Neighborhood Doctor: How to Handle Headaches When they Happen?
On this week's episode of "Neighborhood Doctor," where we tackle a common concern faced by parents: recurrent headaches in their children. From teenagers to adults, headaches can be a disruptive and uncomfortable experience, but fear not, as I'm here to share simple and effective strategies to manage and reduce their frequency.
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Our Host
Dr. Ryan Hassan
Transcript:
Dr. Ryan Hassan: (00:03)
I am Ryan, pediatrician and dad here to answer my patient's most common questions. Every week, you have to pick your child up from school because of a headache. What do you do? Regular and frequent headaches are a common problem, especially in teenagers and adults, and I frequently get asked how we can manage them. So there's a few simple things you can do to reduce the frequency of most headaches. Important things to be mindful of are hydration. We're not getting enough to drink, which most of us don't. That can easily lead to a headache. So make sure you're drinking plenty of water. A young adult, teenager, adult should drink a couple of liters of water a day. Sleep is another important one. Most of us are sleep deprived. Starting from adolescence, we start to get less than the sleep we need, which for most people from adolescent onwards is about eight to 10 hours a day, but some people need more.
Dr. Ryan Hassan: (00:49)
So make sure you're getting enough sleep every single day. Try to have a regular routine. Make sure you're getting regular meals. If we skip meals, that's a very common trigger of a lot of common headaches, especially migraine headaches. So try not to skip breakfast. I have a lot of adolescent patients who skip breakfast regularly, so make sure you're eating regularly. Have a snack in the day if you need one, and then try to spend some time outside moving your body each day. If we spend too much of our time sitting and cramp in a confined space inside, that's not what our bodies need, and that can certainly lead to stress, anxiety, and headaches. Managing our stress and anxiety overall is another important way to reduce headaches. Headaches are one of the most common manifestations of stress that we're not managing otherwise. So process any stress and anxiety in your life, make sure you're dealing with it, not ignoring it.
Dr. Ryan Hassan: (01:38)
The last thing you can do is make sure that you're not spending too long on a screen. Excessive strain on your eyes is a very common cause for headaches. So if you're staring at a screen for prolonged periods or reading or looking to screen and dim lighting, those can be things that can lead to headache too. So try to minimize that as well and take a break from screens at least every 45 minutes to an hour. Now, of course, it's important to remember there are more dangerous causes of headaches that you should not ignore. So if you have severe headaches or headaches that are persistent, progressing, becoming more frequent, or waking you up at night, make sure you see your doctor right away. Other than that, follow these simple tips and most headaches will become a thing of the past. That's my show. If you have medical questions you'd like me to answer, reach out to Boost Oregon online. Come back next week for a new episode of boosting our Voices with my friend Ira.