June is Headache Awareness Month

The National Headache Foundation (www.headaches.org) says that over 45 million Americans get chronic (re-occurring) headaches. To make our headaches go away, we spend over 4 billion dollars every year on over-the-counter pain relievers. Preferred Care wants to help you prevent headache pain and feel good. Headache Awareness Month is the perfect time to encourage your family - and challenge yourself - to take charge of your health. Headaches are one of the most common pain-related health problems in both children and adults. You may have a headache along with another minor health problem such as a sore throat, cold, or sinus problem.

Common causes of headaches include:

• Muscle strain in the neck, upper back, or shoulder muscles.
• Dehydration (when your body loses too much water).
• Emotional stress.
• Medications (sometimes prescription and non-prescription medications can cause headaches especially if you use them regularly).
• Eating or drinking cold foods and fluids.
• Coughing or sneezing.
• Eye strain.
• Alcohol, caffeine, or other drug use or withdrawal.
• Exposure to smoke or fumes from chemicals (even the ones you use to clean your house)
• Dental problems or procedures, such as pain from grinding your teeth or from a root canal.
• Upper respiratory infections.
  Fever.
• High altitude. Lower oxygen levels at high altitudes can cause headaches.

The most common types of headaches usually are not serious but may occur again and again.

• Tension headaches are the most common type of headache and are often caused by stress and emotional strain. Most adults have tension headaches from time to time. They can cause pain in your upper back, neck, jaw, above the eyes and other areas.
• Cluster headaches cause deep, stabbing pain, usually around the
  temple or eye.
• Migraine headaches Approximately one-third of people who have migraine headaches first began having them as teenagers.

For more information

• Learn more about the types of headaches in the Preferred Care online
  Health Encyclopedia.
• You may be able to prevent headaches with a few simple changes in your daily routine. Learn more in our Health Encyclopedia.
• Identify and avoid tension headaches.
• Identify and avoid migraine headaches.
• Learn easy ways to treat (and beat) headache pain in our Health Encyclopedia.

Source: Healthwise® Knowledgebase
Last updated: May 2006