Four Headache Causes You May Not Think Of

I suffer from headaches all of the time. There is not one minute of the day that goes by that I do not have a headache. I have always attributed my headaches as a symptom of my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. I believe too this is why I am what I would call "headache sensitive". It doesn't take much as far as environment and elements to make my head start pounding that even painkillers doesn't help.

Most of us get headaches from stress, too much time on the computer, PMS, and with colds and the flu. But there are some headache triggers that affect only those who are extremely sensitive to their surroundings and activities. These four headache causes may not affect you, but for many it is a daily occurrence we have to function around. Depending on the headache cause will even determine the type of headache, where it is located and how severe it is. There are a lot of people who suffer from chronic headaches who are treated by a neurologist. If you have chronic headaches, never try any treatment without first consulting your physician.

Weather-related headaches are one of the worst for me. When the temperature rises and falls, where there is a lot of humidity and rain the headaches come in full force. Changes in the weather irritate the nerves in the brain by triggering chemical change, which can cause a lot of pain. You can have an advantage over the weather by preparing yourself a couple of days ahead of time. You can watch the weather reports and start taking ibuprofen a day or two in advance to ward off the impending headache.

Hunger can be another headache trigger we may not think of. It is often recommended to eat several small meals a day in order to keep our blood sugar from dropping too low. If you are fasting and skipping meals, the drop in your blood sugar can trigger a headache. You also have to watch what types of foods you eat because you can get headaches from eating too much sugar also. Other foods and food additives can be headache culprits: caffeine, MSG, cheese, and chocolate.

Women can get headaches from having sex, and no, I'm not talking about as an excuse to get out of having sex! These headaches, called "coital headaches", can trigger during foreplay or immediately before orgasm. This type of headache can last a few minutes or up to an hour or more.

These headaches are likely caused due to stress and pressure building up in the head and neck. When you have sex, your blood pressure increases which in turn increase the pressure we feel in other parts of the body. These types of headaches are rare.

Probably my other biggest headache triggers are laundry detergents and cleaning products. I dread the day's grocery shopping when I know I have to go down the cleaning aisle and laundry detergent aisle. Immediately when I hit those aisles I get a terrible headache that makes my eyes hurt. For those of us who have this problem, since we can't avoid cleaning and laundering, we need to avoid purchasing products with strong scents. I use fragrance-free laundry detergents and I purchase cleaning products that are not heavily scented.

Other smells that seem to bother me are "outside" smells: the smell in the air after it rains and farm smells (manure, when the hay is cut, etc.). As soon as I walk out the back door if I am hit by any of these smells, I'm done for. My head feels like it will explode.

Neurologists are usually good at treating these types of headaches because they tend to not respond all of the time to over-the-counter medications.