HEADACHE: CAUSES, AND DRUGS TO RELIEVE THE PAIN

Among the most frequent symptoms which affect people is a pain in the head. Records show that at least one-half of the people who come into doctor's offices complain of headaches. Many causes have been established as capable of producing pains in the head. They may be associated with psychic causes, with overindulgence in food, tobacco, alcohol or other drug substances; some headaches are related to high blood pressure. Migraine or sick headache has been charged to allergy, to various substances, and to purely mental conditions. Sometimes the exact causes of headaches cannot be determined. Associated with the headache are other conditions which may be related to its cause, such as fatigue, hunger, constipation and indigestion, menstruation, kidney disease, mild infections of the sinus, eyestrain and similar conditions. If a person who has never had headaches begins suffering with them, and the obvious causes of headache already mentioned have been investigated and attention to them has not brought about relief, the possibility of migraine must be considered and the patient relieved of his pain. Among the new drugs is a combination of argotamine with caffeine, which is available by prescription. Other pain-relievers such as aspirin, phenacetin and, in some instances, the antihistamines, are used. In some of the most severe cases a complete neurological study is made to find the relation of the headache to the nervous system.