• Question: Hi What is the best way to cure a headache

    Asked by Keemy to Eleni, Hannah, Jenny, Oli, Steven on 14 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by EvieParker.
    • Photo: Hannah Bolt

      Hannah Bolt answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      Hi Keemy,

      I guess it depends what is causing the headache! Headaches can be caused by a lot of different things, from being dehydrated (so drink more water), being stressed or as serious as having a brain tumor. The treatment will depend on the cause.

      Quite often people take paracetamol to get rid of their headache. Scientists are still not completely sure how paracetamol works, but they think it works by blocking things called called cyclo-oxygenase enzymes. These enzymes are involved in the production of other things called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins cause pain and inflammation so reducing prostaglandin production reduces pain.

      Hannah

    • Photo: Steven Street

      Steven Street answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      Hi Keemy,

      So apparently 90% of all headaches are caused by dehydration….. so the best thing you can do would be to immediately drink lots of water! Then if it still doesn’t go away, you can take some paracetamol (which treats the symptoms, not the underlying cause!)

      Steve

    • Photo: Eleni Vikeli

      Eleni Vikeli answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      Just to add to what everybody answered, a headache is a pain somewhere around your brain, being picked up by nerve endings located in your head.I think that nowadays we have available very potent pain relievers for that.
      If by cure you mean to never ever have a headache again, I think that is not possible for now, since even if it was possible, you wouldn’t want to deactivate your nerves.
      Believe it or not, feeling pain, is an essential procedure for the human body.

      Eleni

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