How to prevent summer headaches

Experiencing headaches during the summer months is actually surprisingly common and a number of things can trigger them, from over exposure to direct sunlight, the heat, over working or dehydration.

Headaches and migraines can be debilitating and can leave you feeling physically and mentally exhausted, so its important to understand the different types of headaches and how you can treat them.

Here, Parvinder Sagoo, Superintendent Pharmacist at Simply Meds Online reveals the most common kinds of headaches people experience over the summer months, what causes them and ways you can help ease the pain.

There are a number of triggers for headaches and migraines over the summer period, even more so than winter as there’s more sunlight and longer days, which can change people's sleep patterns, and trigger a migraine. 

The below are all reasons for why we experience increased headaches and migraines in the summer months:

Migraines can be described as an excruciating, debilitating and throbbing pain which gradually builds up over the course of a few hours or a few days, typically on one side of your head. It can become pretty intense and even doing simple acts such as walking or talking can make it worse, so most people find they have to lie down.

You may feel nauseous and be sensitive to light or odours, this is most especially the case in the summer months where the sunlight is intense all there are more hours of sun.

A change in appetite or cravings or changes in how often you urinate can happen the day before a migraine. Some people see flashing lights, wavy lines or blind spots during an attack.

There are many different reasons why some people develop migraines, and some don’t, environmental factors and genetics play a huge role. Normal triggers are usually stress, anxiety, hormonal changes, smoking, sleep problems, strict diets, bright flashing lights or certain foods and beverages.

Migraines are likely to be triggered during the summer months because of the hotter weather, increased sunlight and daytime hours and dehydration. A bad sleep pattern or lack of sleep may also trigger a migraine, and in the summer, we usually find it harder to sleep due to the heat, so this could mean a higher chance of suffering an attack.

The best treatment is to ensure you rest, you should lie down in a dark room and place a cold compress on your forehead, try to also keep your eyes closed and rested. If you feel nauseous you should drink plenty of fluids such as water. In the summer it can be difficult when a room is hot, and sunlight is flooding in, so you may want to try black out blinds or wear an eye mask which should help prevent any light from hitting your retinas and worsening the pain.

Try to stay cool with a fan and wear light cotton clothes when lying down. You may want to talk to your GP for treatment options if you suffer with migraines regularly in the summer months however Zolmitriptan tablets are commonly used to treat migraines. They are effective as they work by narrowing blood vessels around the brain to stop any pain signals.

Tension headaches are also known as muscle spasm or stress headaches and are the most common types of headaches people may experience during the summer months.

The pain is most commonly on both sides of the head and can often feel as though something is being pulled tight around your head, or as if something is pressing down hard on the face, head or neck. You may also be sensitive to light and sound.

Causes of tension headaches are usually body positions that put your head and neck under stress, such as sitting in front of a computer for hours in the same position or pressing your phone with your shoulder when taking a phone call, these can also cause tension headaches.

Other triggers may be stress, a heavy workload, skipping meals, depression, anxiety and a lack of sleep which affects the areas in your neck, face, scalp and jaw which can further lead to tension headaches.

Tension headaches can occur due to other health issues such as arthritis, sleep disorders or the grinding of teeth, your GP may treat these symptoms first before trying anything else however if this does not reduce the amount of tension headaches you are experiencing then you may want to opt for over the counter medication such as ibuprofen, aspirin or paracetamol.

Other ways you can quickly alleviate any pain is to take a warm shower or place a warm washcloth on the back of your neck, other techniques could be meditation which may help to control any stress which is causing these types of headaches

Cluster headaches usually occur suddenly and randomly and may cause real pain either on one side of your head or behind one of both eyes. They may appear at the same time every day for weeks and you may find that they are the most debilitating because of how often they occur.

The pain is typically worst for the first 10-15 minutes after its started and can last for many hours. Your eyes may turn red and your nose may swell on the side where the pain occurs. You may also experience some light, sound and odour sensitivity, some people may also feel slightly nauseous.

Cluster headaches commonly occur at night, so it has been suggested that they are caused by irregular sleep. You may find that you are suffering with cluster headaches more in the summer, this is because in the heat we find it harder to sleep and our sleeping pattern may be disturbed which in turn means we are more susceptible to cluster headaches. Cluster headaches can also be triggered by smoking and alcohol.

If you are experiencing regular and severe cluster headaches your GP may prescribe Sumatriptan tablets which are used to treat cluster headaches, however in more severe cases other medicines may be prescribed.

While there are many different types of treatments for cluster headaches, Sumatriptan and Zolmitriptan fall into the more affordable range of medicines. However, there are also a range of fast-acting medicine’s such as Zomique Nasal spray and Imigran Nasal spray.

Of course, you can also try ibuprofen, aspirin or paracetamol for headaches, however you may need something stronger if the cluster headaches are severe.