What does a train station have in common with your head? Both are places where things travel in and out. Arteries are the main transport network into your head. Oxygen, nutrients, hormones, chemical signals, all are transported by the blood.

Chemical headaches occur because the brain is exposed to chemicals by the blood.  Exposure to carbon monoxide, lack of oxygen and nasty chemical fumes are common ways of getting a chemical headache. Since New Year’s Eve is coming up, we certainly can’t forget alcohol as a culprit!  Happy new year!

Prescription medications are an emerging source of headaches. A lot of drugs have headaches listed as a possible side effect. When multiple medications are being used at once they can cause what I can only describe as a chemical overload headache. Pain relievers can also cause chronic headaches, particularly if they are used a long time. Like caffeine, your body gets used to having it in the system and whenever the levels get too low you can get a headache as your body starts to go into withdrawal. It’s creepy to think of going through withdrawals, I know. It makes you wonder where the line is, between use and abuse. Just because you got a prescription for it doesn’t make you immune to getting hooked. 

The only recommendation I can make to you on that topic is to use Chiropractic for pain relief while you take as few pain medications as possible. If you don’t know if we treat whatever hurts, just ask. You might be surprised at what we can help you with.  As to the other medications, you should ask your doctor if that could be an issue, and what to do about it.

James Beauchamp, DC