HEADACHE
It is a condition of pain in the head. It
is one of the commonest types of illness and almost
everyone has experienced headache in their life. There
is a wide
variety of causes of headaches like hypertension, sinusitis,
eye troubles, cervical pain, brain tumors, meningitis,
fever etc
TYPES OF HEADACHES
-
Muscular headaches : These headaches
arise from tension in muscles of neck and face. The
pain is often described
as a constant pressure, as if the head were being
squeezed in a vise. The pain is frequently present
on both sides
of the head. Massage can be very good for releiving
such type of headaches.
- Cervicogenic : These headaches
originates from disorders of the neck,. Cervical
headache is
often increased
by neck movement and sustained awkward head positioning.
It is often accompained by restricted cervical
movement and pain radiating to arm.
- Inflammatory: These headaches are symptoms of
other disorders, like sinusitis, meningitis,
encephalitis etc.
- Vascular: The most common types of vascular
headache are due to hypertension and migraine.
MIGRAINE
It is a condition which is characterized by severe headache
usually in one or both sides of the head. Migraine which
occurs in episodes is usually accompanied by nausea,
hypersensitivity to light and noise.
The word Migraine is French in origin comes from Greek word hemicrania which
means one half of the head. Women are affected three times more often than
men. This has been related to the hormonal changes occurring in females during
their lifetime.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:
An attack of migraine can be divided into four parts:
- Prodrome : This includes symptoms
experienced by patients hours or days before an attack
of headache. These symptoms
include irritability, depression, tiredness, yawning,
constipation, stiffness of neck etc.
- Aura : This includes symptoms experienced
just before an attack of migraine headache. They appear
gradually
over 5 to 20 minutes and generally last less than 60
minutes. The symptoms include foggy vision , colored
vision, bright lines in front of eyes, sensation of
pins or numbness on body , vertigo, loss of smelling
power,
nausea/vomiting and photobhobia are some symptoms experienced
by differnet patients.
- Pain phase : Usually the headache
is in one half of the head. It increases gradually and
lasts from
4 to
72 hours. However the intensity, duration and frequency
of pain vary from person to person. The headache
can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, vertigo,
pallor
of face, loss of appetite, sensitivity to smells,
noise and light etc.
- Postdrome : These are the symptoms
occurring after an attack of migraine. These include
mood changes,
depression, tiredness, lethargicness, loss of appetite
etc
However the stages and symptoms vary from patient to patient. All the patients
don’t exhibhit all four phases and symptoms present in each patient vary and
are individual to him. Approximately one-fifth of migraine sufferers experience
aura, the warning associated with migraine, prior to the headache pain while
others don’t experience it.
TRIGGERS
A trigger is any stimulus that initiates an episode of
migraine. A migraine episode can be precipitated by
exposure or withdrawal of these triggers. These triggers
are personal and vary from one migraine patient to
another.
-
Emotions and stress: Emotional disturbances like
grief, anger, stressful life, mental over exertion
etc can precipitate
an attack.
- Alcohol : Intake of alcohol and in some patients
withdrawal of alcohol might trigger an attack
- Environmental factors (e.g., weather, altitude,
time zone changes)
- Foods that contain caffeine (e.g., coffee,
chocolate), monosodium glutamate (found in
Chinese food), and, processed
foods like hot dogs are known to be triggers
in certain individuals.
- Glare or light aggravates headaches in
some.
- Hormonal changes in women: Many women
complain of headaches either before or
during menstrual
periods while others
have during pregnancy or menopause.
- Hunger
- Lack of sleep
- Certain Medications
- Perfume and other strong odors
MANAGEMENT
This includes avoidance
of any known triggers. Alcohol, caffeine containing
food products and processed
foods should be avoided. A healthy lifestyle like
proper sleeping pattern, regular exercise and
regular meals
should be maintained.
HOMEOPATHIC
APPROACH
Homeopathy aims to cure
the disease and not just palliate
the symptoms like pain. Homeopathy
is a science which is based on law of individuals
which means various people suffering from
same disease present
themselves with different individual symptoms
and need different approach of treatment.
Similarly in cases of
headache the patients present with varying symptoms
e.g. different triggering factors, varying
severity and character
of pain , presence or absence of one or another
symptom like nausea, vomiting photophobia,
photophonia etc distinguish
one patient from another. Further the temperament,
general symptoms and emotional causes differentiate
one patient
from another and help to find a correct Homeopathic
medicine.
A case
of Migraine
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