If you have headaches and are wondering if they could be
migraine headaches we can probably help you figure that out.
There are some very distinctive characteristics of migraine
headaches that can differentiate migraines from other types of
headaches such as tension headaches, stress headaches, cluster
headaches or other types of headaches.
Migraine headaches are more often than not one-sided, meaning
the pain is felt on only one side of the head. Most of the time
the pain of a migraine headache can be felt in the temple area
or behind one of the eyes or ears. Migraine headaches can become
severe and disabling. Nausea is a common symptom of this type of
headache as is vomiting or sensitivity to light or sound. About
20% of patients with migraine headaches experience an aura. An
aura is a disturbance in vision that can consist of bright
blinking colored lights that move across the field of vision.
Migraine headaches can become chronic in nature. When they are
chronic the patient most commonly experiences them once or twice
a month. However, in some instances migraine headaches can occur
as often as once or twice a week. Migraine headaches affect
people between the ages of 15 and 55 and are more common in
women than in men. Migraines affect women about 3 times as often
as men.
Migraines affect about 30 or 40 million Americans, but they are
less common than tension headaches. It is estimated that about
75% of all headaches are tension headaches. Tension headaches
are typically characterized by a dull pain over the entire head
while migraines are usually throbbing in nature and located in
one particular spot. In other words, tension-type headaches are
a constant dull pain while migraines throb like the beating of
the heart.
Chronic tension headaches can occur every day while chronic
migraine headaches occur less often, usually once a week to once
a month. Fatigue and stress can cause both types of headaches,
but migraine headaches can be triggered by other factors such as
different types of food. Migraine headaches can sometimes be
helped by eliminating these triggers. Foods that may lead to
migraines include cheese, alcohol, MSG (monosodium glutamate),
nuts, beans, caffeine, chocolate, onions and others. Eliminating
the trigger may eliminate the migraines.
Cluster headaches are far less common than either migraine
headaches or tension-type-headaches. Men are about six times
more likely than women to experience cluster headaches. The pain
of a cluster headache starts quickly, without any warning, and
typically reaches its peak between two and fifteen minutes.
The pain of a cluster headache can be extremely intense, deep
and explosive. Migraines are usually “pulsing” while clusters
are not. Between 10 and 20 percent of cluster patients have
“ice-pick” or “stabbing” pain around the eyes. This stabbing
pain typically lasts for a few seconds, but can occur several
times in succession. When this sudden attack of intense pain
occurs it usually means that the headache is near its end.
For natural migraine headache relief it is often beneficial to
relax and rest. Sometimes lying in a dark room with an ice pack
on the base of the skull can reduce the pressure that is felt in
the head. The same treatment can also help tension or stress
headaches. Reducing stress can go a long way to relieving many
headache symptoms.
If you experience chronic headaches and over-the-counter
medication or natural remedies do not help it may be wise to
consult a physician.
Tags: migraine headaches, migraine, headaches, tension headaches, migraines, headache
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Do you have your nursing degree and are ready to take the medical industry by storm? Are you an experienced nurse looking for an exciting new challenge? Regardless of the level of your nursing experience, looking for a new job can be a time-consuming and frequently frustrating process. A big part of the job search process is knowing where to look for nursing positions.
The following tips and tricks are designed to take some of the headache out of your search, by giving you some guidelines on steps you can take to land your ideal nursing position.
1. Visit the recruiting departments of local hospitals, medical centers, and doctor’s offices to inquire about available positions. If there are no current vacancies, ask if you can submit your resume to remain on file should future openings match what you are seeking.
2. Contact recruitment and contract employment agencies. Aligning yourself with a recruiter can give you access to jobs that are often not advertised to the public. The great thing about recruiting agencies is that allow you to “apply” for positions at multiple companies simultaneously with a single resume submittal, since most recruiters will shop your resume around to all of the available openings.
3. Use the internet to your advantage. Searching for “nurse” or “nursing” on major job boards such as Monster.com and Hotjobs.com will unearth hundreds of available openings - just be aware that competition for these positions is stiff since hundreds of other nurses are looking at and applying for the exact same jobs.
4. Don’t be adverse to accepting a contract or “training” position. This are often a great way to get you foot in the door in the medical profession. It also gives you a chance to evaluate an organization and department to ensure it is a match before fully committing yourself to a long-term full-time position.
5. Colleges and universities that offer nursing degrees often have a database of available positions in the school’s Career Center. Career Center advisors are also excellent sources of information on how to network in the industry and get your foot in the door. Many schools limit Career Center resource access to current students or alumni, though, so you may be limited to your Alma Matar.
6. Network, network, network! Let friends, family, and casual acquaintances know that you are on the market for a new position. Since most companies are much more willing to interview (and potentially hire) candidates who have already been vouched for, it’s important to get the word out that you are available and seeking a new opportunity.
7. Don’t forgot to investigate often-overlooked nursing avenues such as:
o School nurses (contact the local School Board for openings)
o Health Department Openings (both local/county and state offices)
o Health insurance companies
o Assisted living facilities and retirement homes
o Universities and colleges seeking teachers for nursing school programs
o Mentorship programs
o Traveling nurse programs that place you on short assignments at different locations around the country
8. Searching nursing-specific job boards for available opportunities is a great way to target only those jobs that require your degree and background. For example, internet sites http://www.NursingJobs.org and http://www.NurseOptions.com offer free access to a wide range of nursing positions nationwide. There are many other excellent on-line resources for nursing job information.
Laura Adams is a qualified careers advisor with 11 years experience. Nurses Jobs Information - Resources, News, Tips and Views to help Nurses find their dream jobs. http://www.Nurses-Jobs.info
Copyright Nurses-Jobs.info This article may be reproduced as long as the resource box and live links remain intact.
Tags: nurse, nurses, doctors, doctor, job, jobs, career, careers, employment, recruitment
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Hangovers are hell. Feeling like death has prompted many a party animal to vow ‘never
again!’
The night before was great - but now you are flattened by a combination of extremely unpleasant after-effects. Your head’s pounding, you feel sick, you ache all over, you have to keep dashing to the toilet and your mouth feels like the bottom of a parrot’s cageand someone close those drapes! It must have been a heck of a night - was it worth it?
Let’s take a look at just one of those horrible symptoms - the pain that’s pounding through your head like a pneumatic drill. How does drinking alcohol give you such a humdinger?
Why does alcohol give me a headache?
The evil ingredient is a substance called Ethanol. It’s made by fermenting the sugar and starch found in grains and is used to make alcohol and also motor fuel!
Ethanol can give you a headache in several ways. It can directly cause your blood vessels to enlarge (vasodilation) which give you that pounding head. It is also a natural diuretic, which also loses you vitamins, minerals and salt. When you body realizes that it is becoming dehydrated, the blood supply to your limbs and skin surface is diverted to the major organs such as your brain, as a survival mechanism. This causes the blood vessels in your brain to
vasodilate (expand) and there’s your headache.
Unless you’ve been drinking ‘moonshine’ - 70% alcohol (in which case, you’re in real trouble) the chances are that last night’s drinks contained not only alcohol, but other chemicals as well. These are what give the alcohol its color and taste and are called congeners. They’re the impurities that occur during fermentation. A general rule is, the darker the drink, the more congeners. These can also cause headaches and will definitely give you a hangover if you
drink too much of them.
So, now we know why we get a headache. What can we do about it?
The old saying that “prevention is better than cure” is sadly true here. The only sure-fire way to avoid an alcohol-induced headache is not to drink and although we’ve all vowed never to touch it again, the memory of the hangover fades and so does our resolve.
The best way to cure a headache from over-indulgence is to tackle the cause. The main cause is dehydration so it makes sense to drink plenty. Some people swear by a taste of what they had the night before, but that’s not a great idea. It won’t do your body any favors and may start off a dangerous habit.
By far the best is either plain water or sports drinks. These contain electrolytes, i.e. the minerals, vitamins and salt, which the alcohol has caused you to excrete.
Hangovers may become a thing of the past. Scientists have recently found a gene that helps fruit flies to develop a tolerance for alcohol. The gene has been appropriately named ‘hangover’. So future drinkers may be able to imbibe without the pain.
I guess we should be grateful - but a good night out just won’t seem the same somehow!
Tags: headache and alcohol, hangover, headache, migraines, tension headache, cluster headache,
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