Headaches: Not to be ignored

Headaches are something I know well. Beginning in my early teen years, I had frequent and often severe headaches. Somewhere along the way, those evolved into migraines.

My 20’s and 30’s were marred by frequent and sometimes debilitating headaches. Being self-employed for most of that time, I had to work. No choice. 

There were days when I would hide in a dark room, come out long enough to see a patient, and then retreat to my darkened sanctuary. For years, you would never find me far away from Excedrin. I always (always) had several in my pocket.

I tried other medicines. I saw several specialists. Nothing stopped my headaches. I learned to deal with them. Most of the time, they would hit in the middle of the night. My routine became to get up, take an Excedrin, get in a very hot shower, get out, eat something, take 2 more Excedrin, and go back to bed.

That usually helped enough that I could eventually get back to sleep.

Here’s the problem with headaches—they’re invisible. There is no outward sign that someone has a headache. More than once, I was told that they were “all in my head.”

Yeah…they were. My left temple to be exact. Almost always.

About the time I turned 45, my headaches began to subside. Some decided it must be male menopause. Maybe. We know that men undergo hormonal changes about that age too. Certainly not as drastic as women but still there.

I’m just thankful that I very rarely have those really bad headaches any more. I still have headaches from time to time but milder and far less frequent. I still always have Excedrin within reach but I haven’t emptied the hot water heater from my hot showers in a long time.

What about headaches in athletics? What does it mean?

A lot of people get “exertional” headaches. A really hard physical effort that results later in a headache. We see those often in sports. It is likely that those have to do with blood vessels dilating and constricting in your head and usually respond to anti-inflammatories.

Still, no headache needs to be ignored. Especially in a teenager or an athlete. If headaches are severe, persistent, or frequent, athletes should see a sports physician, and in Blount County, that is Dr. Ben England at ETMG.

And don’t forget hydration. Being dehydrated can also lead to or at least contribute to headaches.  Not to mention the sports performance side of hydration.

If a headache happens after a blow to the head, it cannot be ignored. Any blow to the head that results in symptoms (headache, dizziness, blurred vision, confusion) is a concussion until proven differently.

We don’t play around with those things. I have a friend that had a concussion in a car wreck that was still having headaches from that concussion two years later.

The long term effects of improper care following a concussion can be catastrophic. It used to be that if you got your “bell rung” that once you were coherent, you were back in the game.

Not so, anymore. That’s because we know better. We know what can happen. That means that if you have a headache after being hit in the head, it is incredibly important not to get hit in the head again. It’s that simple.