All of us get headaches at some point. Some of us get them more frequently than others. When I was 13 years old, I started getting headaches more often than most people. At first, I got them once or twice a week for a few hours at a time. After a while, I would get them for days, even weeks and months. My mom wanted me to see a doctor and he told me I was suffering from a combination of migraine headaches with rebound headaches. If you suffer from headaches, here's a little information that may help you when you get your next one:

Common headache - It's a headache caused by stress or anxiety. If you're working too hard or have too much on your mind, you might get one of these. The symptoms can vary from a gentle throbbing to a constant ache. Most people get this type of headache once or twice a week, and it's normal :) For relief of a common headache, you can take some over-the-counter drug such as Tylenol or Aleve. Make sure you read the bottle for proper dosage.

Rebound headache - This headache occurs when you have taken too much medicine for your headache. The maximum amount of medicine you should take is the proper dosage for two days. For example, most brands of over-the-counter drugs allow you to take up to six pills in a day. That's fine if you're only taking medicine for two days out of a week. If you take more than this, you will probably get one of these headaches and they last sometimes all day. The symptoms for a rebound headache is a dull ache normally in the front of your head. Your best bet to get rid of this one is just to wait it out, because taking medicines will make it last longer.

Migraine headache - This is the most severe type of headache. The symptoms include sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, tenderness of the scalp, and a dull to extreme ache in one side of the head. There are different things that trigger this type of headache including food, activities, lack of sleep or too much sleep, and genetics. If you expirience migraine headaches, you might want to experiment with your diet and see if your migraine is actually an allergic reaction. My friend suffers from migraines and she said that fatty foods are the cause of her headaches. When you have a migraine, it's best not to do any vigorous activities because you might make it worse. Keeping a normal sleeping pattern is a good way to prevent migraines. For some of us, migraines aren't triggered from an outside substance, it's just the way we were born. The doctor told me that I probably get headaches because my grandma gets them too. There's really nothing you can do about it but follow these hints:

1) Go in a dark, cool room
2) Put a cool washcloth on your head
3) Lie down and try to go to sleep (you can't have a headache when you sleep)
4) If all else fails, go on a walk. I know it sounds crazy but it's the only thing that takes my headaches away. (Plus you'll get your exercize in for the day!)

I hope this article helped you understand your headaches and what to do for them. You should tell your parents if you think you are suffering from migraine headaches. They are very painful and the doctor can help you with them or get rid of them completely.

Until next time . . .
-peachadee