Many people are familiar with the bad phenomenon when after eating a headache. The usual process of eating for them turns into torment. The only solution in this case is to drink an anesthetic and consult a doctor. Only a professional will help to understand why headaches appear during or after a tasty and satisfying dinner. The causes of malaise can be very different, from an unbalanced diet to serious pathologies. In this article, we will talk about why headaches hurt after eating and how to treat it.
Causes of occurrence
Today, there are several types of headaches that occur after eating:
- sore in the frontal and temporal zone - the character is constant;
- pain that increases after physical exertion;
- pulsating pain, covering the entire head;
- wandering pains.
If a person has a headache after eating, then perhaps this happens for the following reasons:
- irregular nutrition;
- the wrong diet;
- very hot or cold food;
- poisoning;
- migraine;
- intoxication.
Food poisoning
Spoiled products, once in the gastrointestinal tract, begin to secrete harmful substances, which, in turn, penetrate the bloodstream and have a toxic effect on the whole body. A person has pain in the abdomen and head, which are aching or piercing.
In addition, other negative signs are manifested:
- nausea and vomiting;
- dizzy;
- diarrhea;
- flatulence;
- lethargy;
- pain in the joints and muscles;
- sweating
- temperature rise;
- pallor of the face.
Migraine
If you have a headache after eating, this may be a sign of migraine. This disease is characterized by intense pain in the head, which occurs without special reasons.
A migraine attack is usually accompanied by the following symptoms:
- noise phobia;
- photophobia;
- vomiting and nausea;
- nervousness and irritability;
- drowsiness;
- dizziness.
Intoxication
Frequent constipation can also trigger a symptom when you have a headache after eating. The reason for this is the uncleaned intestines. After all, this can cause intoxication of the body. Hazardous substances accumulate in the intestines, which lead to a sharp deterioration in well-being.
Usually the pain associated with this cause occurs about three to four hours after eating and does not go away until the person drinks the pain medication. In addition, the following symptoms may occur: vomiting, nausea, and constipation. In order to avoid intoxication of the body, you should cleanse the intestines with laxatives or enemas.
Allergic reaction
Often the cause of headaches and fatigue after eating can be a food allergy. For example, people who are allergic to milk may experience pain after eating butter, cream, yogurt, cheese, and other foods that contain milk. In addition, the body releases a chemical histamine during an allergic reaction, and it in turn causes swelling of the sinus cavity. This inflammatory process leads to pain in the head.
Hypoglycemia
Another reason why you have a headache after eating is low blood sugar. This provokes the manifestation of hypoglycemic syndrome, which in turn occurs in such cases:
- with early diabetes;
- irregular nutrition;
- lack of sleep;
- malnutrition;
- when using certain medications;
- drinking alcohol;
- liver diseases.
In this case, nutrients do not saturate the body immediately after a meal, and the process of its digestion causes the body to spend extra energy. In addition to headaches, sweating, nausea, and feelings of emptiness and confusion in thoughts may be present.
Food temperature
At times, the head begins to hurt after eating that was too cold or, conversely, too hot. Dental nerves experience shock, and since they interact with nerve cells in the brain, pain spreads to the temporal part, ears and cheekbones. In this case, the pain is piercing, sharp and burning in nature.
Overload
What else could be the reasons why my head hurts after eating ? The problem may be poor nutrition. When in the daily diet the amount of animal fats, meat and carbohydrates exceeds the amount of fruits, vegetables and cereals, malfunctions occur in the body. After all, he needs a lot of energy to digest food, and if you add frequent alcohol consumption, lack of sleep, smoking to an unbalanced diet, then signs of food poisoning may appear from overloading with harmful substances.
The patient has:
- nausea;
- headaches;
- lethargy;
- sweating
- dyspnea.
How to treat an eating headache
The reasons why after eating a headache starts to hurt are actually many. If such a problem does not occur often, you should watch your body. It is possible that the occurrence of headaches is associated with a body reaction to a product. You can start a notebook and write out food in it, which was on the menu and after which an unpleasant symptom occurred. Thus, you can find out dangerous products for yourself and stop eating them.
Most often, if your head hurts immediately after eating, the attack is stopped by painkillers:
- "Analgin";
- "Paracetamol";
- "Nuroven";
- Citromone, etc.
In the event that the head aches due to poisoning with alcoholic beverages, you should drink an analgesic or an adsorbent. With frequent occurrence of intense pain in the head after eating, you should consult a doctor. Self-medication is not worth it, it can be dangerous.
In case of food poisoning, it is necessary to use adsorbents, and in severe cases, gastric lavage is used.
Severe headaches associated with migraine should be treated with painkillers. In addition, the patient needs to restore the balance of trace elements and vitamins.
If the head hurts and becomes dizzy after eating, and this is associated with hypoglycemia, observation by a physician and endocrinologist is required. After all the necessary tests have been completed, specialists will prescribe the appropriate therapy.
With an acute reaction of the body to cold and hot food, proper toothpaste can help. You should also consult your dentist. To alleviate the condition, it is necessary to monitor the temperature of the food consumed.
To get rid of a periodic headache after eating, experts advise you to balance your diet, lead an active lifestyle, exercise regularly and take multivitamins.
Products containing chemical additives, colorants and preservatives should also be excluded from the diet. Such food often causes pain in the head. It can be:
- mayonnaise, sauces, seasonings, canned foods and semi-finished products, which contain a large amount of monosodium glutamate;
- carbonated drinks, chewing gums, yogurts, sugar substitutes, hot chocolate, cough tablets containing aspartame;
- red wine, salted fish, low alcohol drinks, jams containing sodium sulfate.
In addition to synthetic substances, persistent headaches can cause biogenic amines. They meet:
- in Apple pie order;
- canned food and pickles;
- overripe fruits;
- fermented raw materials;
- nuts and legumes;
- in alcohol;
- canned and smoked meat.
In order for the food headache not to appear, you should use more often:
- greens;
- ginger;
- spinach;
- fresh vegetables;
- olive oil;
- fish
- flax seeds.
Traditional medicine
When a meal hurts your head, you can use folk recipes:
- Make ginger tea. It speeds up the metabolism, helps the absorption of food and eliminates the violation of homeostasis. A glass of boiling water needs one teaspoon of ground ginger. Tea should be infused for ten minutes. After, you can put sugar or honey in it to improve the taste.
- Mint tea. This drink quenches thirst, refreshes, tones and improves the condition of a sick person. Mint is washed and brewed with boiling water. Fifteen minutes later, the healing tea is ready. You can also put honey or sugar in it for taste.
- Combing your hair with a wooden comb improves blood circulation in the head.
- A warm bath helps to cope with unpleasant symptoms. You can add a little essential oil of citrus, lavender, sage to the water.
- Massage in the area of the neck, shoulders, forehead and temples helps to cope with headache.
Prevention
In order for the food headache not to appear, and the state of health remained normal, it should:
- to refuse from bad habits;
- eat right (in small portions, at least five times a day);
- consume a lot of water;
- consciously approach the choice of food;
- do not use hunger strikes as a method for losing weight or curing various diseases;
- problems with excess weight are best solved by consulting a nutritionist and following his advice;
- lead an active and healthy lifestyle;
- refuse sweet soda, light carbohydrates and fast food;
- often walk in the fresh air;
- enjoy more.
These techniques are excellent prophylaxis against headaches. If the causes of the painful symptoms after eating are not clear, you should consult your doctor.