Managing Headache Pain at Work

Coping with a headache at work can be a challenge. And if work stress is making your head pound, you have to deal with both the cause of the stress and the result. It's no wonder that headaches are responsible for more lost productive work days (including sick days and reduced performance on the job) than any other pain condition.

How to Squelch a Workday Headache

If you feel a headache coming on at work, remember these steps:

• At the first sign of a headache, take pain relief medication. Hoping it just goes away is not the answer, especially if your headache is a migraine. Migraine sufferers whose headaches are preceded by a flashes of light, called an aura, should use that signal to take pain relief medication immediately; don’t wait for the headache to kick in. For ordinary headaches, try an over-the-counter drug containing aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine (like Excedrin). According to a report by the National Headache Foundation, caffeine boosts the pain-relieving ability of these other medications by 40 percent.
• Drink plenty of water with your headache medicine. Dehydration can cause a headache long before you ever feel thirsty. Air conditioning in the summer and certain types of heat in the winter can dry out your office atmosphere, too, adding to the problem. Keep sipping water.
• Take a break from all stressors. Spend a few minutes away from the computer screen, the intense concentration, the ringing phone — all the sensory stimuli that brought on or can worsen your headache. Give your medication time to work before you resume your activities. If you have an office where you can pull down the shades or dim the lights for a few minutes, try this as well to block out distractions.

Quick Fixes for Avoiding Headaches at Work

Here are easy ways to remove or reduce headache triggers:

• Get stress under control. Learning how to minimize stress at work is key to headache prevention. Prioritize responsibilities to gain a sense of control. When your tasks make it impossible to reduce stress, at least take a break from it. Exercise is one way to release stress and tension. Try to walk during your lunch hour, and find out if your company offers discounts at any local gyms for early morning or after-five workouts.
• Keep track of headache triggers. Keep a diary to uncover what triggers your workplace headaches, like bright lights, sunlight, loud noises, and certain scents — anything from strong perfume to smoke and cleaning chemicals. Then try to find ways to avoid them, like wearing earplugs or noise-reducing headphones if your workplace is particularly noisy.
• Cut down on the glare. If bright fluorescent lights and your flickering computer screen bother you, consider wearing lightly tinted glasses or using a lamp rather than the overhead lights. Get an anti-glare screen for your computer.
• Be more ergonomic. According to the National Headache Foundation, eyestrain from looking at a computer screen for long periods isn’t usually the only cause of headaches. Equally important is your posture — think of how often you sit hunched over your desk. In addition to getting an ergonomic chair and positioning your keyboard for better body mechanics, take short but frequent breaks during the day just to stretch your legs, back, arms, and neck.

Headache at Work: On-The-Job Understanding

If you are experiencing repeated migraine attacks or chronic (almost daily) headaches, rather than the occasional head pain, consider talking to your employer about your medical condition. Migraine in particular is a debilitating pain that may get worse if you keep working after onset, even if you’ve taken your medication.

If you have a migraine with aura and haven’t already been diagnosed and treated by a headache specialist, see one right away. He or she can prescribe a triptan, a class of drugs specifically designed to blunt an emerging migraine, and possibly prevent migraines from interfering with your job. "If [a migraine] happens at work, and if you have a lounge, ask if you can lay down for a few minutes. Use the triptan drug as soon as possible and you'll usually get an effect within one to two hours,” says Seymour Diamond, MD, executive chairman of the National Headache Foundation and the director of the Inpatient Headache Unit at Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago. “As soon as you take it, it reverses the process. It doesn't work for everybody, but it does work for many people.”

The National Migraine Association reports that people with migraine are better able to cope with their headaches at work if they educate their boss and key co-workers in advance. Explain what your personal triggers are and what you'll need to do if a migraine comes on at work. With workplace understanding, you’ll be in a better frame of mind to manage your headache pain.

Sources​ ៖ www.everydayhealth.com