Category Archives: Health Basics

There are many different types of headaches. Although not all headaches are the same, they all share at least one thing in common — they cause pain. But many headaches also cause other unwanted symptoms, including nausea and vomiting.

Tension Headaches

People with tension headaches commonly report these symptoms:

Episodic Tension Headaches (occur less than 15 days per month)

• Pain is mild to moderate, constant band-like pain or pressure
• Pain affects the front, top or sides of the head.
• Pain usually begins gradually, and often occurs in the middle of the day
• Pain may last from 30 minutes to several days

Chronic Tension Headaches (occur more than 15 days per month)

• Pain may vary in intensity throughout the day, but the pain is almost always present
• Pain comes and goes over a prolonged period of time.
• Headache upon awakening
• Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
• Chronic fatigue
• Irritability
• Disturbed concentration
• Mild sensitivity to light or noise
• General muscle aching

The symptoms of migraine headaches can occur in various combinations and include:

• Moderate to severe pain (often described as pounding, throbbing pain) that can affect the whole head, or can shift from one side of the head to the other
• Sensitivity to light, noise or odors
• Blurred vision
• Nausea or vomiting, stomach upset, abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Sensations of being very warm or cold
• Paleness
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Fever (rare)
• Bright flashing dots or lights, blind spots, wavy or jagged lines (aura)

• Cluster Headaches

•  Intense one-sided pain described as having a burning or piercing quality that is throbbing or constant
• Pain is located behind one eye or in the eye region, without changing sides.
• Pain lasts a short time, generally 30 to 90 minutes (but can last for three hours); the headache will disappear, only to recur later that day (most sufferers get one to three headaches and some up to eight per day during a cluster period).
• Headaches occur very regularly, generally at the same time each day, and they often awaken the person at the same time during the night.

  Sinus Headaches

• Deep and constant pain in the cheekbones, forehead or bridge of the nose.

• The pain usually intensifies with sudden head movement or straining and usually occurs with other sinus symptoms, such as nasal discharge, feeling of fullness in the ears, fever, and facial swelling.
• You are having the worst headache ever
• You are having your worst migraine attack ever
• Your headache is accompanied by the following symptoms:
•  Unresolved loss of vision
•  Loss of consciousness
• Uncontrollable vomiting
•   The pain of your headache lasts more than 72 hours with less than a solid four-hour pain-free period while awake.
•   You experience a headache or a migraine attack that presents unusual symptoms that are abnormal for you and frightening

Source:https://www.webmd.com

Sometimes asthma symptoms are mild and go away on their own or after minimal treatment with asthma medicine. Other times, symptoms continue to get worse.

When symptoms get more intense and/or more symptoms occur, you’re having an asthma attack. Asthma attacks also are called flareups or exacerbations (eg-zas-er-BA-shuns).

Treating symptoms when you first notice them is important. This will help prevent the symptoms from worsening and causing a severe asthma attack. Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care, and they can be fatal.

Asthma (AZ-ma) is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways. Asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), chest tightness, shortness of breath, and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning.

Asthma affects people of all ages, but it most often starts during childhood. In the United States, more than 25 million people are known to have asthma. About 7 million of these people are children.

Overview

To understand asthma, it helps to know how the airways work. The airways are tubes that carry air into and out of your lungs. People who have asthma have inflamed airways. The inflammation makes the airways swollen and very sensitive. The airways tend to react strongly to certain inhaled substances.

When the airways react, the muscles around them tighten. This narrows the airways, causing less air to flow into the lungs. The swelling also can worsen, making the airways even narrower. Cells in the airways might make more mucus than usual. Mucus is a sticky, thick liquid that can further narrow the airways.

This chain reaction can result in asthma symptoms. Symptoms can happen each time the airways are inflamed.

Source – www.nhlbi.nih.gov

Anemia is a condition that develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a main part of red blood cells and binds oxygen. If you have too few or abnormal red blood cells, or your hemoglobin is abnormal or low, the cells in your body will not get enough oxygen. Symptoms of anemia — like fatigue — occur because organs aren’t getting what they need to function properly.

There are more than 400 types of anemia, which are divided into three groups:

• Anemia caused by blood loss
• Anemia caused by decreased or faulty red blood cell production
• Anemia caused by destruction of red blood cells

Source: https://www.webmd.com

You’ve probably heard people talking about the stomach bug or stomach flu going around at work or your child’s school. But what exactly is it? The technical term for this sickness is viral gastroenteritis, which is an inflammation of the stomach and intestines.

Food poisoning is different. It’s more common than the stomach bug. About 1 in 6 Americans, or roughly 48 million people, experience food poisoning each year.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of a stomach bug

If you have the stomach bug, or viral gastroenteritis, you may have one or more of the following symptoms:

• diarrhea
• stomach cramps
• nausea
• vomiting
• a fever
• weight loss
• joint aches
• muscle aches

Symptoms of food poisoning

Typical symptoms of food poisoning include:

• stomach cramping
• fatigue
• diarrhea or constipation
• a fever
• chills
• muscle aches
• headaches
• sweating
• thirst
• general malaise

In severe cases, you can have:

• bloody stool or vomit
• severe abdominal cramping
• shock
• a loss of consciousness

The symptoms of food poisoning usually appear two to six hours after initial exposure. Symptoms typically don’t last longer than two days. Food poisoning can occur in anyone, but it is most common in babies, young children, and the elderly.

Most forms of food poisoning aren’t lethal. One form called botulism can even be fatal if they’re not treated properly. A strain of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum causes botulism. It produces toxins that impact the nervous system. Botulism can cause blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, as well as other symptoms. See your doctor if you suspect you have botulism. Botulism is extremely rare in the United States.

If you are experiencing stomach virus call us today.

Source: https://www.healthline.com/