Body Talk
Mel Watson
What gives you a headache? There are many different types of headache; pain, fogginess, pounding head. The brain works under tight parameters and pain happens when there’s a break down between what your brain needs and the restriction of blood flow.
Dehydration is the most common cause of head pain, and as the weather gets warmer we need to be aware of keeping out our fluid intake. Before you reach for the painkillers, water should be your first port of call. If we don’t have enough water in our blood stream to flush out the toxins in the kidneys,they will take the water from other parts of our bodies, such as the brain which contains a massive 1.4 litres of water! So if you haven’t been drinking enough water the brain becomes dehydrated as the water is leached by the kidneys.
Stress is another factor, which can feel like an elastic band around your skull and pressure on the crown of the head. Adrenaline restricts blood flow to the brain, which is why you go pale when you get a fright. A good solution to this is meditation, which helps you relax, stops the flow of adrenaline and allows your bodily systems to return to normal.
Then there’s the brain freeze which we get from eating cold ice cream on a hot day! This is usually only short lived and any pain is compensated for by the pleasure of eating the ice cream!
A sinus headache might not be the most blinding but it’s dull and always there. Some doctors believe that up to 90% of sinus headaches could be connected to migraines. Sinusitis can be caused by allergies, bacteria or structural problems, so treatment needs to be related to the cause. If you’re not sure of the triggers, do consult your doctor.
The overuse of painkillers can also also cause what is known as a rebound headache, so do make sure you monitor the amount of painkillers you use.
In any other sudden or agonising headaches mean you should see your doctor immediately.
Headaches give us many clues as to what is happening in our bodies and if you find you get them regularly maybe upping your water intake could be a good start in the road to recovery.
