Nov 22, 2024
Nov 22, 2024
Headaches are one of the most common health grievances of students, adults and even children, Headaches are very common and usually do not point to a serious illness. But even a mild headache can disrupt your daily activities
What actually happens in your body to cause headache?
The skull bones and brain tissues do not have pain sensitive nerve fibers. But muscles of face, mouth, throat, neck, scalp and blood vessels on the surface and base of brain are sensitive to pain as they contain pain sensitive nerve fibers.
The tip of these nerve fibers gets stimulated by various causes like stress, muscle tension, lack of sleep etc. The stimulated nerve tip sends message up the length of the nerve fiber to the related nerve cells of Brain. Brain locates the region of stimulated nerve tip based on these signals and we feel the pain or ache.
The headache may be mild, chronic or severe depending on the underlying cause and pain bearing capacity of the individual.
Our body produces natural pain killing proteins called endorphins. One of the theories suggests that people with low endorphin levels suffer from severe headache and other chronic pains in comparison with people having high endorphin levels.
What triggers headache?
The same causes of headache have been explained in Ayurveda also. These causes vitiate all the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha). The vitiated doshas cause tension, migraine, sinus and other head aches.
Few common types of headache are Tension headache, Migraine headache and sinus headache.
Tension Headache
Tightening of muscles of face and neck cause tension headache. It is characterized by a dull ache in forehead or back of head and pain in neck and shoulders which travels to head. Causes like less sleep, stress, reading for a long time, and working in front of a computer for long hours can precipitate tension headache.
Migraine Headache
Migraine headache is caused when blood vessels of head get too much dilated or constricted. Females are more prone to this type of headache than males and migraine tends to run in families. A person suffering from migraine headache feels like vomiting becomes too sensitive to light, sound and other activities. Few people experience spots or flashes before headache. Few facts like menstruation in females, caffeine, alcohol, aged cheese, cured meat, stress, change in sleeping pattern, strenuous exercise trigger migraine headache.
Sinus Headache
A sinus headache surfaces when fluids in the nose are not able to drain well and pressure builds up in sinuses. A cold, dust allergies, dirty or polluted water air travel may cause this type of headache. Sinus headache causes pain in forehead, cheek bones, nose and stuffy nose. The headache increases when face is bent or touched. The symptoms are worse in the morning.
Although headaches are very common, It is recommended to consult a doctor about your headache. Go to an emergency department if any of the following symptoms occur:
Home Remedies for Tension Headache
Home Remedies for Migraine Headache
Home Remedies for Sinus Headache
Disclaimer:
Information provided in this article is for the sole purpose of imparting education on Ayurveda and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a medical condition, please consult your physician.
30-Apr-2006
More by : Dr. Savitha Suri