Headache

Dear Fit,
I have been running for two years, consistently 30-minute runs, three mornings a week. A friend of mine who's training for a half marathon convinced me to sign up too, and I'm really excited about my first race. It's in the Fall, but I've already started training, and have been increasing my runs to an hour. I feel great while running, but a few hours afterward, I get this pounding headache that lasts at least an hour. Any ideas as to what could be causing this or how to prevent it? I want to cure these headaches before making my runs even longer.

— Pounding Pavement and Pounding Headache

First of all, congrats on signing up for your first half marathon. It's an amazing goal to have, and since you're so excited about it, I can understand your frustration about having headaches. I have a few ideas as to why you're getting these headaches, so read more

Once considered a form of quackery, acupuncture is slowly gaining respect in the world of Western medicine. This alternative therapy has been shown to reduce pain associated with menstrual cramps, and a review of 11 studies found acupuncture to be useful for relieving tension headaches. Caused by tense muscles in the neck, head, or scalp, tension headaches chronically affect about 45 million Americans. Tension headaches are commonly treated with over-the-counter pain medication, but researchers believe that acupuncture could be a "valuable option" for folks suffering from chronic tension headaches. Have you ever been needled to relieve pain? If so, do you think it worked?

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If you wake up with a headache after a night of overindulging, sometimes figuring out what painkiller to take can make the headache even worse. I've heard that it's bad to take acetaminophen (aka Tylenol), because it can lead to liver damage, but take note: you're also not supposed to drink while taking ibuprofen.

Ibuprofen is part of the anti-inflammatory drug family known as NSAIDs, which can cause tears in the stomach lining if taken on an empty tummy. Add alcohol to the mix, and the potential danger is heightened. If you take ibuprofen when drinking more than the recommended amount for women (about two to three drinks), you increase your risk of stomach irritation and bleeding. This is especially true for people who are prone to ulcers.

But wait! Taking Tylenol when you're hungover isn't such a good idea either. To find out why, read more

The colors of Autumn might be lovely, but a few things about the season actually bring me down. I am talking about cold and flu season. If you're unlucky enough to have come down with some bug, you might be able to soothe some of your ailments with ingredients you have in your pantry. Prevention has listed some home remedies for common cold symptoms, and here are the highlights.

Soothe that sore throat: Mix six pressed garlic cloves with hot water, and gargle with this garlic tea twice a day, for three days. The warm liquid soothes inflamed tissues, while the garlic has antimicrobial properties that fight pain-causing bacteria.

Bring down a fever: Try drinking linden flower tea. It controls your body temperature by stimulating the hypothalamus, and also dilates your blood vessels and induces sweating. Pick up the dried herb at a health food store or herb shop. Steep one tablespoon of dried linden flower in a cup of hot water for 15 minutes. Stash makes a linden flower tea, too. Drink this tea three to four times a day. If your fever is over 102° F, take a tepid bath to cool off the body.

To see how you can dull your hacking cough with a few sweet things, just read more

Simply and quite unscientifically put, the difference between a migraine and a headache is that the former feels beyond agonizing and a million times worse than the latter. Unfortunately, migraines plague women more than men, due to the hormonal fluctuations that women experience monthly. In fact, many women's migraine episodes are triggered by their periods or by ovulation, like an evil door prize handed out at Aunt Ruby's homecoming.

The difference between migraines and headaches is more than just the severity of the symptoms that accompany a migraine. It's believed that migraines are a central nervous system disorder, whereas a headache is just pain you feel in your head. While migraines also involve head pain, they can also include symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, pain behind the eyes, trouble seeing, muscle weakness, and abdominal pain. These symptoms are caused by a brain that is hyperexcitable, which means brain cells are easily irritated and send off unnecessary signals. A headache, on the other hand, doesn't create this type of pattern in the brain.

If you have suffered from one of these miserable episodes, tell your doctor. Once you've experienced a few rounds of migraines, you'll be able to discuss your symptoms with your physician to figure out what's triggering them. Hopefully, this helps lead to the most effective treatment for your situation.

For more information visit the migraine section in the FitSugar Health Guide.

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If you've ever had a migraine — or even if you haven't — you know that they are to be avoided at all costs. These mindbendingly bad headaches can be debilitating, often causing nausea and sensitivity to light. Though more than 20 million people suffer from migraines, they are more common in females. As many as 17 percent of women get migraines, versus just 6 percent of men. Here are five things you need to know about migraine headaches.

• Different people have different migraine triggers. Common catalysts include lack of sleep, not getting enough to eat, stress, and certain foods, such as red wine and anything containing tyramine (found in cheese, wine, beer, and sausage) or MSG.
• Many women get migraines before or during their menstrual cycles, since the headaches are often caused by hormone fluctuations.

For three more things about migraines, read more

I admit it. I love my cell phone because it makes me feel safe. I know if I ever need anything, help is just a phone call away. I do worry about the harmful effects of radiation though, and now a new study shows that cell phone radiation is linked to insomnia, headaches, and depression. Great.

The joint study performed by Wayne State University School of Medicine and researchers in Sweden found that using a cell phone right before going to bed can disrupt normal sleep patterns. It seems that the radiation mobile phones can make it difficult to both fall and stay asleep. The radiation can delay and shorten the deep stages of sleep, important since this is when your brain and body repair and rejuvenate, making exposure linked to headaches, difficulty in concentrating, depression, and personality changes (sounds a lot like PMS symptoms).

Fit's Tip: If you suffer from insomnia, the researchers recommend avoiding cell phone use prior to bed time. Here are some more tips for falling and staying asleep.

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Every time I get a cold, I spend the entire duration wondering if it is actually a dreaded sinus infection (aka Sinusitis). No one has actually explained the difference in the symptoms between a sinus infection and a nasty cold, so I always just lived in fear that this one could actually be a sinus infection.

However, when I recently came across a list of common symptoms of a sinus infection, courtesy of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, I had to share:

• Headache, particularly first thing in the morning.
• Pain in the forehead, jaw, teeth and cheeks, or between the eyes.
• Swollen or inflamed tear ducts, eyelids, and other tissues surrounding the eyes.
• Congestion, sore throat, neck pain or cough.
• Fever.
• Weakness and fatigue.

So there you have it. If the cold medicines you've been taking to relieve the symptoms of the common cold are not working and you've got a terrible headache, it looks like it's time to see a doctor.

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