A headache is a common problem today. Who does not get a headache? An executive, a philosopher, a scientist, a business magnate, a clerk a housewife, a student – everybody, at sometime or other, is afflicted by a headache! It has no professional or age barriers.
Women suffer more than men. The reason may well be premenstrual migraines during puberty. These get worse as the years roll by, and are cured only by menopause. Contraceptives are known to cause headaches in some women and cure them in others. Headaches may become less frequent in pregnancy.
In fact, a headache is not a killing disease, but its attack is so intense that all the nerves in the skull start throbbing due to great pressure. A lot of research has been done to find out the cause of headaches. What is a headache? Is it an allergic disease caused by something we eat or breathe? Has it any relation to our posture, incorrect way of sitting, standing or working? Is it a product of tension in our day-to-day life, a way to relieve frustration/ Or is it due to some mechanical problem in the neck or head itself?
In the 5th century, it was thought that a headache was due to a severe chill, exposure to sunlight, or even fatigue. In the 11th century, it was thought that it occurred after having cold things in our food. According to Tissort (1784), vomiting often concluded an attack. He also suggested that a reflex irritation of the gastric nerves resulted in an attack of migraine. Living (1873) said that a headache was related to asthma and a convulsive state. Rilay (1932) suggested that it occurred when noxious vapour entered the cerebral blood vessels.
According to another opinion, it occurred due to eye strain. A few researchers concluded that it was due to eye strain. A few researchers concluded that it was due to adhesions of the cerebral membranes and formation of excessive cerebro-spinal fluid. Disorders of the ovaries and thyroid were also attributed to headaches – for instance, a difficult father-and son- relationship in business, tough competition, a tense situation in the family, a hard struggle to get oneself established… Apart from this, certain foods were found to cause headaches: chocolate, cheese, fruits, alcohol, fatty fried foods, tea, coffee, sea food, pork and many more.
Remedies
The long series of researches in this direction have shown that the human race has suffered a lot from headaches and though thousands of remedies have been prescribed, they have only succeeded in providing temporary relief. Many migraine clinics and foundations have spent millions of rupees to find a remedy which will bring permanent relief. These efforts are akin to ploughing in the sand! How long have we to live with such strong medications which produce side-effects in other systems of our body? After using a particular medicine for a long time, it loses its effectiveness anyway.
Sometimes, while suffering from a headache, a striking idea, solution or news gets rid of the headache and the patient becomes normal again. During a battle, General Ulysses S. Grant was seized with an attack of migraine. The limping general received the good news that his enemy was ready to surrender. Ulysses sprang to his feet at this glad news, and his headache vanished miraculously.
Many victims change their environment, take to the Himalayas Tibet or Somaliland, go from the highest altitude to the lowest, from the wettest to the driest, experiencing a new climate, food and cultural changes but the migraine remains, because they carry their personal environment with them.