If you are prone to suffering from headaches, consider keeping a daily headache diary that will help you and your doctor identify what will trigger your attacks. Headache triggers can include certain foods, activities, environmental factors and hormonal changes. Certain movements that involve neck or other previous injuries can also bring on a headache.
Certain Foods May Trigger Headaches
Be sure to note your daily diet in your headache diary. After awhile, you might see some patterns emerge.
Although there is no plausible scientific reason for it, MSG tends to trigger headaches in many people. Some people suffer migraines after they ingest MSG. MSG is prevalent in Asian restaurants and processed foods. Foods like frozen pizza, potato chips, clam chowder and bullion cubes are likely to contain MSG. Be sure to check the labels on your foods.
You might discover that processed meats such as lunch meat or sausage might also trigger your headaches. The nitrates that are included in these foods -- and even in your local water supply -- are thought to be headache triggers.
If you decide to quit drinking coffee, especially if you've enjoyed it for years, chances are that you will suffer headaches for a few days due to caffeine withdrawal. On the other hand, caffeine may trigger headaches for some people. Other known headache triggers include beer, red wine, aged cheese, and pickled foods. Chocolate may also be a headache trigger.
Activities and Environmental Factors That May Trigger Headaches
The most difficult thing to record in your headache diary may be your activities, especially if they are mundane activities such as sitting at the computer. However, eye strain, poor posture and stress at the workplace may be contributing to your headaches. So record your hours and what you did as best as you can in your headache diary.
Other headache triggers that you might discover by keeping a journal include skipping meals, lack of sleep, changes in the weather or air pollution. You might discover that you get headaches at the workplace, but once you are home, the headaches disappear. It might be that dust particles spewed out of the office's air conditioning system are triggering your headaches, or the type of lighting may be triggering a headache. Other environmental factors that may give you a headache can include high altitudes, loud noises, strong odors and certain perfumes. Cigarette smoke is a known headache trigger that affects smokers and non-smokers alike.
Hormones Will Sometimes Fuel Raging Headaches
Women are much more prone to migraine headaches than men. As a matter of fact, 75% of all migraine sufferers are women. It is believed that the hormonal changes that women experience every month trigger headaches and in particular, migraine headaches. For some reason, most women with a history of migraines can trace their first headache back to puberty. The migraines tend to lessen and sometimes disappear altogether after menopause. Women should note their cycles in their headache diaries to determine if hormones are the cause of recurring headaches.
Old Injuries and Recurring Headaches
You might find that certain weight lifting routines or using a certain pillow at night might trigger a headache because previous back, neck or shoulder injuries are aggravated. When you consult with your doctor about your recurring headaches, be sure to mention all injuries that your have suffered, even if you think the injuries are insignificant.
Urbain C. Beck is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about health issues. Additional health articles from Urbain can be found at http://www.blurbosphere.com/wellness/
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