There is common
agreement among many health care practitioners that all chronic headaches are precipitated
by some sort of stressor. This may be "stress", illness, food allergies or
intolerances, environmental allergies, seasonal allergies or any number of triggers.
The specific stressors vary from individual to individual, but they are always
present in some form. Some research suggests that these stressors may trigger an
overabundant release of serotonin, thus increasing a person's sensitivity to pain.
The amount released increases with each subsequent attack and thereby increasing the
likelihood of a more severe attack the next time.
So serotonin plays
a part, but it is not the cause (as evidenced by the failed attempts of many to treat
migraines with antidepressants). The ability to cope with stress and the
identification and avoidance of environmental and dietary triggers appear to play a bigger
part.
So where do
sufferers find relief? The conventional approach is to first use such medicines as
Midrin. When they fail (and they often do), Imitrex™ is tried. Why do
conventional medicines fail? In patients with atypical migraines (they don't have an
aura), standard treatments often lose their effectiveness over time. The triggers
are never identified, so avoidance is not stressed. The body continues to respond to
intolerances in the same old way, while the drugs just mask the symptoms. Eventually
the body builds up enough tolerance of the drug that it no longer relieves the pain.
To start on the
path toward pain-free living there must first be a correct diagnosis. Is it a
migraine? Tension headache? Cluster headache? This is best done by a pain
specialist, usually a neurologist. He or she will be able to target the exact type
of headache you are experiencing and rule out any serious neurological problems. You
may be surprised to learn that you suffer from more than one type. During the first
visit or two, you will probably receive intensive education on the common triggers of
headaches. Here is a partial list:
| alcohol |
chocolate |
| aged cheese |
bologna & hot dogs |
| beef jerky |
caffeine |
| sugar (in excess) |
cow's milk |
| wheat |
eggs |
| orange |
tomato |
| fish |
some snack crackers |
| peanuts |
pork |
| carrot |
strawberry |
| flavored potato chips |
yeast |
| coffee |
tea |
| dehydration |
magnesium deficiency |
| zinc deficiency |
hormonal changes |
| anticipation anxiety |
environmental allergies |
| Monsodium Glutamate |
chronic stress |
| vertebral subluxation |
cigarette smoke |
After this, the
doctor will often prescribe medicines to block the pain response in your brain (called
calcium channel blockers) and instruct you to avoid as many common triggers as possible
and to begin keeping a diary of your headaches. Below is an example of a few typical
entries:
| Date/Time |
Food |
Stressor |
Medicine |
Dosage |
Time of Dosage |
Time of Relief |
Relief |
| 2/15 12:30 pm |
jumbalaya |
|
Ketoprophen |
50 mg |
12:45 pm |
2:00 pm |
complete |
| 2/28 6:30 pm |
|
pollen |
Ketoprophen |
50 mg |
6:50 pm |
NA |
none |
| same------- |
--------- |
--------- |
Imitrex |
6 mg |
11:00 pm |
11:30 pm |
complete |
| 3/2 9:00 am |
Doritos |
work |
Imitrex |
6 mg |
10:00 am |
11:00 am |
partial |
So, you're cured,
right? Probably not. This is really just the educational phase. Now you
must take to heart what the doctor said and really start trying to find the things in your
life that trigger your pain. You may have to temporarily or permanently give up
foods you love and habits that are diffucult to break. Headache pain can be
debilitating and almost all of the prescription and OTC medicines have side effects.
Your body will also keep building a tolerance to them so you must continually be finding
more & more powerful drugs. Do you really want to put your body through that?
Here are some simple things you
can start doing, even before you see a neurologist to help prevent those headaches.
Make sure you drink enough
water. 24-48 ounces a day is what you should shoot for. If you
can't stand plain water, then get the flavored kind or drink a sports drink. Just
watch the sugar and salt intake.
Start taking a multivitamin.
But purchase it from a reputable health food store or buy online from a good
source, not from a drug store or grocery store. The good quality products are not
usually found there. Make sure it has magnesium and zinc. Deficiencies of
these trace minerals are often found in headache sufferers.
Avoid known triggers and watch
for the ones on the above list. If it causes you pain, stay away from it!
Stop taking all that ibuprofen,
acetominophen and aspirin. It's tough on your stomach and can actually cause
headaches if you take too much too often. Use ketoprofen (the kind found in Orudis
KT™) instead. On a different note, if you get relief from Alka-Seltzer™,
your headaches are probably caused by allergies, so see an allergist, too.
Start taking Feverfew. It
is an herb that has been effective in preventing or reducing the severity of migraines is
sufferers for whom nothing else worked. It works best when used with Cayenne or
Nettle. Do not use it if you are pregnant or nursing a baby.
Check out chiropractic care.
While chiropractic may not
solve your headache problem completely, the relief you get may help your body to heal
itself.
Headaches are as unique as the individuals
who suffer from them. Our hope is that you will use this information as a
springboard to find your own way to live pain-free. Good luck finding your own
personal cure.
Want to know our sources?
Great! We referenced the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael
Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D., plus years of trial and error finding our own
cures for chronic headaches. There is hope!
.Chriopractic Treatment of Childhood Ear Infections
Anyone with children will tell you that
ear infections and kids seem to attract each other. As parents, we are often puzzled
by the strange way these pesky infections seem to appear and disappear, sometimes with
little or no symptoms. Usually, an occasional ear infection is not cause for
alarm. Your doctor will prescribe amoxicillin or other antibiotic and your child
will recover completely.
There is that occasional child that will,
however, have infection after infection (sometimes without symptoms) that becomes
resistant to antibiotics. The frequent use of antibiotics can also cause secondary
fungal infections. This can be something as easily treated as oral thrush or as
serious as systemic candida infestation (where yeast overgrowth spreads to the intestines
and other body parts). If the baby is still nursing, mother is at risk of the thrush
spreading to her breasts.
The conventional approach to chronic ear
infections has been prophylactic use of antibiotics and as a last resort, the insertion of
tubes. There are a couple of negatives about tubes. Some parents do
not want to subject their child to a surgery (given all the risks associated with even the
most minor surgeries in children). Also, once the tubes are in place, the child cannot get
the ears wet at all. No water can enter the ear canal. This makes baths and swimming
an extra challenge. You can buy ear plugs or use cotton, but anything that sets a child
apart as different will be noticed and taken advantage of by his peers. Recently,
parents uncomfortable with these approaches have discovered natural remedies that really
do work.
To understand these alternative
treatments, we need to first define "ear infection" and how doctors can check
for it. An ear infection occurs when fluid builds up behind the ear drum and
bacteria begins to grow. Most "ear infections" are not
truly ear infections. The only way a doctor can check for ear infections is to use an
otoscope to look into the ear canal. If the tympanic membrane (ear drum) is bulging, then
the inner ear has filled with fluid. This fluid may or may not be harboring bacteria.
Generally, a fever is present if a child truly has a bacterial infection. In adults, the
tubes that drain the ear canal are more vertical, making fluid drainage simple. But, in
children these same tubes are typically more horizontal, making drainage slow and
difficult. So, every time they get the sniffles, their ears get "plugged up" and
fill with fluid. The key is getting the fluid to drain before an infection sets in (hence,
the doctor's recommendation for tubes to help drain the inner ear).
There are other ways to encourage
this fluid to drain without subjecting your child to potentially unnecessary and harmful
antibiotics. Chiropractic treatment can often eliminate the need for surgery.
For some, visits to a chiropractor will stop the infections all together. A good
chiropractor will check your child's eardrum at each visit just like a pediatrician.
The treatment, however is gentle, safe spinal adjustment to encourage the fluid to
drain on its own rather that prescription medicines (a side benefit to spinal
adjustments for children is that they almost always relax and may even take a nap!).
You probably will not need to take your child in for weekly visits indefinitely,
just long enough to get the fluid buildup to drain.
Additionally, there are natural
pain relief remedies that are safer than Tylenol. The next time your child gets an
ear ache, try placing a few drops of warmed (body temperature) mineral oil or Lobelia
tincture into the ear canal. A piece of cotton placed on the outer ear will help
keep the oil in the ear canal for a few minutes longer to do its work. Chamomile (in
tincture or tablet) can calm an excessively hysterical child.
You can also try hydrogen
peroxide to relieve the itching associated with dried wax. It will not cure and
infection, but it will loosen the wax buildup and ease the itching. Sometimes, when
you think your child has an infection, all that is wrong is some excess wax or stuffiness
from a cold. Unless there is drainage from the ear or intense pain, waiting a day or so
will not cause any harm. Try the home remedies first. If they don't work
within 24 hours, then a call to the doctor may be warranted.
What if your child really does
need the antibiotics? It happens. Antibiotics are not bad if they are really
needed. It's the overuse and misuse of antibiotics that cause the problem. You
may want to give your child yogurt or other forms of acidophilus to prevent a yeast
overgrowth during the course of the medicine. Just make sure it has
"Lactobacillus bifidus", also referred to as "Live Active Yogurt
Cultures".
As for tubes, most chronic ear
infections, if caught in time, will respond to chiropractic treatment, without the need
for tubes. But this isn't always the case. Sometimes allergies play a part in
ear infections. At other times the cause is not readily apparent. Whatever you
do, explore you options and get a second opinion. Tubes may be necessary, but isn't
your child worth knowing for sure?
An ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure. So, we have included below a list
of preventive measures you can take to keep your child ear infection-free.
Breastfeed your baby for the
first 6 months. If this is not possible, then hold baby upright when bottle-feeding
and never allow baby to take a bottle to bed with him.
Wash your hands, and your
child's frequently. This is the BEST way to prevent the spread of disease. If
your child doesn't get a cold, then you minimize the chance of fluid building up behind
the ear drum.
Use humidifiers and elevate the
child's head during illness. This encourages the draining of mucous so it doesn't
build up in the ear.
Get treatment for allergies.
This is a critical element for many. In a few weeks we will do a feature on
alternative treatments of allergies, so watch for it.
Want to know our sources?
Great! We referenced the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Michael
Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D., Is This Your Child? by Doris Rapp, M.D. and
the advice of several chiropractors, skilled in the treatment of childhood ear infections.
