Headache Treatment in Adults
Headache treatment can be classified into several categories. These include preventive treatments, acute treatments and post-operative treatments. The preventive treatments for headaches usually aim at reducing the frequency and severity of headaches caused by hereditary factors, stress, environmental and lifestyle factors and changes in lifestyle such as eating habits, sleeping habits and commuting habits. Acupuncture, counseling and biofeedback are some of the other treatments that help in reducing and controlling headaches. Acute treatments for headaches on the other hand generally aim at providing holistic headache relief for the pain experienced during an acute attack.
Most of the preventive treatments for headaches are often used for life. Headache treatment for a life-time basis is termed as medication overuse headaches. This type of headache treatment may be used along with preventive treatments. A person may use medication overuse treatments until the symptoms of headaches are completely controlled. It is essential to note that you can also seek help from an expert.
Acute treatments for headaches include the use of medication and therapy for treatment and the best thing is that they relieve headaches. These include therapies such as behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Another acute treatment plan includes the use of a drug to control and reduce the pain that is felt in the forehead area. The most common drug that is used to treat acute headaches include the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs. Other prescription drugs such as the triptans and the beta-blockers are also used.
In some cases, medication may not be able to control or reduce the severity of an individual's headache pain. In this case, a health care provider may prescribe the use of medication overuse headache treatment. Such a treatment may include the use of a drug called NSAID sertraline for reducing pain. Medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen are also used for reducing the pain from the inflammation. In some cases, muscle relaxants may also be prescribed in order to relax the muscles and prevent migraine attacks.
As with the acute treatment plans, medication overuse headache causes and diagnosis in adults (beyond the basics) also include education on how to avoid or manage these types of headaches. For example, it is important for a patient to know the basics about the different types of headaches. This includes knowing what each type looks like, how they can be caused, how to recognize warning signs of headache causes and diagnosis in adults (beyond the basics), and how to manage them. One of the best approaches to management is to learn how to recognize the symptoms of headaches so that one can seek treatment for it. For example, a patient education session could include learning how to recognize the warning signs of a tension headache, or the symptoms of migraines, as well as other types.
On occasion, a severe headache may require a referral to a specialist such as a neurologist. For instance, a neurologist may recommend treating the secondary headaches instead of waiting for more severe symptoms to appear. In severe cases, medication often results in relief of secondary headaches. However, if the primary problem cannot be treated or alleviated, the headache specialist may recommend treating secondary headaches. Check out this post to get more info on the topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headache.
