Chapter List

• Introduction to Doctors Home Remedies
• Acne
• Allergies
• Angina
• Athritis
• Asthma
• Athletes Foot
• Backache
• Bad Breath
• Bed-Wetting
• Belching
• Bites
• Black Eye
• Bladder Infections
• Blisters
• Blood Pressure
• Body Odor
• Boils
• Breast Discomfort
• Breastfeeding
• Bronchitis
• Bruises
• Bruxism
• Burns
• Bursitis
• Canker Sores
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Cellulite
• Chafing
• Chapped Hands
• Chapped Lips
• Cholesterol
• Colds
• Cold Sores
• Colic
• Conjunctivitis
• Constipation
• Corns and Calluses
• Cuts and Scrapes
• Dandruff
• Denture Troubles
• Depression
• Dermatitis and Eczema
• Diabetes
• Diaper Rash
• Diarrhea
• Diverticulosis
• Dry Hair
• Dry Skin and Winter Itch
• Earache
• Ear Infection
• Earwax
• Emphysema
• Endometriosis
• Eye Redness
• Eyestrain
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Fissures
• Flatulence
• Flu
• Food Poisoning
• Foot Aches
• Foot Odor
• Forgetfullness
• Frostbite
• Genital Herpes
• Gingivitis
• Gout
• Hangnails
• Hangover
• Headaches
• Heartburn
• Heat Exhaustion
• Hemorrhoids
• Hiccups
• Hives
• Hyperventilation
• Impotence
• Incontinence
• Infertility
• Ingrown Hair - 10 Ways to Get a Clean Shave
• Ingrown Nails
• Insomnia
• Intermittent Claudication
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Jet Lag
• Kidney Stones
• Knee Pain
• Lactose Intolerance
• Laryngitis
• Menopause
• Menstrual Cramps
• Morning Sickness
• Motion Sickness
• Muscle Pain
• Nausea
• Neck Pain
• Night Blindness
• Nosebleed
• Oily Hair
• Oily Skin
• Osteoporosis
• Perfect Posture
• Pet Problems
• Phlebitis
• Phobias and Fears
• Poison Ivy and Oak
• Postnasal Drip
• Premenstrual Syndrome
• Psoriasis
• Raynauds Syndrome
• Restless Legs Syndrome
• Scarring
• Shingles
• Shinsplints
• Side Stitches
• Sinusitis
• Snoring
• Sore Throat
• Stained Teeth
• Stings
• Stress
• Sunburn
• Swimmers Ear
• Tachycardia
• Tartar and Plaque
• Teething
• Tendinitis
• Tmj
• Toothache
• Travelers Diarrhea
• Triglycerides
• Ulcer
• Varicose Veins
• Vomiting
• Warts
• Wrinkles
• Yeast Infections

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Headaches

Headaches

40 Hints to Head Off the Pain

"Not tonight, dear, I have a headache."

That line has become the universal stop sign for bedroom romance. Sure, sometimes it's a lie. But many times the headache is real. And notice that husbands and wives don't say, "Not tonight, dear, I've got a toeache." Headaches have earned mutual, painful respect.

"It's a very rare person indeed who has never experienced a headache," says Seymour Solomon, M.D., director of the Headache Unit at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, and a professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University.

About 90 percent of all headaches are classified as muscle contraction, or more commonly, "tension headaches," according to the National Headache Foundation. These are the head knockers most of us blame on work, bills, and arguments.

The pain is typically generalized all over the head. You may feel a dull ache or a sense of tightness and perhaps experience "a sense of not being clearheaded," says Fred Sheftell, M.D., director of the New England Headache Treatment Program in Stamford, Connecticut. "Most people will describe it as feeling like a band is wrapped around their head." However, Dr. Sheftell adds, "We're not sure muscle contraction is always the real cause of what we call tension headache."

"Some people are born with biology that makes them headache prone," explains Joel Saper, M.D., director of the Michigan Headache and Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor. "Not everybody under stress gets headaches."

But more than 45 million Americans not only get headaches, they get them time and time again. Headaches, for these people, are a chronic problem. Further, an estimated 16 to 18 million of them suffer migraines, which rightfully have an even uglier reputation than tension headaches.

Migraines are part of the vascular headache family and most often strike women. Seventy percent of migraine sufferers are female.

"Migraines can be crippling," says Patricia Solbach, Ph.D., director of the Headache and Internal Medicine Research Center at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. So much so that migraine sufferers lose more than 157 million workdays each year.

Typically, migraines bring severe, one-sided throbbing pain (in 40 percent of cases, however, the pain occurs on both sides). Often this is accompanied by nausea and vomiting and perhaps tremor and dizziness. Some people also experience premigraine warning symptoms, including blurred vision, "floating" visual images, and numbness in an arm or leg.

Unfortunately, even the doctors who operate headache clinics can't guarantee that they can diagnose which kind of headache a patient has. "There's no laboratory test that can tell you this patient has migraine, this one has tension," says Jerome Goldstein, M.D., a private practitioner and director of the San Francisco Headache Clinic in California. Diagnosis is usually based on the patient's history.

Thus, regardless of the name you give your headaches—tension, migraines, various obscenities—you are the one in the best position to recognize what habits and factors bring on your headaches. And it's up to you to do everything within your control to prevent or treat them. So for a better chance of heading off pain tomorrow, read this today.

Give Your Face a Workout All you need is your own handsome face and a mirror and you're ready to do some face and scalp calisthenics, courtesy of Harry C. Ehrmantrout, Ph.D., author of Headaches: The Drugless Way to Lasting Relief. The exercises are designed to relax the muscles of the face and scalp and teach you conscious control over these muscles so you can go into action at the first sign of a headache. Here in summary are 11 face and scalp calisthenics Dr. Ehrmantrout recommends. Eyebrows up and return: Lift both eyebrows up quickly, then relax and let them drop down. Right eyebrow up and return: This move could be tough to do. Start by holding the other eyebrow in place and then move the right eyebrow up, as you did before. Left eyebrow up and return. Squint both eyes closed and release: Do this quickly, hold briefly, then relax. Squint right eye hard and release: Squeeze the right side of your face hard enough to raise the corner of your mouth. Squint left eye hard and release. Frown deeply and release: Squeeze eyebrows down and in toward the bridge of your nose. Yawn wide and close: Slowly open your mouth by lowering your jaw gradually to a wide position. Then close slowly. Open jaw, move right and left: Open mouth slightly and slide jaw from right to left, then from left to right. Wrinkle nose: Squeeze nose upward, as if smelling a foul odor. Make faces: Ad-lib this one, just like when you were a kid. And don't worry, your face won't get stuck.

Take two, not ten. For that once-or-twice-a-month tension headache, aspirin or one of the many over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs may work well. Certainly a lot of us think so—we spend more than $4 billion annually on these pills.

But overuse of these drugs will just cause more pain. "It's like scratching a rash," Dr. Saper says. "The more you scratch, the more it itches."

Don't delay. If you do decide to use aspirin for a headache, "take it right away—at the beginning of the headache," Dr. Solbach says. Otherwise, it may not do you much good.

Cluster, Cluster Go Away But please don't come back another day. Unfortunately, cluster headaches do tend to come back, even after long periods of remission. These headaches, which afflict about one million people—90 percent of whom are men—hit the unfortunate sufferer with heavy-duty pain, typically around or behind one eye. Cluster attacks may occur every day for weeks, or even mouths. The cause is unknown, but "it's probably either hormonal or genetic," says Seymour Solomon, M.D. The male hormone testosterone is currently being studied for possible connections to cluster headaches. Meanwhile, doctors have noticed a common denominator. "For reasons we don't completely understand, men who have cluster headaches are typically heavy smokers," says Dr. Solomon. So quit smoking, or at least cut back drastically. And don't nap, advises Joel Saper, M.D. Then, maybe when the cluster headaches go away, they'll stay away.

Exercise to prevent. "Exercise is useful as a preventive measure," says Dr. Solomon. "You're releasing stress."

Exercise during. If the headache isn't too severe, "I think exercise will work to make it better," Dr. Solbach says. "If you have a slight tension headache, I think you can probably end it if you exercise."

But don't exercise if it's severe. You'll just make your head hurt more, especially if you're suffering a migraine.

MEDICAL ALERT When Headaches Can Mean Real Trouble "The average person," says Seymour Diamond, M.D., "typically has a tension headache." No big deal, no danger. But occasionally headaches are warning symptoms for serious disease. Here are the red flags. You are over 40 and never had recurring headaches before. The headaches have changed locations. The headaches are getting stronger. The headaches are coming more frequently. The headaches do not fit a recognizable pattern; that is, there seems to be nothing in particular that triggers them. Headaches have begun to disrupt your life; you've missed work on several occasions. The headaches are accompanied by neurological symptoms, such as numbness, dizziness, blurred vision, or memory loss. The headaches coincide with other medical problems or pain. If you experience these symptoms, see your doctor.

Sleep. A lot of people sleep a headache off, says Ninan T. Mathew, M.D., director of the Houston Headache Clinic and president of the American Association for the Study of Headache.

But don't oversleep. It's tempting, but "avoid sleeping in on the weekend," Dr. Mathew advises. "You're more likely to wake up with a headache."

Don't nap. While a nap may rid you of an existing headache, you don't want to nap if you're headache-free. "Napping can cause migraines," says Seymour Diamond, M.D., director of the Diamond Headache Clinic and the inpatient headache unit at Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois.

Sleep straight. Sleeping in an awkward position, or even on your stomach, can cause the muscles in your neck to contract and trigger a headache. "Sleeping on your back helps," says Dr. Diamond.

Stand tall, sit straight. The same principle applies here. "Also," adds Dr. Diamond, "avoid leaning or pushing your head in one direction."

Go cold. "Some people like the feeling of cold against their foreheads or necks and for them it seems to help," says Dr. Solbach.

Heat up. "But others," adds Dr. Solbach, "prefer hot showers or putting heat on their necks."

Breathe deeply. Deep breathing is a great tension reliever. "You're doing it right," Dr. Sheftell says, "if your stomach is moving more than your chest."

Do the body scan. Dr. Sheftell suggests checking yourself for signs that you are tensing up and inviting headache—clenched teeth, clenched fists, hunched shoulders."

Learn biofeedback. Studies have proven it effective for both tension headaches and migraines, Dr. Solbach says. And learning this technique doesn't have to shift pain from your head to your wallet. "There are all kinds of free courses given at community centers or maybe even where you work," she says.

Use your hands. Both self-massage and acupressure can help, according to Dr. Sheftell. Two key points for reducing pain with acupressure are the web between your forefinger and thumb (squeeze there until you feel pain) and under the bony ridges at the back of the neck (use both thumbs to apply pressure there).

Pretend it's a rose. "Put a pencil between your teeth, but don't bite," says Dr. Sheftell. "You have to relax to do that."

Wear a headband. "This old business of Grandmother tying a tight cloth around her head has some merit to it," Dr. Solomon says. "It will decrease blood flow to the scalp and lessen the throbbing and pounding of a migraine."

Say "no de cologne." "Strong perfume can set off migraine," says Dr. Solbach.

Be gentle. Believe it or not, if you're headache-free and "in the mood," you might develop a headache during sex. "It's considered an 'exertional' type headache," says Robert Kunkel, M.D., head of the Section of Headache in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. "It's more common in people with migraines than in those who just have tension headaches."

Seek quiet. Excessive noise is a common trigger for tension headaches.

Protect your eyes. Bright light—be it from the sun, fluorescent lighting, television, or a video display terminal—can lead to squinting, eyestrain, and, finally, headache. Sunglasses are a good idea if you're going to be outside. If you're working inside, "take some rest breaks from the computer screen and also wear some type of tinted glasses," Dr. Diamond suggests.

Watch your caffeine intake. "If you don't get your daily dosage of caffeine, your blood vessels will dilate," possibly giving you a headache, says Dr. Solbach. Too much caffeine will also give you a headache, so try to limit yourself to two cups (or one mug) of coffee a day.

Don't chew gum. The repetitive chewing motion can tighten muscles and bring on a tension headache, says Dr. Sheftell.

Go easy on the salt. High salt intake can trigger migraines in some people.

Eat on time. Skipping or delaying meals can cause headaches two ways. A missed meal can cause muscle tension, and, when blood sugar drops from lack of food, the blood vessels of the brain tighten. When you eat again, they expand, leading to headache.

Pass on the mustard—and the hot dog. You're certainly not losing out on nutrition and you may spare yourself a headache. Hot dogs, like luncheon and other cured meats, contain nitrates. And nitrates dilate blood vessels, which can mean big-time head pain, says Dr. Mathew.

Read the fortune, Cookie. Confucius never said anything about the wise not eating monosodium glutamate (MSG). But some people who don't absorb it well say they get a throbbing headache from it. Many Chinese dishes are loaded with it.

Say no to chocolate. Hey, it's fattening anyway. It also contains tyramine, a chief suspect in causing headaches. The good news is that many young people outgrow this chemical reaction. "The body appears to build up a tolerance," says Dr. Diamond.

Don't go nuts. And go easy on aged cheeses, too. Both contain tyramine.

Don't smoke and drive. You shouldn't smoke, period. But smoking with the car windows down when you're driving in heavy traffic gives you a double dip of carbon monoxide. This gas appears to adversely affect brain blood flow, according to Dr. Saper.

Curtail the cocktails. One alcoholic drink probably won't hurt, but don't hit your head on the rocks too many times. Also, some liquors contain tyramine.

Don't be a conehead. You probably can remember more than one occasion when you ate a big bite of ice cream and seconds later felt an intense rush of pain to your head.

Eat the ice cream slowly, Dr. Saper advises, "so that your palate will cool gradually instead of receiving a shock of cold."

Go with the flow. Maybe older people are better at this. "We see more headaches in younger individuals," Dr. Diamond says. "And they're under more stress—trying to make a living, supporting a family. But it's important to not overdo."

Decreasing your expectations, both of yourself and others, wouldn't hurt either, adds Dr. Sheftell.

Relax with imagery. "Imagine the muscle fibers in your neck and head to be all scrunched up," says Dr. Sheftell. "Then begin to smooth them out in your mind."

Have a sense of humor. "If you take life too seriously," says Dr. Sheftell, "you can see who those people are—they're walking around with their faces all scrunched up." And probably wondering why they have another headache.

For high altitudes, take vitamin C and aspirin. High altitudes can trigger a headache. But taking vitamin C and aspirin before and during that next ski trip can help you adjust, says Dr. Solomon.

He advises taking 3,000 to 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C the day before the trip and each day during the trip. Also, take two aspirin tablets per day beginning one day before the trip. (But check with your doctor first. You should get your doctor's approval before taking large doses of any vitamin.)

PANEL OF ADVISERS

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Seymour Diamond, M.D., is director of the Diamond Headache Clinic and the inpatient headache unit at Louis A. Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. He also is executive director of the National Headache Foundation. He has co-written several books on headaches.

Harry C. Ehrmantrout, Ph.D., is author of Headaches: The Drugless Way to Lasting Relief.

Jerome Goldstein, M.D., is a private practitioner and director of the San Francisco Headache Clinic in California.

Robert Kunkel, M.D., is head of the Section of Headache in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. He also is vice president of the National Headache Foundation.

Ninan T. Mathew, M.D., is director of the Houston Headache Clinic in Texas. He also is president of the American Association for the Study of Headache.

Joel Saper, M.D., is director of the Michigan Headache and Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor. He also is author of Help for Headaches.

Fred Sheftell, M.D., is director of the New England Headache Treatment Program in Stamford, Connecticut.

Patricia Solbach, Ph.D., is director of the Headache and Internal Medicine Research Center at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas.

Seymour Solomon, M.D., is director of the Headache Unit at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. He also is a professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City.