Pancreatitis headache - additional suffering to existing ones. Remove discomfort carefully. The use of familiar painkillers may not only not help, but even harm. Before choosing a method of treatment, you should evaluate the benefits and possible harm from its use.
Causes of pain
Pancreatitis is an inflammatory process of pancreatic tissue. Its main symptoms are pain in the epigastric region, the left hypochondrium. The pain is constant and worse with fatty, salty foods, citrus drinks, and alcohol. The pathology clinic is also accompanied by nausea and vomiting with bile. With pancreatitis, a headache is not considered a characteristic symptom, although it often accompanies the disease.
The main function of the pancreas is the production of enzymes for the processing of triglycerides, proteins and carbohydrates. With pancreatitis, the enzymes produced by the gland are not discarded, but are activated in it and destroy. Toxins and enzymes, which are released during this process, enter the bloodstream and through it to other organs, causing their destruction, accompanied by pain.
Pancreatic headache also occurs due to a lack of nutrients. Pancreatic secretion is involved in the neutralization of chyme. In violation of the digestive process, nutrients enter the bloodstream in an insufficient volume. A constant deficiency of salts, minerals, and vitamins leads to the destruction of the action potential of neurons. Peripheral nervous system receptors are in constant excitation of nociceptive pain in the head.
Pain in the chronic form of the pancreatic inflammatory process
Chronic pancreatitis is often asymptomatic. When the first clinical signs appear in the inflamed organ, serious violations are already observed. Headaches in chronic pancreatitis occur due to a violation of the diet.
During exacerbations, patients complain of pronounced constant discomfort in the abdomen, given off in a circle in the back. The pain is accompanied by nausea, frequent vomiting, upset stool (diarrhea is sharply replaced by constipation). A person constantly eats poorly, loses weight. To maintain normal functionality, the body begins to take nutrients from the so-called “reserves” - fatty tissue. Lipid metabolism is impaired, which leads to the development of other pathologies, the symptom of which is headaches.
Pain Relief Techniques
Before treating pain, you need to understand the cause of its occurrence. If the pain is associated with a lack of nutrients, it is necessary to review the regimen of food intake. For food to be good, it must be easily digestible, tasty and nutritious.
If the pain is permanent and nutrition is normal, therapeutic measures should be taken to eliminate it.
- The use of drugs. Analgesics, such as Solpadein, are quickly eliminated. Many people know how the drug helps, but its use also requires contraindications.
- Diet. The basis of conservative methods of treatment is diet therapy. Food that irritates the gastric mucosa is removed from the diet. The main objective of therapy is the normalization of digestive function.
- Ethnoscience. There are many recipes that help relieve headaches and prevent complications of pathology. But, even the use of, at first glance, harmless infusions, should first be discussed with the doctor.
What to take from a headache for pancreatitis: a review of drugs
When unpleasant sensations arise, you want to get rid of them as quickly as possible. If you can’t tolerate it, you have to take therapeutic measures. The easiest and most effective way to get rid of pain is to drink a medicine.
With a large selection of drugs, it is difficult to figure out which ones to take and which ones not. To make it easier to understand, for example, what “Askofen” is from, you need to know which pharmacological group it belongs to.
Analgesics are used against pain. They are non-narcotic and narcotic. The latter are sold exclusively by prescription and are under control. Non-narcotic analgesics are inferior to narcotic painkillers, but have significantly fewer side effects. With inflammation of the pancreas from a headache, any of these drugs can be used without fear:
- Derivatives of salicylic acid: Aspirin.
- Derivatives of pyrazoline: "Analgin."
- Derivatives of aniline: "Cefecon", "Nurofen", "Askofen", "Next", "Rinza", "Solpadein".
- Derivatives of organic acids: Ibuprofen, Ortofen.
- Oksikama: "Piroxicam."
Also, antispasmodics help with headaches: No-shpa, Spazoverin.
NSAID pain management
Headache is not the only unpleasant sensation in pancreatitis. In the gland, an inflammatory process is spreading to neighboring organs. To eliminate it, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. One of the most famous is Citramon. With pancreatitis, it can be taken without any conditions, because the drug, in addition to individual intolerance, has no contraindications.
The only thing to keep in mind is that the product contains acetylsalicylic acid. Overuse of the drug negatively affects the intestinal mucosa, which already suffers from the toxic effects of the enzymes of the inflamed pancreas.
Another well-known remedy and analogue of Citramon is Askofen. What is it prescribed from? In addition to headache, toothache, it is taken to lower the temperature during colds. The drug has not only additional indications, but also contraindications. Therefore, it should be drunk with extreme caution. Even if "Askofen" helps well from a headache, you can take it no more than five days.
Aniline derivatives - paracetamol
The most popular from various pains, including the head are derivatives of aniline dyes. The composition of all these drugs includes paracetamol. Drugs of this pharmacological group are prescribed not only for pain. It is not always clear why Solpadein, Nurofen, or any other derivatives of analin (paracetamol) help.
The fact is that the drugs, in addition to the analgesic effect, also have an antipyretic. For example, Solpadein helps with menstrual and back pain. Means are more effective for pain with a pronounced inflammatory component. If not only the head, but also the abdomen hurts with pancreatitis (due to an exacerbation of the pathology), agents with the active substance paracetamol are considered very effective for its elimination. In addition, they practically do not irritate the digestive tract.
What to take from a headache with pancreatitis during pregnancy?
Pancreatitis is a dangerous disease that often causes artificial termination of pregnancy. The problem is that the inflammatory process often goes away with mild clinical manifestations, which a woman takes for toxicosis. A constant headache during pregnancy may very well be a sign of pancreatitis.
Pathology, as a rule, is detected during the first screening (10-13 weeks of pregnancy). By then, toxins may already have a toxic effect on the fetus. The feasibility of abortion is determined after numerous examinations. In any case, therapy for pancreatic inflammation is prescribed.
Various pain sensations that accompany the pathology are stopped with the help of drugs. It is possible or not for pancreatitis "Spazmalgon" for pregnant women to decide a gynecologist. According to the instructions, because of the risk of premature closure of the ductus arteriosus and perinatal complications due to platelet aggregation, the use of the drug in the first 12 and last 6 weeks is contraindicated.
Dieting
Most often, a headache with pancreatitis is associated with a violation of the digestive tract. With effective therapeutic measures, the symptoms of the pathology are automatically eliminated. One of the methods of treatment is diet, or rather table number 5 B. The main features of diet therapy:
- Frequent meals in small portions.
- Boiled or steamed dishes.
- The food is mainly protein, the amount of fat and carbohydrates is minimal.
- Salt intake is limited to 6 grams.
- Food should not be hot or very cold.
- Up to 1.5 liters of fluid should be consumed per day.
A patient should consume an average of 2600 kcal per day.
Alternative Pain Management
If nothing helps with a headache with pancreatitis, you can try various alternative methods of treatment. The most effective are teas and infusions. Soothing remedies include herbs that have anti-inflammatory effects and eliminate not only headaches, but also have a therapeutic effect on the inflamed organ.
To prepare a drink, take a teaspoon of the dry mixture and pour a glass (250 g) of hot water. When the tea has cooled to an acceptable temperature for drinking, it is drunk before meals. You can brew in advance by storing the drink in the refrigerator. Tea is warmed before use.
You can eliminate a headache with pancreatitis in various ways, the main thing is that the method does not cause more harm.