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An allergic reaction is an increased sensitivity of the human body to allergens. Often, allergies appear, with seasonal weakening of the immune system. The first symptoms are usually redness of the mucous membranes, throbbing headache, nasal congestion and sneezing. It is possible to get rid of a severe migraine with an increased sensitivity of the body to allergens (household, food, industrial, medicinal, fungal and other types) only after determining the cause of its occurrence.
Types of headache
If a person has a headache and does not know what the reason is, he needs to consult with many doctors: an otolaryngologist, an allergist, a neuropathologist, a surgeon, an orthopedist, an oculist and a dentist. The doctor will send the patient to undergo numerous tests and diagnostics to determine why a sharp headache has arisen.
Headache is divided into two types: primary (occurs in 90-95% of cases), symptomatic or secondary (probability of occurrence 5-10%).
Primary head pain includes muscle tension headache, sharp and cluster headache, migraine. Secondary pain is a symptom of a primary disease, for example, a brain tumor, vascular pathology of the brain, traumatic brain injury, allergies.
In the first case, the patient can take analgesics that will prevent the development or occurrence of migraine. Medicines reduce the intensity of the pain syndrome. With symptomatic pain, it is worth treating the underlying disease as the cause of severe head pain.
Main headache symptoms
The main symptoms that you need to pay attention to: the sudden onset of severe pain in the back of the head, temples and forehead; prolonged pain that increases over several weeks; increasing pain during or after coughing, changes in body position. Particularly dangerous is the migraine aura lasting 60 minutes or more.
Headache with allergies can occur in the back of the head, temples, forehead, eyes. The symptom will pass along with other signs of an allergic reaction. Painkillers and antiallergic drugs can alleviate the patient’s condition.
Concomitant diseases that increase the headache with allergies
Allergy headaches can also be associated with other causes, such as hypertension. This disease has the following symptoms:
- nausea;
- vomiting;
- dizziness;
- fainting state;
- hyperemia of the skin.
Migraine can be a sign not only of allergies, but also of meningitis (body temperature rises, nausea, vomiting is observed).
With increased intracranial pressure, a throbbing headache occurs mainly in the morning. Migraine is accompanied by vomiting and nausea, the patient’s condition improves in the evening. Often, damage to peripheral nerves provokes an increase in electrical potential. The pain syndrome is stopped only with the help of potent analgesics. Migraines can come and go suddenly.
With sinusitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, diseases of the dentoalveolar system, severe head pain also occurs. With injuries of the brain and skull, the following symptoms appear: drowsiness, memory loss, enlarged pupils, unbearable migraine.
Conducting diagnostics
If the headache is primary, then research will not help to identify any changes, since it is not caused by a violation of the integrity of the tissues, but by functional changes in the vessels of the brain and cells. Although it is quite difficult for a person to deal with primary pains, they almost never cause consequences and complications, which cannot be said about symptomatic pain.
Secondary head pain appears as a symptom of various diseases. There are non-dangerous symptomatic headaches: abuse (occurs as a result of taking painkillers), cervicogenic (associated with muscle spasm in the neck).
Even if the doctor knows that the patient has been diagnosed with an allergy, he may prescribe a number of additional studies:
- radiography (the presence of brain injuries, sinusitis and hydrocephalus is determined);
- electroencephalography (diagnosis shows the functioning and condition of various parts of the brain, with the help of a study, doctors can detect neoplasms, hematomas and other organ lesions);
- electromyography (needed to diagnose diseases of the neuromuscular and nervous systems);
- computed tomography (allows you to detect hemorrhage, tumor, cyst, atherosclerosis and thrombosis);
- magnetic resonance imaging (appointed to diagnose various chronic diseases, doctors often send patients for examination after a stroke attack);
- ultrasound examination (necessary to identify problems with blood vessels, pathological changes, aneurysms).
The doctor may refer the patient to laboratory tests in order to detect an ongoing inflammatory, autoimmune and infectious process in the body. With the help of laboratory methods, it will be possible to establish a violation of the metabolism of cholesterol in the blood.
Headache due to allergic reactions in children
Allergic reactions in babies are more complex than in adults. Clinicians explain this fact by the fact that immunity in children is strong, so reactions to allergens are quite strong and persistent. In addition to excruciating migraines, children may experience diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, enuresis, and thirst.
With the appearance of prolonged headache, you should visit a pediatrician for a complete diagnosis of the child’s body. With such a symptom, the doctor prescribes an important analysis – blood is donated to detect a delayed allergic reaction.
Pain in the forehead, eyes, in the back of the head and other parts of the head are associated not only with the response to the allergen, but also with other diseases that are determined using modern research. The specialist, in addition to laboratory tests, sends the child to magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance angiography and X-ray of the brain. The results of the research will allow to exclude serious diseases of the brain.
First aid for headaches
The essence of first aid for primary or symptomatic head pain is the creation of comfortable conditions and the elimination of irritants (primarily loud sounds). A person suffering from a severe migraine should drink analgesics and try to take a nap.
A positive effect in one of the symptoms of allergies has a point massage of the head and hands.
If a person knows the technique of massage, he can do himself a self-massage. The duration of manipulation varies from 5 to 15 minutes. During this time, a person will be able to completely relax, restore their strength. If such knowledge is not available, you will have to use other methods that will alleviate the person’s condition and relieve a sharp pain syndrome.
Medicines containing caffeine have a good analgesic effect (if a person does not want to take pills, you can drink a cup of coffee). Washing your hair with warm water or taking a contrast shower helps with this problem for some people.
With a severe headache, you can try mustard foot baths or put a mustard plaster in the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe shoulder girdle. If you have a moderate headache, you should drink a cup of hot strong natural tea with honey. Many people find it helpful to apply ice cubes to the forehead, back of the head, or temples for throbbing pain. Often this headache appears in the temples. If the sensation is pressing, you should apply a towel soaked in warm water to the area in which there is severe discomfort (most often, pressing pain occurs in the back of the head).
Allergy prevention
A genetically determined disease is a true allergic reaction. You can find out about its presence by following the chronic diseases of relatives. If an allergy is detected in brothers, sisters or parents, then with a high probability it can disturb the child sooner or later. If sensitivity to allergens is observed in parents, then the baby with a probability of 70-80% will also be allergic to certain types of allergens. Doctors have found that diseases are often transmitted through one generation.
With untimely treatment of somatic diseases, such as dysbiosis, gastritis, protracted tonsillitis, acute respiratory diseases, a person may develop an allergy, even if he does not have a genetic predisposition to it.
For the purpose of prevention, you should not take a large number of drugs, especially antipyretic pills and antibiotics. Syrups and drugs, which include alcohol, in 5-10% of cases lead to an allergic reaction. Scientists have proven that when taking three different medications, the risk of an allergic disease is 20-25%, if a person drinks more than 5 drugs at the same time, the indicator approaches 50%.
Leading a healthy lifestyle has a positive effect on the body. Rational good nutrition will bring benefits (predisposition to allergies should be taken into account). People need to spend more time outdoors, both in spring and autumn, regularly ventilate the bedroom and not freeze. Sports and breathing exercises will help prevent the onset of allergies and its symptoms.
A person suffering from allergy symptoms should periodically wet clean the house. The housing should not have feather pillows, blankets and wool carpets. If you want to have a pet, you should check if there is an allergy to its fur.
A preventive measure will be to minimize the factors that can provoke the development of an allergic reaction in households.
It is worth refraining from eating foods that contain the strongest allergens (chicken and quail eggs, almost all types of fish, nuts, out-of-season fruits and vegetables (mostly bright orange and red), dairy products). This food can cause a food allergic reaction during beriberi.
You should not vaccinate a child when his immunity is weakened (during the cold season). To minimize the risk of allergies, it is necessary to refrain from intense chemical and drug stress, as the frequent use of household chemicals, the use of a large number of drugs will adversely affect health, resulting in an allergic reaction.