Headaches have become common enough for us to discard it as just a harmless, daily affair. Especially for people suffering from migraines and sinus pains, it might not seem like something to be concerned about right away.
And with painkillers being so easily available, that has become the go-to strategy to combat regular headaches; but at what point do headaches start getting potentially dangerous enough to seek medical help right away?
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Dr Michael Munger, from Overland Park, Kansas, believes more than two headaches in a week is a cause for concern. While it's not a panic-worthy emergency necessarily, it could still be a potential medical problem, reported Daily Mail Online.
President of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Dr Munger revealed that 'some people just live with it', but he also recommends a check-up that would allow doctors to get to the root cause of the problem.
At the same time, headaches – that are often blown off as nothing serious – can be telltale signs of brain tumours and aneurysms in some rare cases. "You don't want people to over-react, but you also don't want them to under-react," he shared with The Washington Post in an interview.
Director of the Headache Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Nauman Tariq also warned the dangers of relying on painkillers for too long. "Over-the-counter drugs seem safe, but not so when they're taken frequently. Long-term or frequent use can be more damaging than the headache itself."
Experts suggest that patients should seek help from their general physicians if these headaches keep getting more frequent and can't be tackled by painkillers. If it's accompanied by blurry vision, drowsiness or even a sore scalp, emergency care is a must!
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Even though headaches can be caused by cold or flu – or common winter-related illnesses, sometimes the causes can be stress, eyesight problems, dehydration and even taking too many painkillers.
A Duke University research revealed last November, that headaches trigger more pain than any other part of the body, due to the network of nerves that sends pain signals from the head, directly to the part of the brain that deals with emotion.
So next time – instead of passing it off as a trivial affair – seek medical help!
