Headaches Everyday

Are you one of the millions of people who suffer from headaches everyday? If you are then you have come to the right place. This page provides free advice and information on the causes of headaches everyday and also what is best to do if you suffer from such frequent headaches in ways of both treatment and also prevention.

If you are one of those people that says 'hey I get headaches everyday' please trust me when I say that you are not alone. Persistent headaches are something that really do plague many people and these headaches everyday are what are commonly referred to as a chronic headache, the word chronic of course means persistent. A chronic headache is classified as a tension-type headache that occurs on at least 15 days of a month. To be clear a tension-type headache is the most frequently suffered headache which generally only occur every now and again. For more information on a tension type headache please see our page on types of headaches.

A chronic headache is also commonly referred to as a chronic daily headache due to the frequency of which people suffer from it. It can range in it's severity from being relatively mild to severe, but not to the degree of a migraine headache.

If you do suffer from daily headaches this can cause real problems in your everyday life and prevent you from doing things such as going to work or school and being able to just function normally in everyday life which can be very stressful and that in turn can make these persistent headaches all the more intense.

What causes headaches everyday?

Here we are going to start off by talking about the causes headaches everyday. As with most types of headaches, a chronic daily headache is commonly caused by some sort of stress. However, doctors do not have a thorough understanding of what causes many headaches everyday, so it is not possible to point at any single underlying cause.

It is possible for headaches everyday to be triggered by any of the following:

Stress - As we have mentioned above stress is a big factor in persistent headaches
Your brain has developed a raised response to pain signals
The area of your brain that suppresses pain signals is malfunctioning

Frequent headaches can also be caused by a range of underlying illnesses and diseases such as :

Tumors - Such as brain tumors
Refractive errors - A disorder of the eye/s that affects your focus
Injury to the brain that has causes trauma
Glaucoma - Diseases that can effect your eyes
Hypertension - High blood pressure
Infections
Too much pain medication or allergenic products - Taking frequent pain medication or allergenic products, even for frequent headaches can cause so called 'rebound headaches' on a daily basis
Pressure of the cranium that can be either too low or excessive
Stroke
Inflammation of blood vessels in or around the brain

The above causes may seem a little intense and if you are worried about any of these it is vital that you seek medical advice from your physician as they will be more than used to speaking to people who suffer from headaches every day.

Headaches everyday treatment

We are now going to move on to the treatment that is required for headaches everyday. If the cause of the headaches everyday is an underlying illness then the treatment that your physician prescribes for that illness should relieve them. However, if there is no underlying illness or disease as the cause it is wise to try and figure our the cause of headaches every day and then prevent them if possible, please see our prevention section below. Failing that then there are several pain relief products that you can use to eradicate your daily headaches that your doctor may recommend or that you can buy online or over the counter at a pharmacy.

Paracetamol - Quick and easy to buy online or over the counter
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAIDs) - Naproxen or Anaprox or Naprelan can work if the headache is quite severe, these are not to be used regularly though.
Ibuprofen - Another quick and easy pain reliever you can buy online or over the counter
Antidepressants - Your doctor may prescribe you with drugs such as nortriptyline/Pamelor in order to treat a chronic daily headache.
Beta Blockers - Drugs most commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure are also effective but your doctor will be able to decide this. They are often used effectively alongside antidepressants.

There are other ways to treat headaches everyday that are non-drug related.

Keep yourself hydrated - You can never drink enough water, the body requires eight to ten cups of water per day just to function normally. Lack of water can lead to dehydration and this can bring on frequent headaches!
Rest - Having a lay down in cool, quiet and dark surroundings can help relieve headaches everyday.
Guided imagery - A very effective way to relax and de-stress yourself is to use guided imagery as relaxation therapy.
Sleep - Get your head down and sleep a headache off.
Acupuncture - This is said to help relax the body and mind and can relieve persistent headaches.
Physiotherapy
Yoga - A very effective relaxation and calming technique
Cold compression

Headaches every day can be a real pain and it is possible that in some cases these headaches can start off or even become immune to medication so it is vital to try as many different ways to treat and prevent them as possible.

Preventing frequent headaches

Our next section is all about how to prevent daily headaches. Your body often responds to the way in which it is treated. If you look after your body then you can prevent yourself having a headache everyday and thus reducing your frequent headaches.

Try to avoid any headache triggers

First and foremost we recommend that you work out what it is that is causing your headache every day and avoid any such triggers. If you do not know what the cause of headaches everyday are then why not make a note about what you were doing before and while a headache comes on. Keep a mini text diary in your mobile phone or a piece of paper in your wallet. Do these persistent headaches start at the same time everyday, are you doing the same thing before they start? Perhaps you play too much Xbox or they come on after you eat a certain food, or drink a certain liquid. Could it be you spend time around people that smoke? A diary will soon identify a common denominator for you. This is a huge step to beating your frequent headaches.

Make sure you get the right amount of sleep and in a regular pattern

It is a fact that on average an adult requires between six and eight hours sleep per night. Make sure this is what you are getting and that you are sleeping in a regular pattern too. The best sleep that you can get is during the night and as undisturbed as possible.

Give stress the boot and try to exercise

As we have already mentioned, stress is a big cause of headaches everyday, do as much as you can to make life easier for yourself and try not to worry about things. Take time out to do things you want to do and not just things you have to do, take a walk, go for a jog, a cycle or a swim. Even if it is just reading a book, you need some 'me time', we all do especially if this will help to reduce your daily headaches. We do recommend guided imagery products as a very effective form of stress-relief.

How much caffeine do you drink?

Caffeine can bring on headaches and also irritate them, if you live on ten cups of coffee a day then it is important that you reduce or if you can, eradicate caffeine from your daily routine. This can really help in reducing your persistent headaches.

Eat properly

Always make sure that you eat breakfast as it is a healthy way to start the day and is good for your metabolism. Also make sure that you eat dinner and lunch and if you can try and ensure you eat these meals at the same times each day. If you headaches occur after certain meal times, what did you have in that meal? If certain foods trigger headaches everyday then you need to stop eating these.

Chill out

If you are one of those people that is trying to do ten things at once and is always on the move then this can be a cause of headaches everyday. You need to give yourself time to unwind and chill out. Have a lay down or a soak in the bath. Treat yourself to a massage or maybe even try some guided imagery to relieve the stress and strain of the day and beat those frequent headaches.

As we have stated above, if you experience daily headaches and are already using a pain relief product several times a week then it is worth stopping taking the drug because it may be that this is continuing to cause your headaches everyday as a rebound effect.

If you continue to suffer from a headache everyday then it is imperative that you seek advice from your doctor at the earliest possible opportunity.

We hope that you have found our page on headaches everyday useful and that reading this has been the first step to you getting over your daily headaches. There is more to our site than just frequent and persistent headaches, please see our pages on headaches during pregnancy, types of headache and also what causes headaches for more valuable information.