Late in the afternoon, as I was getting close to finishing up a project, I took a break and went outside. The air was heavy. It was hot and humid -- a definite change from the morning. I wasn't outside for very long. I got an instant headache.
The pain was right above and between my eyebrow bones. It was nasty. I took some Ibuprofen. Even though the pain subsided a little, it wasn't going away. I woke up the next morning and still had this headache. It wasn't bad enough to call in to work and claim I was sick -- but it was one of those headaches that made me pretty darn cranky.
Having a headache can interfere with your job. When your head is pounding, your thinking is impaired. You're more irritable and your efficiency decreases. Your energy level dips. Your focus is on the pain. All you have to do is add a complaining client to that mix -- and both your customer service and concentration skills go right out the window.
The New England Center for Headache reports headaches are the leading cause of absenteeism from the workplace and accounts for the loss of some 150 million workdays per year in the United States alone. The cost of lost labor hours is estimated to be as high as $17 billion dollars each year. More patients who visit doctors complain of headaches than of any other single ailment.
Modifying your lifestyle may significantly lower the frequency of headaches. Get regular sleep, eat regular meals, get moderate amounts of routine exercise, drink plenty of water, limit caffeine, alcohol, other drugs, and reduce stress.
Some foods can trigger headaches. Among some of the culprits: processed and cured meats (containing nitrates), nuts, MSG, chocolate, aged cheese, and freshly baked yeast bread products. Sudden changes in temperature and drops in barometric pressure can also trigger headaches.
After it rained, my headache was gone. My headache may have been due to the abrupt change in the weather. When The National Headache Foundation conducted a survey of headache sufferers, three out of four people reported weather or barometric pressure changes as triggers.
On the other hand, it may have had something to do with -- the donut I ate that morning, the coffee I drank all day long, and the huge amount of chocolate that was missing from my candy bowl. Ya think?
Do you dread headaches? Have you called in sick due to a headache? Did you feel guilty? Have you ever heard anyone say they've never had a headache? Nope, me neither.
Interested in learning more about headaches? Here are a couple of resources for you.
The New England Center for Headache
