Why Headaches?

I currently have a raging headache. I feel completely fine, it’s not like I am sick, but my head is pounding. I texted my mom and asked what I should do. She said to take Advil and drink water; the common “cure” you hear for most things these days. I am curious as to what made my head hurt first place? Where inside my head is it hurting? And how can headaches actually be cured?

Everyone in this class has probably experienced a headache. If you haven’t, then consider yourself lucky. Headaches can range from mild to chronic. Mild headaches, can be cured with Advil or will just eventually go away with some water and sleep. Others, can be chronic. My friend, for example, is prescribed 800 mg ibuprofen because she gets such bad headaches. She has to sit in her room with all her lights of and no sounds for hours, in order to cure them. These headaches are typically referred to as migraines.

Some say that stress can cause headaches. I believe that, but I don’t exactly understand why stress would cause your head to hurt? I have also heard that not enough sleep can cause headaches as well.

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The most common type of headache is a tension headache; where it feels like you have a constant pressure or ache on both sides of your head. Researchers suggest that these headaches are caused by altered brain chemicals and or mixed signals in the nerves that lead to the brain. These types of headaches are considered mild, and can be cured with an Advil.

On the other hand, people suffer terribly from the pain of migraines. Some migraines can even make people nauseous to the point where they throw up. Most migraines make people very sensitive to light and that is why they have to sit in a quiet dark room. Staring at a computer screen or your phone can also lead the cause of a headache. Researchers have recently found that migraines are due to the excitation of a nerve responsible for sensation in the face. When the nerve is interrupted, it can cause the blood vessels that surround the brain to expand and inflame.

I wonder if there is a way to prevent getting headaches and migraines considering many people suffer from them.

Sources: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20596594,00.html

http://www.health.com/health/condition-article/0,,20327068,00.html

picture – https://innovativehealthandwellness.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/headache.jpg

2 thoughts on “Why Headaches?

  1. Bernarda Jarrin Alvear

    I also have really bad headaches and migraines. You can always take ibuprofen or something similar but there are a couple of things that I find useful prior to getting one. For example, I try to close my eyes and turn all the lights off. This can really help since you get very susceptible to light when your head is hurting. I also try to hear relaxing music. Personally this is what helps me the most you and your friend should try it a swell.Here is a link that talks about many ways in which you could avoid normal headaches and migraines. I found your post very interesting it was great.

  2. Greg Belluscio

    Hey Mackenzie, Great Post. I actually just finished writing a blog post about the effect of prolonged eye contact with computer screens. I saw you asked for any possible solutions to prevent headaches and the easiest one I found while doing research is to adjust the brightness of the screen your looking at to match the brightness of your surroundings. I also found a program called “Flux” that adjusts the brightness for you.

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