My Headache Is Stopping Me From Doing Well at School, What Should I Do?
Question by Louis: My headache is stopping me from doing well at school, what should I do?
I have thought about taking anti histamine tablets or pain killers but that would lead to an unhealthy addiction.
Whenever I go to do something, I get increasingly stressed and my head starts to throb and I just lay in bed.
I’m thinking this is an intense lack of motivation, if there’s something I could do to make it better, could someone please help.
Best answer:
Answer by Mieren
Antihistamines aren’t addictive, so you don’t need to worry about that. Neither are decongestants, but if you take too many of those you may end up with a nose bleed. Over the counter pain medicines like aspiring, tylenol, advil and aleve are all fine to take. They’re not addictive either. Problems with addictive medications usually only refers to prescription drugs. A few types of cough syrups can cause problems, but you won’t actually need any of those.
If allergies are your problem, antihistamines will only prevent the symptoms from getting as bad as they normally would. I’m not saying to stop taking them, but after you have a headache, they won’t help you anymore. A decongestant will clear out your sinuses and relieve the pain. Sudafed works very well. To help ease the pressure, some people like hot tea or broth. (I like miso soup.) Some people like hot baths or showers, but I’ve never had any luck with that. Cough drops help quite a bit if they contain menthol. Halls honey lemon flavor has more menthol than any of the others. You can ignore the information on how many you can have in one day. The worst case scenario is that it will upset your stomach.
When you lie down to sleep, it’s not entirely your mind or anything stressful that’s causing the headaches. Your allergies are the problem, starting with the fact that gravity is no longer on your side. There’s not much you can do about that except to take your medications before bed. Clean your room very well. Dust everything, especially electronics like computers, TVs, radios, alarm clocks, etc because they’re dust magnets. Shampoo the carpet occasionally, and vacuum very well for the rest of the time. Wash all of your sheets and bedding, preferably with an unscented detergent. (I use Tide Free.) No dryer sheets of any kind. If you have a feather or down pillow, swap it for some other type. If you have indoor pets, move them outside or at least keep them out of your room. Change all of the air filters for high quality ones to remove as much pollen, mold, dust and dander as possible. Check them regularly to make sure they’re not filthy, because at that point they won’t work.
There are allergy shots that help, but that takes years to see any improvement. I used to be so allergic to cats that if I even touched one outside, I had to go to the emergency room. Now, I have an indoor cat that sleeps on my head at night with absolutely no problem. That’s how I know the shots work. If you decide to go through with this, be sure to stay in the doctor’s office for at least 15 minutes after getting a shot. It’s rare, but a shot can occasionally trigger anaphylactic shock. Over the ten years I got my shots, that only happened once but that was one time too many. I hadn’t stayed in the office, and by the time I managed to get back, I was freaked out and in a lot of pain.
Feel free to take benadryl before bed. It’s a sedative, so in addition to relieving your allergies, it will also relax your mind and put you to sleep. With a full night’s sleep, it will be easier for you to concentrate, relieve depression and give you more energy. Insomnia is probably responsible for how bad you feel during the day.
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