2.24.2005

contagious?

weird coincidence today.
that woman who comes in and swims... the one who knows ASL and told me how the middle finger raised up in arizona means 'cactus'.

yeah. so she comes in, and she puts some paper towels down on my desk.
she tells me she's had 2 bloody noses in the last 16 hrs, so just in case...

then she goes on to tell me how she has a headache at the base of her skull and also something like a sinus headache just above her right eye.
WTF?!? that' me!!
i, in no way, shape, or form led her on or told her about my week-long predicament.
fortunately (i guess) for her, this is only the first day she's had the headache.
she's going to an allergenist tomorrow to see if that's the problem.
but would it really be allergies?
she also threw out a possibility for meningitis, but i told her how nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light are usual symptoms. she said she was feeling shitty, but i don't think in that way.

maybe i should go see a doctor. up until today i was thinking that maybe my problem was subluxation: a misalignment of the vertebrae, but after renee's (ASL teacher's) complaining, i'm thinking maybe it's something viral or contagious.
hopefully not meningitis.

i ran into a second person complaining about a headache today at the pool.
i had him describe where it was, and he says it's kinda like a halo area.
so. not really much like what renee and i have.
he's blaming it on an overconsumption of Hg (mercury). he's been eating a lot of tunafish. he sadi this has happened to him before and the headaches last a few days.
i don't think i've had too much fish lately.
wait. todai's sushi. when was that? last wednesday?
that would be about right. if today (thursday) has been a week.
damn. i just thought of that now.
but could that be?
it's not like i've been loading up on fish since then.
i don't think i've had any in the last week.

i took excedrin migraine last night. that worked after a few hrs.
then i took my dad's massager. its this stationary thing with two blunt objects sticking out. kinda like the ends of a baseball bat.
when you turn it on they rotate opposite each other.
(counter-clockwise vs. clockwise)
i did that for about 20 mins.
that seemed to work last night, but today the area that i tried pretty hard to work out is very sensitive to the touch.
if the neck muscles weren't that sore before, they certainly are now.

jebe. what are these 3 types of headaches?

3 Comments:

Blogger Keith said...

Vascular: include mirgraines and cluster headaches. Mirgraines can last from several minutes to several days (i think you might be past that now trav). They can be characterized by intense throbbing pain, photo sensitivity nausea, vomiting and sweats. Migraines are frequently unilateral(one sided)and may be preceded by an aura. Cluster headaches usually occur in a series of one sided headaches that are sudden and intense and may continue from 15-4 hours. Symptoms can include nasal conjestion, drooping eyelids and irritated or watery eyes....random fact migrains are more common in women while cluster headaches are more common in men. hmmm

Tension: Suffers usually wake up in the morning with a dull ache that gets worse during the course of the day. The tension headache produces as dull ache that feels like a forceful pressure is being applied to the neck and/or head.

Organic: Much less common then the previous two, are caused by individuals with tumors, infection and other diseases of the brain, eye or other body system.

Little tip a Paramedic gave me the other day..."the body system is set up for a reason, when we get pain there is a reason for it. It may be random or benign but something caused the pain." In your case trav you have had pain for the last what 7 days now? Your body is trying to tell you something...

7:20 AM  
Blogger Jebe said...

So there are 3 kinds of primary headache (=HA not due to an underlying problem such as allergies or meningitis or whatever). Maybe you can tell which one fits you closest:

1. Migraine: the most common type of HA. Usually on one side only--people can point to it. Can generalize into a bilateral HA as well. Starts gradually and builds in intensity. It's a pulsating kind of pain. Often there is an "aura" of seeing lights or smelling something before it starts. It's associated w/nausea & vomiting. Feels best when you lay down and close your eyes. Usually goes away after you go to sleep. Feels worse with light, noise, physical activity. Often runs in families. More common in women. Good rule of thumb is if you have had a number of HA throughout your life that make you unable to go about your daily routine, you have migraines. Triggered by all kinds of things--caffeine, alcohol, changes in sleep, changes in weather, hormones, certain foods, etc. NSAIDS (Advil, Aleve, Aspirin) are pretty good for treating them but if they don't work your Dr. can give you some other options.

2. Cluster: Very uncommon. A "cluster" is a number of repeated HA that start & stop at the same time each day for many days in a row. Then all of a sudden they will go away for months at a time, until the next cluster starts. The pain is on one side of the head, usually by the eye/temple area. It's a sudden, deep, piercing pain that can wake you up from sleep. Patients with them are usually restless because laying down makes them worse. Also, they make people feel angry and almost violent. They say things like "I want to cut off my head it hurts so bad." They are associated with a stuffy, runny nose, a teary or puffy eye, and sweating--all on the same side as the HA. They are usually in men. During an attack 100% oxygen can make it go away. Otherwise you have to get meds from your Dr. to help it go away and to keep it from coming back.

3. Tension: the distinction between this and migraine is kind of hard to make. Main difference is that these are on both sides of the head. Some would call any non-cluster HA without an aura, nausea, or vomiting a tension HA, others would say that's a migraine. They start in the neck and spread up around to your forehead like a band around your head. Feels like a tightness or pressure, not sharp. Usually associated with life changes in stress level, etc. Treatment is basically the same as migraine.

hope this helps...let me know what you think you have!

8:13 AM  
Blogger Ams said...

Probably not your situation, but interesting none the less.

http://managingmigraines.msn.com/article.aspx?aid=14>1=6136

8:49 AM  

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