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Headaches: A Many-Faceted Problem
Every migraine is different, so why treat them all the same? The key to correcting a headache is to find its exact cause. Let’s first consider the many reasons for headaches in the total scheme of health.
Your body has been beautifully designed to be healthy. When disturbances occur with which the body cannot cope, it has warning systems, usually in the form of pain. When you have a headache, your body’s warning mechanism is telling you something is wrong. A headache is generally considered an enemy; however, when looked at in its proper perspective, a headache is often a friend in that it warns of some health problem needing attention.
Let’s look at some of the different types of headaches:
The term “migraine” is widely misused. The term refers to a specific type of headache, not necessarily the severity of the headache. The true migraine headache is caused by the disturbance of normal blood circulation to the brain. It is usually very severe and incapacitating, but it is possible to have a migraine headache that is not severe. It is also possible to have other types of headaches that are just as severe as a migraine. Symptoms may include visual disturbances, nausea, or both.
A toxic headache results from some chemical factor that is harmful to the body. This material can be from either inside or outside the body. Outside sources may be an environmental poison, such as an insecticide, a household chemical, or chemicals around work. Inside sources are more difficult to identify and need to be evaluated by your doctor. These sources often correlate with improper function of the major organs of elimination such as the bowels, kidneys, and liver. When one of these organs does not function correctly, it fails to properly eliminate waste(s) toxic to the body and can manifest as a headache.
One of the most common types of headache, the tension headache is the one at the base of the skull which is usually due to irritation of the suboccipital nerves arising from the spine immediately below the skull. Dysfunction of the spine and the muscles at this area cause nerve irritation that is usually accentuated by tension—hence the term tension headache. The basic cause is not usually tension; rather, it is abnormal function of the structures in the area.
Sinus headaches are characteristically located over or under the eyes in the frontal or maxillary sinuses. There are many reasons for sinusitis, or inflammation of the sinuses. The problem often correlates with allergic reaction, which requires the usual approach of evaluating the exact cause of the allergy rather than trying to eliminate factors from the environment to which the individual is allergic.
There are many more types of headaches, such as Digestive Headaches, Allergic Headaches, and Visual Headaches, in addition to these more common ones.
Some approaches to headaches are designed to override, or numb out, the pain. Our doctors use the natural health care approach to find and correct the cause of your headache.¹
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