Headache is one of the most common symptoms of an unhealthy organism. When admitting a therapist, almost every tenth patient complains of a headache. In addition, these are mainly those who have frequent severe headaches that interfere with everyday life. Most people prefer pain relievers and don’t even think about seeing a doctor. In the following article, we get to know about How to get rid of a headache? So don’t skip the article from anywhere and read it carefully because it’s going to be very useful for you guys.
In this article, I will tell you how to deal with a headache on your own and when to see a doctor.
When to see a doctor immediately?
When a person comes to me with a headache, I first rule out life-threatening diseases as much as possible. You should also be aware of the “red flags” indicating the need for emergency medical care.
Sometimes headaches occur with diseases of the nose, ears, and eyes as a symptom of common infections such as flu or SARS. In such cases, you need to treat the underlying disease, and the pain will go away on its own.
A real danger arises when the headache is due to a sharp rise in blood pressure – hypertensive crisis, stroke, meningitis, or other brain diseases. It is essential to understand this immediately so as not to waste valuable time on self-medication.
So what kind of headache you can not treat yourself to:
- What suddenly appeared like a blow to the head and grew with every minute.
- We have abnormally high blood pressure.
- She was accompanied by nausea, vomiting, hearing, visual and speech disorders, numbness in the face and body parts, and unconsciousness.
- With high body temperature, neck stiffness, severe weakness, cramps, a state of numbness.
- A “new” headache that has never happened before.
- Headaches, the intensity of which changes significantly with a change in posture, coughing, sneezing, and tension, are associated with impaired movement coordination.
- Headache cannot be relieved by medication that has previously worked.
How to relieve a headache attack
Treatment for headaches depends mainly on the type of headache, although there are general principles to get rid of a headache. We analyze what you need to do to relieve a headache attack.
1. Take a headache pill
Yes, it is. The headache cannot be tolerated. The later you start treatment, the more difficult it will be to cope with the seizure.
Ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol, naproxen, and drugs based on them, with and without caffeine, help with tension headaches. Drug names can be very different depending on the manufacturer. Just read the label and look for the active ingredients.
If the headache does not go away within an hour and a half, you can take another pill of the drug, but no more. If it doesn’t feel better, you are most likely having a migraine attack and need more effective remedies to get rid of a headache.
Do not take analgesics in “packs”! This leads to an abusive headache that is difficult to get rid of.
Treatment of Headaches
It should be started immediately after their onset using conventional and combined pain relievers. If they don’t help within 2 hours, switch to specific anti-migraine medications.
If you have migraines and have had migraine attacks, treatment will depend on the intensity of the headache and your susceptibility to medication.
For moderate headaches, you can start with the same medications as for tension headaches. If the headache does not disappear within an hour, switch to the particular drug for migraines – triptans. In the case of a severe headache, it is better to take it immediately, i.e., already in the first stage.
The names of drugs from a range of triptans can also be different. Look for the terms of the active ingredients on the boxes that all end in “-triptan” – sumatriptan, eletriptan, zolmitriptan to get rid of a headache.
2. Drink a glass of water or coffee with sugar
Often, an attack of headache occurs due to dehydration and hunger – a drop in blood sugar levels. So drink a pill with a glass of water and chew a lump of sugar to get rid of a headache. Drink at least 80 ml throughout the day to avoid dehydration. Water for 1 kg. Your weight. Do not drink ice water or cold beverages – they can trigger a migraine attack.
You can drink coffee with sugar. Caffeine is not inadvertently included in the composition of combined painkillers. It blocks the receptors involved in the formation of the pain impulse and dilates the cerebral blood vessels.
3. Lie down in a quiet, dark place to rest
If possible, lie down and rest for at least half an hour. The head should be in such a position that the neck is completely relaxed. If you like coolness or prefer warmth, you can open the window, cover yourself with a blanket, and place a heating pad at your feet.
Your allies in the fight against headaches are absolute darkness and silence. If you are not alone in the room, ask those around you not to make any noise, speak more quietly, and not “jerk” you for any reason.
4. Massage the head, neck, and biologically active points
Massage and acupuncture are very effective for tension headaches. They normalize the tone of blood vessels and improve blood circulation by providing oxygen to the brain.
Also read: how to stop a bloody nose
