Life With Headaches

Living with headache pain can be a debilitating condition that hinders a person from regular activities of work and recreation. However, the condition may be improved by executing a preventive treatment plan and aggressive relief of pain symptoms once they occur. Understanding why headaches are occurring and obtaining healthcare advice and treatment from a doctor are early steps for effectively reducing the painful symptoms of headache attacks.

 

Sufferers of frequent headaches can often minimize the pain in their lives associated with headaches through a combination of treatment factors. Depending on the type and cause of a headache, a person may reduce the frequency, severity and length of headaches by practicing preventive treatments, including medications that can be prescribed by a doctor.

It often helps the doctor determine the causes of recurring headaches if a headache sufferer keeps a record of his or her headaches. 

 

This includes noting:

• what day and time the pain begins
• the last thing a patient ate or drank
• recent sleep patterns
• any activities that could have contributed to stress or tension
• duration of the headache
• what contributed to making the pain stop, if anything.

In order to alleviate the causal factors of headaches, a headache sufferer should reduce the number of risk factors present. 

 

This may include:

• quitting smoking
• drinking less or eliminating alcohol
• increasing exercise
• weight loss
• improving posture at a desk, in a car or other long-held positions

A chronic headache sufferer may also improve headache symptoms by improving sleeping habits, usually by getting more sleep, or reducing lifestyle stressors that may trigger headaches.