to suffer from menstrual cramps and labour pain, we also outnumber men when it comes to headaches. The two most common headaches are tension headaches and migraine. Women are in fact 3 times more likely than men to suffer from migraines where a throbbing pain affects one side of the head.I am an example of a woman who suffers from migraines. Sometimes the pain of a migraine can be so bad that all I want to do is to crawl under the bed and not come out of there. I have had situations so bad that I almost wanted to hit my head against the wall, hoping it might help the pain go away. But my rationality stopped me in time. While the cause for migraines is not known, experts say that they may be related to changes in hormones or increase in severity when a woman starts puberty and decrease after menopause. Most migraines hit around the time of a women's menstrual period. Besides hormones, stress is also one of the biggest cause of headaches, especially among women. This is because many women have to balance careers, families and home duties all at the same time. This can be very stressful and anything that stresses you out is possibly going to give you a headache. Men, too, face as huge amount of stress in life but unlike women, they may express the stress in life but unlike women, they may express by getting angry or via other outlets, like turning outlets, like turning to alcohol. Women, on the other hand, are more prone to worrying and this gives rise to tension, and as such resulting in headaches. Disabling and Disruptive Sometimes, its not enough to pop a panadol and wait for the pain to go away. According to statistics, nearly 12 percent of patients who have headaches miss seven or more days of work, school and social engagements per month. For some people, headaches can be very disabling especially if they hold high functioning jobs that eg require them to make frequent presentations. Track Your Triggers While there is no way to completely avoid headaches, there are ways to control them. We can start by identifying what triggers them. keep a headache diary. Take note of the following: what did your headache feel like? what did you eat? what were you doing before and during the attack? how much sleep did you get the night before? Once you see a pattern, you can pinpoint the triggers which you need to avoid. Lack of sleep is a well known cause of morning headaches and it can leave you dull and listless for the rest of the day. So get your 8 hours of sleep by hitting the sack earlier and turning off potential disturbances like the lights and your phone. Dont skip your meals. Enduring long periods without food can result in low blood sugar levels and hunger, which can cause your head to throb. Also moderate your caffeine and alcohol intake as these are common triggers to headaches. Know your limit and drink in moderation. Managing Stress If stress is the cause of your headaches, examine all the little things that are causing you stress and try as much as possible to manage them. It is however never easy for the multi tasking woman and it takes time to manage stress well. A plan will be needed to prioritise the tasks and manage time effectively. It also help to develop good communication skills. When you feel that you are overstretched at work, put your foot down and let your bodd know. And whenever you feel a headache coming, close your eyes for an instant. Learn to relax by deep breathing or go for a run to get thsoe endorphins working. If you suffer from hormone induced headaches, triptans like naratriptan or anti inflammatory drugs such as naproxen can be prescribed. These are taken right before a headache is predicted to recur- the couple of days before or when you period starts. A common misconception among many people is that a headache could be a sign of a life threatening illness like a brain tumour where in actual fact most headaches are harmless. However, you should see a doctor immediately if the attack is the most painful you ever experienced, and it is a sudden and blinding attack, accompanied by high fever and/or vomitting and weakness on one side of the body, and also if you cannot move your limbs or have double vision. Alternative Treatments If you are averse to pill popping or injections, you can try other therapies like traditonal chinese medicine which has been found to be effective in reducing headaches. These concoction contain relaxing properties and are good for tension headaches. Acupuncture can also be used as it can reduce tension in the muscles and increase or slow down blood circulation, depending on the pain.