October 14, 2012

Headaches due to Tension

What are tension headaches?

Tension headaches are headaches caused in people due to tension in mind. Most people describe it as a constant achy feeling on either side of head. Some people also feel tightness in their head and neck muscles. It often starts in middle of day and begins gradually and slowly. Some people also call it as stress headaches that means when people say that they have stress headaches they mean by saying this that they have tension headache. It may be severe or mild, but when it is severe it sometimes may be more painful and dangerous and do more harm than migraine headaches.

How to diagnose?

Tension headaches can be analyzed and diagnosed by the inspection of your doctor. Your doctor can tell the nature of your headaches by an examining you and studying the description of pain given by you. And to diagnose this problem technique like Blood Tests, X-Ray or brain scans are usually not required.

What treatment to take in which situations?

When your tension headaches are occasionally then simple pain reliever which can be taken without prescription can be useful. But while choosing these pain relievers you should first of all check the label for possible side effects which may be caused due to interactions with other medicines you are taking. So to avoid any such possibilities you must read the instructions on the label and follow them carefully. If you are still facing any problems regarding how to take the dosage you must consult your reliable doctor or pharmacist.

But if your tension headaches are not occasionally and occur everyday or at regular short intervals of time then these pain relievers will not give you the right treatment and so in this type of situation you should consult your doctor this is because the medicine which he will prescribe you will be more beneficial for relieving the pain at the time of these tension headaches. These medicines referred by your doctor not only help in relieving the pain but sometimes also useful in preventing these headaches to take serious forms. It is always advisable to treat the tension headaches when they are mild before they take some serious forms this is because in earlier stages these headaches can be cured more easily.

What other techniques could be useful to relive pain from tension headaches besides using medicines?
Besides taking medicines you can also use several other techniques to get relieve from pain in tension headaches. These techniques include:
  • Take enough sleep or rest.
  • Put an ice pack on your neck or head at the time of these headaches.
  • Regular exercises of 30-60 minutes 6 times a week will be useful in relieving the pain.
  • Take everyday walk after meal or move on a long vacation to relieve yourself from your busy life.

Treatment of Childhood Eczema with Aromatherapy

Childhood Eczema is increasing and is becoming a common problem to school age children. According to National Eczema society of UK it is a common disease effecting children up to one fifth of all children in UK. The harshness of this disease can vary in different forms. This disease shows its effect on the skin of child and so the symptoms of this disease can also be judged from the inspection of the child’s skin. In its initial forms the skin is hot, itchy and dry while in more severe forms the skin becomes raw, broken and which also results in bleeding which looks very unpleasant and cause uncomfortable ness, sleeplessness to child but it is not infectious and it cannot spread to others just by touching. The Aromatherapy treatment can reduce the effect of Eczema in child.

The treatment of Eczema can be done with Aromatherapy by the application of Essential Oils on the child through massage but before applying these essential oils it is advisable better not to take risk and should consult from professional Aromatherapist rather than self prescribe this is to avoid any harm because these essential oils can cause harm to children if applied incorrectly. This has been proved by one experiment. The experiment was done to find a better, efficient and effective solution to Eczema. The experiment was that a group consisting of eight children was taken to test the application of Aromatherapy.

These children were divided into two groups randomly in which first group received treatment of Aromatherapy in which the essential oils choose to massage the children skin were from among 36 commonly used essential oils. These Essential oils were German Chamomile, Thyme, spike, lavender, benzoin and Litsea cubeba. While another group of children received massage without essential oils. This was done for the period of eight weeks in which massage was given by the therapist once a week while for remaining times mother gave massage to their children. The treatments were evaluated day by day. Children from both groups showed improvement but there was no differences in the improvement of both the groups.

Mysterious disease SARS

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS is a mysterious disease that has sparked great fear. Classified as a type of atypical pneumonia, which is cause by organisms that are difficult to identify. Infection by these microorganisms could lead to serious, even life-threatening consequences.

Two types of new viruses were found in lung tissues from decease SARS patients. First type of virus is corona virus, a virus that has a halo or crown-like appearance when seen under the microscope. It causes mild to moderate respiratory illness in human. Second is paramyxovirus, same virus family of measles virus.

SARS could be spread through direct close contact with an infected person, droplet transmission from sneezing and coughing, contact with an object contaminated by SARS. Compared to influenza, SARS appears less contagious. It is quite likely that a SARS patient is most infectious when he or she shows symptom, as fever or cough. Scientist has yet to determine how long before or after the symptoms appear that, a SARS patient can transmit the disease to others.

Presently, the diagnosis of SARS is based on careful history taking and the symptoms of the patient. It initially appears as high fever with etemperature of 38°C and abov. This is associated with chills, headache, general feeling of discomfort or body malaise, body aches and muscle stiffness, loss of appetite and mild respiratory symptoms.

Being kept under quarantine is necessary not only to determine if a person may have contracted the disease, but also to prevent its spread. Suspected SARS cases are placed in isolation units separate from other patients. Strict infection control measures are taken in order to prevent the spread of the disease via patient’s visitors and health care workers.

According to WHO, antibiotics do not seem to be effective. Therapy using steroids and antiviral agents like oseltamivir or ribavirin has been tried, although women have been advised of the harmful effects of ribavirin on the fetus.

To prevent SARS, we should avoid crowded places. Distance yourself from sick people and those who are sneezing or coughing openly. Wash hands frequently to reduce risk of picking up the virus. In addition, maintain healthy lifestyle. Eat a well-balanced diet, exercise regularly, do not smoke, avoid stress and boost the immune system with vitamins.

SARS should not be a cause for worry, as long as protective and preventive measures are strictly followed, the spread of the disease can be contained.