7 months ago
ALExANDRIA, Va. (WUSA) -- How and where a headache begins can vary. For Alisha Easter, her extreme summertime headaches have brought her to the hospital.
"They've given me, I believe, Delta 9 and Demerol for the pain, but basically the migraine wouldn't go away," explains Easter.
Alisha's summer migraines hit most often when she's in direct sunlight, humidity and heat combined with pollen.
The pain, Alisha says, is akin to "...the constant stinging of needles."
Pharmacist Bradley Thomas says some of the most common summer time headache triggers are:
-Smoke from a grill or a smokey room
-Noise
-Pollen
-Perfume
-Noise from thunderstorms
Thomas says at the Shoppers Food Warehouse Pharmacy, clinical pharmacists have come up with a way to help customers keep track of their headache patterns and their causes.
"The patient will receive a diary and with all the information that is gathered, there will be a second session that the pharmacist will come back and give some ideas as to how to prevent them and how to treat them."
Thomas says once you know your triggers and feel the first sign of a headache coming on, take immediate action to stop the pain.
He suggests, "Some of the over-the-counter pain medicines and some cases the relaxation techniques, bed rest or going into a quiet room."
Alisha has some basic advice too. She says, "Make sure you eat a breakfast every morning; make sure you eat full course meals, and if you're going outside, especially in the sun, wear sunglasses!"
We took an informal poll around town to see what other people did to solve their headache pains in the summer. These are some of the responses below:
-"An Excedrin and an energy drink."
-"An ancient Chinese remedy. You squeeze right between your thumb and your forefinger and as long as you're squeezing forward, the headache will go away."
-"Probably try Advil first, drink water, go outside, even exercise and if that doesn't work a glass of wine."
How do you curb your headache pain in the summer?
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