One in three Spaniards suffers from a headache and according to Dr. Pozo Rosich, coordinator of the Headache Study Group of the Spanish Neurology Society, "it is quite what is in our power to combat this pain." To do this, whatever the type of headache you suffer from, we have prepared this simple but effective decalogue to remove headaches that will help you find quick relief when you suffer a crisis.
How to get rid of a headache
- Drinking water. Dehydration can trigger a headache. Tip: Always carry a bottle of water with you and if you sweat a lot, resort to isotonic drinks that also provide electrolytes, the lack of which can also trigger a crisis.
- Lie down in a room with little light and no noise. Put cold cloths on the affected area and breathe deeply. You can notice relief in 15-20 min.
- To do stretches. According to Dr. Manuel Lara, neurologist at the Headache Unit of the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid, "they can be very useful due to the influence of muscle tension in the pericranial area on the appearance of tension headache." Massages can also help. Give yourself a gentle self-massage on the nape, eyes, temples and base of the nose. To make it more effective and relaxing, you can use a few drops of lavender or peppermint oil.
- Paracetamol or ibuprofen. If it is a tension headache, you can use either one or the other or acetylsalicylic acid. What if it's a migraine? The mild ones usually respond to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen, dexketoprofen. But when your headaches are frequent and strong, it should be the family doctor or neurologist who prescribes the medication to be taken.
- Don't wait. Start taking the medication as soon as the pain occurs, do not give it time to advance. If after taking the medication the pain goes down but does not completely go away, repeat the dose respecting the time indicated in the package insert.
And if nothing works
- Do you have "rescue" medication? If your headaches are frequent and tend to be very intense, such that after taking the prescribed medication and repeating the dose they have not given way, discuss with your doctor the need to have other drugs to use.
- Consider preventive treatment. It is recommended in those cases in which the frequency of the seizures, their duration or the degree of incapacitation that they cause in the patient (in their personal, family, social or work life) indicates this. As Dr. Lara explains, "there are various preventive pharmacological groups, the first-line ones being topiramate, propranolol, amitriptyline and flunarizine, having shown greater effectiveness." Although, as he points out, before recommending them, the specific case of each patient must be reviewed.
- Do you self-medicate? It is estimated that 70% of people with a habitual headache do not go to the doctor to direct their treatment and it has serious consequences . As Dr. Lara explains "the greatest concern is that the patient falls into a dependency on analgesics causing a chronic daily headache due to abuse of analgesics, which is very difficult to solve."
- Dra. Pozo Rosich, coordinating neurologist of the Headache Study Group of the Spanish Society of Neurology.
- Dr. Manuel Lara, neurologist at the Headache Unit of the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid.
