Contents:
- Medical Video: A Scientific Way to Cure a Headache Without Painkillers
- Headaches due to COPD, how can it happen?
- Symptoms of headaches due to COPD
- How do you deal with headaches due to COPD?
Medical Video: A Scientific Way to Cure a Headache Without Painkillers
Many headaches actually occur because of other health problems. Health problems are a major disruption to one's health condition. This headache is called secondary headache. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can cause secondary headaches. If you suffer from COPD, determining the cause can help deal with headaches because COPD or not is important because of the potential for life-threatening complications.
Headaches due to COPD, how can it happen?
COPD is a disease that attacks the lung organs. This disease arises due to a group of conditions that cause respiratory problems. Because this disease attacks the lungs, this causes the vital organs of breathing to have difficulty in taking oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
When blood does not get enough oxygen, the heart must work harder to pump blood so that other organs continue to get oxygen, which will cause tissue function to slow down. Conditions in which lack of body tissue to oxygen intake is caused by hypoxia.
Meanwhile, when the tissue lacks oxygen, your body will also develop a condition called hypercapnia. Hypercapnia is a condition in which your body stores too much carbon dioxide. Both of these are caused by a decrease in lung function in people with COPD and have difficulty capturing oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
Headaches due to COPD can occur due to lack of oxygen combined with an abundance of carbon dioxide levels in the body. Headaches due to COPD can occur in the morning when you wake up due to too much carbon dioxide in the blood. According to The American Thoracic Society, when you have COPD and wake up in a state of headache, you may develop the risk of being affectedsleep apnea.
Symptoms of headaches due to COPD
Because headaches are a common disorder, you may find it difficult to distinguish between headaches due to COPD or not. Generally, headaches that occur can vary in condition.
Usually, headaches due to COPD occur in the morning. You can also experience other respiratory problems when you wake up and lack of oxygen.
However, because a headache is a condition that is also common due to a condition of lack of sleep, you may mistakenly interpret the pain you feel, even if you experience a sleep disorder due to the COPD you are suffering from. That is why it is important to know other symptoms that accompany to ensure headaches due to COPD.
If you experience some of the following symptoms, it's possible that your headache is caused by COPD. These symptoms include:
- chest pain
- wheezing
- extreme shortness of breath
- choking when I wake up
- fast breathing
Other symptoms can arise from hypoxia, which can also occur at the same time as COPD headaches. This includes an increase in heart rate and increase in blood pressure. You can also experience red or purple skin spots due to lack of oxygen.
How do you deal with headaches due to COPD?
Overcoming pain is the main goal in the treatment of many types of headaches. Because COPD headaches are related to hypoxia, the first action to deal with headaches due to COPD that must be done is to increase your oxygen intake. This can be achieved through oxygen therapy.
This treatment requires a doctor's prescription. Oxygen therapy is most often done by using an oxygen tube. Oxygen from the tube will then be delivered through a nose tube, face mask, or hose that is placed in the trachea (trachea). After getting enough oxygen, the symptoms of headaches that you feel should gradually disappear.
Some COPD sufferers also experience sleep apnea. This condition must be treated immediately. Condition sleep apnea marked by the occurrence of very short breaths or even stop altogether when you sleep. If left unchecked, this condition will cause hypoxia and headaches as a result.
One way to treat sleep apnea is to use asystem called continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). CPAP helps keep the airway open so that oxygen intake is expected to enter properly.
Overcoming headaches due to COPD (or for whatever reason) can also improve quality of life. If you experience a COPD headache that is quite routine, maybe it's time to consult your doctor about the best treatment approach to deal with pain. However, that must be considered, too often using pain relievers that are sold freely can make the body become immune to the effects. In fact, NINDS recommends not to use painkillers more than twice a week for this reason.
Other methods that might help in relieving headache pain include:
- breathing exercises (such as those found in meditation and yoga)
- drink tea peppermint
- sleep more
- exercise regularly
- avoid COPD triggers, such as cigarette smoke, chemicals, and dust
Overcoming headaches due to COPD is more complicated than just using pain relievers. As with other types of secondary headaches, the pain you experience will occur less frequently if the main cause is treated.
Treating COPD can be a challenge, especially because this condition cannot be cured. The main goal is to improve lung function. This will not only help you breathe easier, but it can also reduce symptoms and complications - including headaches - that you experience.
In addition, it is important to consider other causes of headaches. Just because you suffer from COPD does not mean that the headache you experience is definitely related to COPD. If you are not sure whether COPD is the cause, have your headache checked by a doctor.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
