headaches Flashcards
Triggers:
More often in women
* Exposure to bright light, loud noises
* Hormonal irregularities, birth control pills
* Anxiety and stress
* Lack of food or sleep
* Allergies
* Changes in weather
* Smoking or exposure to smoke
* Certain odors and perfumes
* Skipping meals ‘Alcohol
* Foods containing tyramine (red wine, aged cheese, smoked fish, MSG, nitrates (bacon)
* Chocolate, pickled foods
* Aspartame (artificial sweeteners)
* Change in sleep cycle
* Caffeine withdrawal
age/factors that increase risk for migraine
- Can be debilitating
- Many have an aura
sensory change- visual, auditory, or other sensory changes occurring before headache. May have visual hallucinations or see light prior to headache - Sensitivity to light and sound
- Nausea & vomiting
- Some have loss of vision
- Pain worsens with activity
- Throbbing/pulsing pain often on one side of the head
- Allodynia:
“even hair hurts”; pain when bending over; in shower with water running on etc.
s/s: migraine
- Quiet; dark room
- NSAIDS
- Analgesics with antiemetic
Essential oil: - Peppermint
Abortive meds (medications to get rid of migraines)
- Triptans: Imitrex (sumatriptan)
- Use of narcotics or NSAIDS to often cause rebound or overuse headache
treatment for migraine
Preventative meds:
* Beta blockers- preventative eg. Inderal (propranolol)
* Antidepressants- preventative (eg. amitriptyline)
* Anticonvulsants- preventative (eg. Depakote, Neurontin )
* Herbs: Feverfew- preventative
Exercise
Regular sleep routine
Regular meals
Decrease caffeine
Do not use aspartame sweeteners (truvia ok)
Massage
Chiropractic
Accupressure/Acupuncture
Botox injections in head
prevention for migraines
Headache 15 days in a month
chronic migraines
- Usually 80 years of age or older
temporal arteritis
- inflammation and damage to the blood vessels that supply blood to the head.
temporal arteritis cause
- tender, thick artery on one side of the head, most often over one or both temples.
- Pain and stiffness in the neck, upper arms, shoulder, and hips
- Weakness, excessive tiredness
- Muscle Aches
- Throbbing headache on one side of the head or the back of the head
- Tenderness when touching the scalp
- Other symptoms can feel like a bad flu, such as:
- Excessive sweating
- Fever
- General ill feeling
- Jaw pain that comes and goes or occurs when chewing
- Loss of appetite
s/s of temporal arteritis
- Receiving treatment right away is key to preventing severe problems such as blindness or even stroke.
treatment for temporal arteritis
Corticosteroids
prevention for temporal arteritis
rare. predominately occurs in men and is characterized by episodes of acute and agonizing headaches for periods of typically six
to eight weeks.
age/factors that increase risk for cluster headache
pacing may help
Pain is very severe, unilateral
* Headaches usually occur every day, sometimes several times a day.
* A single attack may last from 15 minutes to three hours.
* The attacks often happen at the same time within each 24-hour day.
* The majority of attacks occur at night, usually one to two hours after you go to bed.
*
s/s of cluster headache
this type of headache doesnt have any treatment
cluster headaches
Corticosteroids
Antiseizure medications
preventative medications for cluster headaches
- A previous history of migraines or headaches
- A family history of migraines or headaches
age/factors that increase risk for sinus headaches
