The Effects Of Decongestants On High Blood Pressure
Know the risks
According to the CDC guidelines, nearly half of the U.S. adult population has high blood pressure. If you suffer from high blood pressure, you should know that decongestants may raise your blood pressure and may interfere with the medications you take.
What is the impact of decongestant medicines on blood pressure?
Many over-the-counter cold medicines contain a decongestant that can affect your blood pressure. This can be concerning for people who already have a high blood pressure level.
Why should high blood pressure sufferers consider cold medicines without decongestants?
If you have high blood pressure, its important you choose a cold medicine thats decongestant-free like Coricidin® HBP. It effectively treats cold and flu symptoms without raising your blood pressure.
Can decongestants affect the efficacy of my blood pressure medication?
Yes. Taking decongestants during a cold may interfere with the effectiveness of your blood pressure medications. Its important to speak to your doctor or pharmacist about your medications.
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Sinus Headache Relief: When To See A Doctor
Not all headaches fit the mould. If youre still not sure what type of headache you have, speak to a doctor. Your doctor will make a diagnosis while considering your lifestyle and other factors that may contribute to your headaches.
You should consult a doctor immediately if your sinus headaches
- pose pain for longer than 10 days or keep coming back or
- are accompanied by fever or throat inflammation that last over a week.
The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner youll be able to get long-term relief.
Sinus Headache Symptoms & Treatment Options
Sinus headaches can bring acute discomfort to the sufferer, and are commonly experienced as pain across the forehead, nose and cheekbones. Sharp movements of the head can result in bursts of pain, making everyday life uncomfortable.
For many sufferers, diagnosing whether you have a sinus issue or a migraine can be tricky. If you or your child areexperiencing the symptoms of sinus headache or a possible migraine, Dr. Chacko will diagnose the issue and work to find the best sinus treatment solution for you. Serving families in the Atlanta area, Chacko Allergy is ready to help.
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Managing Migraines At Home
A migraine is a common type of headache. It may occur with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light. Most people feel a throbbing pain on only one side of their head during a migraine.
Some people who get migraines have warning signs, called an aura, before the actual headache begins. An aura is a group of symptoms that includes vision changes. An aura is a warning sign that a bad headache is coming.
Migraine headaches can be triggered by certain foods. The most common are:
- Any processed, fermented, pickled, or marinated foods, as well as foods that contain monosodium glutamate
- Baked goods, chocolate, nuts, and dairy products
- Fruits
- Meats containing sodium nitrates, such as bacon, hot dogs, salami, and cured meats
- Red wine, aged cheese, smoked fish, chicken liver, figs, and certain beans
Alcohol, stress, hormonal changes, skipping meals, lack of sleep, certain odors or perfumes, loud noises or bright lights, exercise, and cigarette smoking may also trigger a migraine.
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Solutions For Dry Air
Dry air can irritate your sinuses, so ensuring it isn’t too dry can be helpful. You can use a humidifier or vaporizer to increase the humidity in your home. Other ways to benefit from using water include soaking a towel in warm water and holding it over your face for a few minutes. You can also use a saline solution nasal spray for the same purpose.
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Reduce Unhealthy Vices And Protect Yourself
Smoking and cigarette smoke can increase your chances of getting sinusitis by damaging the natural protective elements of your respiratory system. As an added plus, quitting smoking can also help prevent many other episodes of chronic and acute illnesses, apart from just sinusitis.
If air pollution and smog pollute your environment, you can consider donning protective gear like an N95 face mask that can help prevent smoke particles from entering your body and causing discomfort to your nasal passage.
How Do You Get Rid Of A Sinus Headache
No doubt if you have a sinus headache you want to know how to relieve a sinus headache. Fortunately, many sinus infections will go away within seven to 10 days by themselves, just through the use of home remedies.
There are several things you can do from your home that might relieve your sinus headaches, including:
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Best Medicines For Sinus Pressure 2020
If you are experiencing increased sinus pressure, it is possible that youre feeling significant pain around different areas of your face: this is most likely caused by an accumulation of mucus, which results in a congested sinus. Not only is it painful, but it also makes it difficult for you to go about your daily routine.
Fortunately, there isnt a need for us to simply soldier through the discomfort because of the sheer number of different treatments available for sinus pressure. However, it is not uncommon for people to accidentally delay relief as a cause of purchasing the wrong products when in the drugstore.
Prevent the expensive episode of trial and error and make sure to buy the best medicine for sinus pressure that works by checking out this buying guide.
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Important Tips And Different Ways To Get Relief From Sinus Headache
Other than remedies using ingredients, here are some of the things you can incorporate in daily life to get relief from sinus headache.
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What Home Remedies Help Soothe Sinus Headache Symptoms
There are a number of self-care measures available to help decrease sinus congestion and promote drainage of the sinuses, providing relief for sinus headache.
- Drink plenty of fluids to help you stay hydrated.
- Breathe humidified air.
- OTC pain medicationssuch as acetaminophen and ibuprofen can help control pain.
- such as pseudoephedrine may be useful in promoting drainage of the sinuses. People with high blood pressure or heart conditions should check with their healthcare practitioner before using these medications. A number of over-the-counter decongestant medications are available, either singly or in combination with antihistamines, pain relievers, and/or anti-inflammatory medications.
- are also available that contain decongestant medications, but these should not be used for more than three days, due to the possibility of rebound inflammation, a worsening of the condition once use of the spray has stopped.
- Inhaled steroid preparations are sometimes prescribed to treat allergic sinusitis, and bacterial infections of the sinuses are treated with antibiotics.
- Antihistamines may be useful if allergies such as hay fever are the cause of congestion.
Best Medications To Get Rid Of Sinus Headaches Fast
Sinus headaches are quite common in a large percentage of the general population. It occurs when the cavities behind your nose, at the back of your eyes, in your cheeks and forehead are clogged due to some infection or allergy or even simple cold. This leads to severe headache, causing pressure in the area between your eyes, above the nose.
Sinus headaches can be very troublesome. It not only causes pain and pressure in your sinus region, but also causes serious discomfort. The discomfort increases if you try to lie down or bent over. Usually the symptoms of sinus headache include nasal discharge or stuffy nose or sore throat and cough, along with fatigue. If you do not have these additional symptoms, then you may not have sinus headache. However, if you do, it is important that you have it treated soon, as delay will only increase your pain and discomfort.
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When To See A Doctor
Make an appointment when your headaches:
- Are coming more often and are more severe
- Don’t get better with over-the-counter medications
- Keep you from working, sleeping, or doing your normal activities
- Cause other problems
It’s likely that your doctor will talk to you about your health, both now and in the past, and run some tests to rule out other possible causes of your head pain before coming up with a treatment plan.
A severe headache may be a symptom of a serious condition such as a stroke, meningitis, or encephalitis. Seek emergency care if you:
- Are confused or have trouble understanding speech
What Kind Of Doctor Or Other Healthcare Professional Treats Sinus Headache
- Frequently, sinus headaches are managed by primary care physicians including those that specialize in internal medicine, family medicine, or pediatrics.
- For complicated cases, an ear, nose, and throat specialist may be consulted.
- With unusual infections, such as fungal infections, a specialist in infectious diseases may be consulted.
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Diy Decongestant For Sinus Headache
The properties of different ingredients used in this process provide relief from the inflammation, pain, congestion, infection and pressure in sinus cavities.
- In a saucepan, add 1/4 cup each of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.
- Simmer this mixture on heat.
- Add 3 tablespoons of honey, 1/2 teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, ginger powder and cinnamon powder.
- Remove from the flame, let it cool down and store in an airtight container in cool dark place.
- Consume 1 â 2 tablespoons of this mixture daily. For kids, use a very less amount of this mixture.
Note: Shake the bottle well before consuming as some ingredients may have settle down to the bottom. A gentle shake will incorporate them again. For more effective results, you can warm up the mixture before consuming.
Preventive Medications And Treatments
A wide range of drugs may be prescribed to prevent migraine attacks from forming, and some medical treatments can help. Such approaches are considered especially in cases of chronic migraine, in which you have 15 or more headache episodes a month.
Several types of preventative migraine medications may be prescribed. The most common of these are:
- Tricyclic antidepressants: Elavil and Pamelor
- Beta-blockers: Tenormin and Inderal
- Antiepileptic drugs: Depakote and Topamax
- Calcium channel blockers: Calan
- Calcitonin gene-related monoclonal antibodies: Vyepti and Ajovy
Additionally, in cases in which medications arent yielding results, Botox injections can be considered. In this therapy, doctors target specific areas in your forehead, temples, the sides and back of the head, and the neck. Though the frequency and intensity of migraines are reduced, the effect is temporary, and appointments are needed every three months.
When the condition is associated with the menstrual cycle, hormone replacement therapy may be attempted.
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Address Teeth Grinding Or Excessive Chewing
People have to eat to survive, and chewing is an important part of eating. However, studies suggest that excessive chewing might be linked to more headaches and even migraine. Researchers focused on gum-chewing for the study and found that tension headaches and migraine were more common in people who chewed gum frequently.
While you cant avoid eating, you may want to rethink chewing gum if you regularly experience migraine. You may also want to consider if you clench or grind your teeth while sleeping, as this could have a similar effect.
Remedies For Sinus Headaches
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Sinus headaches are caused by blocked sinuses, giving you pain and pressure around your sinuses, including between your eyes and above your nose. The pain can get worse when you move and the headache usually comes with other symptoms too, such as a stuffy nose or a sore throat. Experiencing a sinus headache can be tough, but there are remedies that can help you to deal with the problem.
Dealing with the pain you’re experiencing is important, but it can also be necessary to consider treatments for the underlying cause of your sinus headaches too. An ear, nose and throat doctor might prescribe certain medications or suggest treatments that you can try at home.
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Find A Quiet Dark Place To Relax
Sensitivity to light and sound is one of the most common migraine symptoms. Get away from these things if you can. This can help you find relief from your pain and can alleviate stress.
Lie down and pay attention to your breathing. Try taking slow, deep breaths from your diaphragm. Feel your stomach rise with the inhale and fall with the exhale. This can help you relax.
Dehydration can cause headaches and even migraine, but new research shows hydration can reduce and possibly even prevent headache pain. In the study, people who drank their recommended daily water intake had headaches that were:
- less frequent
- less severe
- shorter in duration
If you dont regularly drink enough water, increasing your intake may both help reduce your migraine pain and prevent repeat attacks.
Why Do We Get Headaches
Interestingly enough, headaches are not actually aches of the head. Brains dont even feel pain. When you stub your toe, hit your funny-bone, or get a headache, your nervous system has sent a message to your brain. Your brain takes in this information and outputs another signal called pain. In the case of toe-stubbing or funny-bone-hitting, it was these actions that created the pain. In the case of headaches, its actually the muscles, nerves, blood vessels surrounding the head and neck area that are the catalyst. With that in mind, understand that there are many different factors that can cause headaches.
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Eucalyptus Oil For Sinus Headache Treatment
The cineole component present in Eucalyptus oil holds anti-inflammatory properties which reduce the inflammation. Eucalyptus is also rich in decongestion properties which reduce the mucus production which reduces the congestion in the sinus cavities.
Process 1:
Process 2: With Carrier Oil
- Dilute few drops of eucalyptus oil in 2 teaspoons of coconut oil or olive oil.
- Rub the mixture gently on sinus regions which include areas around nose, forehead and cheeks to get relief from the sinus pressure and headache.
Tip: Take a clean handkerchief or cotton pad and pour few drops of eucalyptus oil on it. Smell the eucalyptus placing the handkerchief near the nose. You can smell it throughout the day whenever required.
Important Facts About Asthma And Migraine
The relationship between migraine and asthma is equally confusing. Clearly, there is some overlap in the risk or triggering factors for asthma and migrainefor example, stress and certain environmental triggers or allergens. Often migraine sufferers with asthma report that both asthma and migraine can worsen at the same time, and occasionally one seems to lead to the other. In one study, patients with asthma were 1.5 times more likely to also have migraine.
- Asthma may be triggered by a number of different allergens or environmental triggers that also may lead to other airway conditions such as allergic rhinitis.
- Airway conditions including asthma, allergic rhinitis, or sinusitis all may be associated with headache.
- Diagnosing the specific headaches associated with airway conditions is important to ensure that treatment is successful. For example, some over-the-counter allergy medicines may also lead to a worsening of headache in some patients, especially if taken frequently.
- Asthma may be associated or comorbid with migraine, and a full diagnosis of each condition is needed.
- Identifying potential triggers for asthma is important for reducing the risk of an attack and the risk of triggering a migraine.
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Treatments For Sinus Headache Relief
Unless youre experiencing the symptoms of fever, severe pain or infection that lasts for more than seven days, its unlikely that youll require medical treatment for acute sinusitis.
Although most doctors would usually recommend allowing the sinus infections to run their course and resolve on their own, that does not mean you cannot look at home remedies in the meantime. A sinus headache remedy can help relieve sinus headache pain by thinning out the congestion trapped in your sinuses.