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Headache during pregnancy: where does it come from and how to get rid of it

November 14, 2020 Likbez Health

Sometimes you just need to get some sleep, and sometimes you need to call an ambulance immediately.

When to call an ambulance

Call 103 or 112 urgently if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• sudden and severe headache;
• consciousness becomes confused or completely lost;
• pain worsens over 5 minutes;
• flies, spots flash in the eyes;
• throbbing and noisy in the ears;
• speech has become slurred, words are drawn out;
• arms and legs weaken, convulsions set in;
• the muscles of the neck are very stiff, it is impossible to reach the chest with the chin;
• fever of 39 °C or more;
• increased heart rate at rest;
• severe shortness of breath;
• the child pushes without stopping or stops abruptly;
• leaking water or blood;
• lower abdomen hurts, as if contractions had started.

Why pregnant women can get headaches

Pregnancy headaches are not always life threatening. But the doctor needs to be told about it in any case. If the symptom appeared for the first time and does not hurt much, postpone the conversation until a scheduled visit. If your headache is recurring or gets worse, it's best to make an appointment as soon as possible. The gynecologist will decide what needs to be done or refer you to another doctor.

There are many causes of headaches. Scientists have found that in pregnant women in 57% of cases it is primary, that is, not associated with other diseases. The most common are migraines and tension headaches.

Everything else is a secondary headache caused by various pathologies. Usually it is high blood pressure and infections. But there are also more dangerous reasons.

1. Stress and fatigue

A pregnant woman's body experiences increased stress, because it has to work for two. If at the same time the expectant mother is exposed to stress, strong feelings or sleeps little, she develops a tension headache.

Discomfort lasts from 30 minutes to several days. The head hurts in the forehead, occiput, both temples. But there is no feeling that they put on a tight hoop or helmet. The pain does not get worse when bending over, walking, or climbing stairs, bright lights, or sounds.

What to do

Tension headache can go away on its own: just get some fresh air or sleep. Sometimes pleasant emotions help, which distract from experiences.

If the pain persists for 2-3 consecutive days, see a doctor. He will select painkillers that are safe for the child.

2. Medications

Any medicine that enters the stomach or bloodstream can cause headaches even if the dosage is correct. In pregnant women, this often occurs due to drugs for high blood pressure, heart disease, antibiotics, anticonvulsants.

Long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for headaches may cause the opposite effect: the pills do not remove, but provoke symptoms.

What to do

If your head hurts a few hours after taking the medicine, you need to see a doctor to change the medicine. Do not drink non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for more than 3-5 days. If they do not help, you need to tell the doctor about it.

3. Love for coffee or rejection of it

Coffee can cause headaches during pregnancy. Unpleasant symptoms occur if you drink more than 3-4 cups a day.

Abrupt refusal of coffee is also harmful. It is worth finding out about pregnancy and stopping brewing a fragrant drink, and after 1-2 days, aching pain will appear in the temples and the back of the head.

What to do

Coffee is best avoided during pregnancy. If a headache occurs a day after this, you can drink a small cup of the drink and wait a day again. Gradually, the dependence on coffee will pass.

Coffee drinkers can reduce their drink intake to 1-2 cups per day.

4. Infection with fever

Acute viral (usually ARVI) or bacterial (eg, streptococcal tonsillitis) infections cause fever and headache. This is a normal reaction to foreign microorganisms.

But any infection is dangerous for pregnant women. It can cause fetal defects, growth retardation and even miscarriage. And with meningitis, especially listeriosis, there is a threat to the life of the mother.

What to do

If you have a headache with fever, call your doctor. He will prescribe safe medications or give you a referral to the hospital if a serious infection is suspected. In this case, you need strong antibiotics, droppers to maintain the body and sometimes hormones.

5. Preeclampsia and preeclampsia

After 20 weeks, preeclampsia may develop in pregnant women. This is a disease in which one of three symptoms or a combination of them may appear: high blood pressure, edema, and protein in the urine.

Without proper treatment, preeclampsia turns into preeclampsia. The pressure rises sharply, the head and lower abdomen hurt unbearably, the baby pushes unusually hard or, on the contrary, suddenly calms down. Preeclampsia can lead to placental abruption, damage to the liver and other organs, bleeding, and even seizures. Without urgent medical care, the fetus and mother die.

What to do

When the first signs of preeclampsia appear, the pregnant woman is hospitalized to find treatment. After that, she is discharged home under the supervision of her gynecologist.

But if her health worsens, the doctor again sends the woman to the hospital, where she is prescribed medication to reduce pressure, special drips to keep her body functioning. If improvement does not occur within a day, a caesarean section is performed.

6. Migraine

One of the causes of migraine is a change in estrogen levels. But the disease very rarely appears due to pregnancy. On the contrary, in 70% of women, the symptoms subside dramatically after conception. Nevertheless, migraines torment many.

It may begin with an aura: flashes of light, spots before the eyes, tingling in the hands or numbness of half of the face, sometimes tinnitus. Each symptom can last from 20 minutes to an hour.

A migraine attack develops after the aura. In this case, one side of the head hurts and throbs, nausea or vomiting appears. A woman is irritated by bright lights, loud noises, smells. They make the pain worse.

Seizures last from a few hours to a week or more. After a migraine, there is a feeling of severe fatigue, exhaustion, and an awkward turn of the head can return the pain.

What to do

Any medication for migraine during pregnancy must be prescribed by a doctor. In some cases, drugs from the group of beta-blockers are used.

Studies have shown that frequent migraine in pregnancy is associated with a lack of magnesium. The doctor will help you choose the appropriate type of vitamin and mineral complex and its dosage.

7. Cerebral vascular disease

Hormone problems in some pregnant women increase blood clotting, which increases the risk of thrombosis, stroke or bleeding in the meninges. These conditions are very dangerous: a woman can die within a few minutes or remain disabled.

Vascular involvement is always accompanied by several symptoms:

• severe headache on one side;
• nausea and vomiting;
• blurred vision;
• loss of consciousness;
• convulsions.

What to do

Urgently call an ambulance. The pregnant woman must be laid or seated so that she does not hit when she falls. You can't give medicine! You can only open the window so that there is more air in the room.

Which treatment the doctor prescribes depends on the specific disease. These can be drugs that reduce blood clotting and dissolve blood clots. In some cases, urgent surgery is needed.

8. Brain tumors

Studies show that progesterone and estrogens during pregnancy can trigger or accelerate the growth of tumors in the brain. Symptoms of the disease appear slowly, over several months, and depend on the size and location of the tumor.

The headache may gradually increase, then vision, speech, hearing deteriorate, limbs go numb and convulsions appear. Sometimes it is difficult for a woman to keep her balance.

What to do

If a pregnant woman often has a headache or she forgets what she wanted to buy in the store and how to cook her favorite borscht, confuses her way home, you need to go to a neurologist. First, he will prescribe standard treatment, simple and safe medicines, rest, good sleep.

If this does not help, the symptoms persist or worsen, a deep examination is needed. The pregnant woman will be sent for an MRI of the brain. This procedure is safe for the fetus. If the diagnosis is confirmed, surgery may be required.

What to do if the doctor cannot find the cause of the pain

If you have been examined and the doctor cannot tell you why your head hurts and diagnoses you with vascular dystonia, this is cause for concern. There is no such disease.

Seek another doctor. Perhaps he uses new diagnostic methods that will help to deal with the problem and choose a treatment.

How to avoid pregnancy headaches

Experts recommend:

• Avoid triggers. For example, if you notice that certain foods, smells, or situations cause headaches, try not to encounter them.
• Protect yourself from stress, do not worry about trifles.
• Move more. During pregnancy, walk every day in the fresh air and do special exercises for expectant mothers.
• Eat right. Try to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, dairy products, drink at least 2.4 liters of liquid. Every day, the menu should include fish, poultry or lean meat. And it is better not to buy sweet, fast food and other junk food.
• Follow the daily routine. You need to sleep at least 8 hours a day and go to bed no later than 22-23 hours in order for melatonin to be produced normally.
• Learn to relax. Learn simple meditation techniques or breathing exercises.

Read also 🧐

• How pregnancy develops by week
• How to calculate the duration of pregnancy
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• 7 best sex positions for pregnant women
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A rather frequent companion of pregnancy (especially during its first trimester) is a headache. Every fifth expectant mother suffers from this disease. The causes of pain can be so different that it is not always possible to immediately make a diagnosis. In addition, such a pattern was revealed: in the early stages of pregnancy, as a rule, blood pressure decreases, which may well provoke headaches and dizziness. Pregnant women often react sharply to weather changes - increased meteosensitivity can also be the cause of ailments.

A common cause of headache is migraine, in which attacks develop due to changes in the tone of the head vessels. It just so happened that in women this disease is much more common than in men, however, it should be noted that the frequency and severity of migraine decreases with the onset of pregnancy, especially in the second half, which is associated with changes in hormonal levels. Usually, with this ailment, it “aches in the temples”, a throbbing headache may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting. In the classic form of migraine, headaches are usually preceded by "flies" or flashes before the eyes.

Headache of moderate intensity is common, covering the head, squeezing it like a hoop, or pulling. It is usually associated with stress, physical or emotional strain. In some cases, it may be associated with muscle strain: in particular, the muscles of the neck and upper shoulder girdle during prolonged work in an uncomfortable position.

In addition to hypotension (low blood pressure), headache can also be caused by hypertension (high blood pressure), which is one of the symptoms of a serious pathology of pregnancy - late toxicosis (preeclampsia). Pain is often accompanied by swelling and protein in the urine.

The treatment of headache during pregnancy is very limited, since most drugs have a negative effect on the course of pregnancy and the formation of the fetus.

Lie in a comfortable position in a dark, ventilated room, in silence. Usually the pain goes away after a short sleep. Head massage can also help: make circular movements with your fingertips, while trying to relax as much as possible. Another simple but very effective way is washing your hair with warm water or a cold compress applied to the temporal or occipital region.

Mint, rosehip, chamomile decoctions can be used to relieve headaches. They have a calming and analgesic effect. With reduced pressure, strong sweet tea helps. Before pregnancy, did a cup of coffee help with pain? Most likely, now this method will have to be abandoned: doctors do not recommend strong coffee to pregnant women.

Try to eat fractionally and in small portions. Feeling hungry can also trigger a headache. Snack not on chocolates and chips, but on dried fruits, cookies or an apple.

Do not forget that good sleep is very important for a pregnant woman. However, a significant increase in sleep time can also trigger a headache.

Try to walk more, breathe fresh air. If you work at a computer, remember to get up every 30 minutes, do some light exercise, or just walk down the hallway.

Be sure to remember: it is important to know and believe that you can and should cope with a headache without pills.

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