Headaches

There are several different causes of headaches such as: tension, infection, allergy, injury, hunger, changes in the way the blood flows in the blood vessels in your head (migraine) or chemical exposure.

Home Treatment:

• Sit quietly, close your eyes, and breathe in and out slowly. Try to relax your head and neck muscles.
• Take a break from what you are doing and do some stretching exercises.
• Massage your neck.
• Put heat on where it hurts by taking a warm shower, using a hot water bottle, or a heating pad.
• Lie down in a dark room with a cool cloth on your head.
• Take aspirin, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen as directed on the package. If you have allergies to these medications do not take them. If you have a history of a hiatus hernia, stomach ulcers, or are taking coumadin or ticlid, you should not take ibuprofen or aspirin.
• If you have a history of migraine headaches, try to take the medication your doctor has suggested for them as soon as your headache starts.

Prevention:

• Try to decrease the things that cause you stress.
• Change your position frequently while you are working at a desk or using a computer. Stretch for 30 seconds every hour. Try to make sure you relax your neck, jaw, shoulder, and upper back muscles.
• Limit the amount that you drink that has caffeine in it i.e. coffee, tea, colas, chocolate to 2 drinks per day.
• If you have frequent headaches, you should keep a diary of your symptoms (how you feel). Sometimes you can avoid events, foods, medications, or activities that seem to cause your headache.
• Exercise
• Sometimes women notice that their headaches get better when they stop taking the birth control pill.

Return to the Emergency Department IF:

• A really bad headache starts suddenly and is worse than any headache you have ever had before.
• You have a headache with a fever 39.4C (103F) or higher and you do not have any other symptoms.
• You have a headache plus a stiff neck, fever, nausea, vomiting, feel very sleepy, or you are confused.
• A sudden, really bad headache with a stiff neck.
• You have a headache plus weakness, paralysis, numbness, change in how you see, slurred speech, confusion, or change in the way you normally act.
• You get a headache after you hit your head.
• Your headache is really bad and you do not get any relief from the treatments at home.

See your doctor IF:

• You get a headache more than 3 times per week and you do not know what is causing them.
• Your headaches are getting worse and happening more often.
• Your headache wakes you up, or is worse when you first get up.

Keeping track of your Headaches:

• Write down time, date, and how long each headache lasts.
• Note anything that seems to cause your headache like: food, smoke, light, stress, and activity.
• Describe your headache and where it is. Is it throbbing, stabbing, dull, aching?
• Rate your pain out of 10. 0 is no pain and 10 is the worst pain ever.
• Are you nauseated, have you vomited, does noise or light makes it worse?
• If you are a woman, is it related to your menstrual period, the birth control pill, or hormone replacement therapy?
• Headache lasts longer than 48 hours.