Headache after eating: causes of severe discomfort, what to do, treatment

Many people are familiar with the unpleasant phenomenon when, after a tasty and satisfying lunch, a headache begins to ache. A daily and ordinary process turns into torture for them. Victims are forced to take painkillers and see a doctor. Only a qualified specialist will help you understand why you have a headache after or during eating. Factors that provoke illness can be very different, ranging from poor nutrition to serious illnesses. What methods of treating headaches exist and how to avoid another attack?

Causes

Today there are several types of headaches that occur after eating:

pain in the frontal and temporal zone - constant;
pain that increases after exercise;
pain of a pulsating nature, covering the entire head;
wandering pains.

If a person has a headache after eating, it may be due to the following reasons:

irregular meals;
wrong diet;
very hot or cold food;
poisoning;
migraine;
intoxication.

Food poisoning

Spoiled foods, once in the gastrointestinal tract, begin to release harmful substances, which, in turn, penetrating into the blood have a toxic effect on the entire body. A person experiences pain in the abdomen and head, which is aching or piercing in nature.

In addition, other negative signs appear:

nausea and vomiting;
dizzy;
diarrhea;
flatulence;
lethargy;
painful sensations in joints and muscles;
sweating;
temperature increase;
paleness of the face.

Intoxication

Frequent constipation can also trigger the symptom of a headache after eating. The reason for this is unclean intestines. After all, this can cause intoxication of the body. Dangerous substances accumulate in the intestines, which lead to a sharp deterioration in health.

Typically, pain associated with this cause occurs approximately three to four hours after eating and does not go away until the person takes a painkiller. 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.

Hypoglycemia

Another reason why you get a headache after eating is low blood sugar. This provokes manifestations of hypoglycemic syndrome, which in turn occurs in the following cases:

with early diabetes;
irregular diet;
lack of sleep;
malnutrition;
when using certain medications;
drinking alcoholic beverages;
liver diseases.

In this case, nutrients do not saturate the body immediately after eating, and the process of digesting it itself causes the body to waste extra energy. In addition to headaches, there may be: sweating, nausea and feelings of emptiness and confusion in thoughts.

Etiology [causes]

Headaches after eating can occur due to eating certain foods.

With a large intake of vitamin A into the body, unpleasant pain occurs in the head and stomach. Vitamin A is found in tomatoes, liver, egg yolks, apricots, and butter.
Sausage lovers suffer from headaches more often than those who do not have a strong addiction to these products. This is explained by the high content of preservatives and monosodium glutamate, which they like to add to these products.
After drinking cold drinks, pain will indicate a sharp change in temperature.
The occurrence of spasms is provoked by alcoholic drinks and coffee abuse.

Poor diet, body malfunction, or eating too cold or hot food can also cause headaches.

The symptom is caused by additives that are used in food production. These include:

Monosodium glutamate . A substance that is added to all sausages, sauces, chips and crackers, and instant products. Over time, it accumulates in the body and causes severe headaches.
Biogenic amines . They are part of soybeans, and are also found in mayonnaise and smoked products. You should not include them in your daily diet.
Nitrites . Most often they are added to canned fish. Unscrupulous manufacturers add them to products in large quantities to increase shelf life.
Aspartame . Contained in sweet carbonated drinks.
Sodium sulfite . Beer, canned fruit and marmalade are places where you encounter this substance.

You need to start observing the behavior of your body. When eating this or that product, look at its reaction. If you have a headache after eating and the pain is severe, acute and long-lasting, or you experience abdominal cramps, vomiting and dizziness, you should immediately consult a doctor.

The first step is to make an appointment with a therapist. Tell a specialist about the nature of your headache and the accompanying symptoms. The doctor will refer you for appropriate tests and examinations. Based on the results of the completed tests, the specialist will be able to make a diagnosis or name the cause of the headaches.

When the first symptoms appear, it is important not to delay going to the doctor. At an early stage, any disease is treated faster. By seeking medical help immediately, the patient will save himself from long-term treatment.

Overload

What other reasons could there be for a headache after eating? The problem may be poor nutrition. When the amount of animal fats, meat and carbohydrates in the daily diet exceeds the amount of fruits, vegetables and grains, 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, and smoking to an unbalanced diet, then signs resembling food poisoning may arise from an overload of harmful substances.

Treatment

At home, to get rid of pain, it is best to use one of the analgesic drugs:

Analgin;
Paracetamol;
Citramon;
Tempalgin;
Ketanov;
Nurofen.

It should be borne in mind that with the help of these medications you cannot get rid of the problem, you can only remove its most obvious symptom. If you take them too often, addiction will set in and the pills will no longer give the desired effect.

As additional measures to eliminate pain and nausea, you can use:

relaxation with quiet relaxing music;
sleep (the best way to relieve stress);
aromatherapy using lavender, lemon, rosemary or mint oils (permissible only in the absence of contraindications, special care must be taken during pregnancy).

How to treat food headaches

There are actually many reasons why a headache starts after eating. If such a problem occurs infrequently, you should monitor your body. It is possible that the occurrence of headaches is associated with the body's reaction to some product. You can keep a notebook and write down in it the food that was on the menu and after which an unpleasant symptom arose. This way you can identify foods that are dangerous to you and stop eating them.

Most often, if you have a headache immediately after eating, the attack can be stopped with painkillers:

"Analgin";
"Paracetamol";
"Nuroven";
"Citromon", etc.

If you have a headache due to alcohol poisoning, you should drink an analgesic or adsorbent. If you frequently experience intense headaches after eating, you should consult a doctor. You should not self-medicate, 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 migraines should be treated with painkillers. In addition, the patient needs to restore the balance of microelements and vitamins.

If your head hurts and feels dizzy after eating, and this is associated with hypoglycemia, observation by a therapist and endocrinologist is required. After all the necessary tests have been completed, specialists will prescribe appropriate therapy.

In case of an acute reaction of the body to cold and hot food, the right 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 periodic headaches after eating, experts advise balancing your diet, leading an active lifestyle, exercising regularly and taking multivitamins.

You should also exclude from your diet foods containing chemical additives, dyes and preservatives. Such food often causes painful sensations in the head. It can be:

mayonnaise, sauces, seasonings, canned food and semi-finished products that contain large amounts of monosodium glutamate;
carbonated drinks, chewing gum, yoghurt, sugar substitutes, hot chocolate, cough tablets containing aspartame;
red wine, salted fish, low-alcohol drinks, jams containing sodium sulfate.

In addition to synthetic substances, biogenic amines can cause constant headaches. They meet:

in Apple pie order;
canned food and pickles;
overripe fruits;
fermented raw materials;
nuts and legumes;
in alcohol;
canned and smoked meat.

To prevent food headaches from occurring, you should consume more often:

greenery;
ginger;
spinach;
fresh vegetables;
olive oil;
fish;
flax seeds.

Headache after eating: types of pain and provoking factors

Eating is accompanied by a pleasant feeling of fullness, a surge of vigor and strength when satisfying hunger, as well as pleasure from the taste and aroma of dishes and drinks. However, for some people this process turns into torment due to headaches that occur after eating. It can appear once or be permanent.

In order to cope with this problem, experts recommend a consistent solution:

determination of the type of pain syndrome;
identification of the provoking factor;
eliminating the cause of the disease;
preventive actions.

Types of headaches

After eating, headaches vary in different ways, depending on the cause that triggered the symptom.

There are several types of pain syndrome, differing in localization, intensity and duration, in particular:

pulsating, localized in the two hemispheres of the brain;
continuous, aching in the forehead and temporal region;
increasing during physical activity;
wandering (increases or decreases during the day).

Since there are many provoking factors for this disease, determining the nature of the pain helps the specialist narrow down this list to several probable causes.

Before visiting a doctor, it is useful to independently study information about what can cause an unpleasant symptom. In some cases, you can get rid of a food headache on your own.

Causes and features of the manifestation of the disease

Headache is a common symptom of various pathologies. If you have a headache every day after eating, this may indicate serious pathologies that only a doctor can identify.

Fortunately, most of the reasons for this phenomenon lie in poor nutrition, intoxication of the body and excessive consumption of certain foods.

Common causes of food headaches:

Hypoglycemia. Occurs against the background of a decrease in blood glucose levels. Pain syndrome develops due to lack of brain nutrition and occurs in two hemispheres simultaneously. This disease affects diabetics, smokers and people who fast or adhere to a strict diet for a long time.
An excess of vitamin A. If a person eats a lot of foods high in this biologically active substance, this can lead to abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting and, as a result, headaches.
Overload of the body. Energy is needed to digest what you eat. If you eat heavy food in large quantities, for example, fatty meat, the body may simply not cope with this process. In this case, symptoms similar to poisoning occur - pain in the head, stomach, nausea and lethargy. If the body is severely weakened, then even a small amount of food can cause poor health.
Dental disease. If the root of a tooth is damaged, but the nerve is not affected, then the person usually does not even realize there is a problem. However, when eating solid food, strong pressure is applied to the teeth, as a result of which the destroyed root begins to put pressure on soft tissues and nerve endings, which leads to pain. The pain occurs immediately after eating, is perceived as sharp and sharp, and sometimes turns into aching. It is localized in one hemisphere, but can spread throughout the head.
Food temperature. Ice water or boiling water irritates the dental nerves, which are connected to the nerve endings of the head. As a result, a sharp and burning pain appears, spreading to the temporal region, areas of the ears and cheekbones.
Intoxication. With constipation, feces accumulate in the intestines, which constantly poison the body. The headache starts a few hours after eating. The symptom is felt as aching, tense, and is difficult to eliminate by taking painkillers.
Food and alcohol poisoning. Any toxic substance can provoke this disease. The stronger the poisoning, the more intense the discomfort.
Violation of sleep and rest patterns. If a person works a lot but rests little, this leads to overstrain of the blood vessels in the brain. As a result, after a heavy lunch, blood pressure rises sharply and pain appears.

In addition to the above reasons, the food itself, or rather the substances contained in it, can become a source of the problem.

Headache may occur due to:

monosodium glutamate, which is used for preservation, production of sausages, chips, seasonings;
biogenic amines contained in soybeans, pineapples, celery;
nitrites, which are used to process fruits, vegetables, meat to improve presentation and preservation, and are also added to canned fish;
aspartame, present in chewing gum and sweet carbonated drinks;
sodium sulfite, used for making beer and preserving fruit.

The disease can occur in the form of a food allergy to any product. In this case, the identification of the provoking factor is carried out individually.

To relieve pain, take medications with an analgesic effect. You can alleviate the painful condition with the help of Analgin, Citromon, Paracetomol, Spasmalgon and a number of other medications.

It should be remembered that these drugs are not suitable for frequent use. If a headache occurs constantly after eating, then it is necessary to eliminate the cause, and not the consequence of the disease.

Rare painful manifestations can be eliminated on your own. It is necessary to observe the body’s reaction to certain ingredients included in the food.

This will help identify individual food intolerances. If you have constipation, you need to ensure regular bowel cleansing. If poisoning occurs, you should rinse the stomach (induce vomiting).

In case of persistent pain, it is better to seek help from a doctor.

A medical examination is necessary in the following cases:

pain is severe, acute or prolonged;
other symptoms are present - nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, palpitations, dizziness, loss of consciousness.

Folk methods of struggle

Headaches after eating can be relieved with the help of traditional medicine. There are many recipes that help quickly and effectively eliminate this symptom. Healers suggest drinking decoctions and teas from medicinal herbs, doing head, neck and shoulder massages, and taking baths with essential oils.

Traditional medicine

When you have a headache after eating, you can use traditional recipes:

Make ginger tea. It speeds up metabolism, helps digest food and eliminates homeostasis. For a glass of boiling water you need one teaspoon of ground ginger. The tea should steep for ten minutes. Afterwards, you can add sugar or honey to improve the taste.
Mint tea. This drink quenches thirst, refreshes, tones and improves the condition of a sick person. The mint is washed and brewed with boiling water. After fifteen minutes of infusion, the medicinal tea is ready. You can also add honey or sugar to it for taste.
Combing your hair with a wooden comb improves blood circulation in the head.
A warm bath is a good way to cope with unpleasant symptoms. You can add a little essential oil of citrus, lavender, and sage to the water.
Massage in the area of the neck, shoulders, forehead and temples helps to cope with headaches.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis helps identify the causes of headaches at an early stage. It is pointless to use painkillers for a long time, since any disease requires special treatment. The drugs only help temporarily relieve pain.

Basic diagnostic methods:

MRI is a painless and safe magnetic resonance imaging scan. The equipment scans a person’s head and transfers the image to the monitor screen.
Rheovasography . Using this method, the vessels of the neck and head are examined. During the process, the condition of the veins, arteries and blood flow speed are examined.
Rheoencephalography of cerebral vessels . Usually prescribed to check for vegetative-vascular dystonia, vascular atherosclerosis and other diseases
Ultrasound Dopplerography of the vessels of the head . This method uses ultrasound. Diagnosis using this method is prescribed for suspected stroke, migraine, or osteochondrosis.
Ultrasound examination of the vessels of the head is carried out for complaints of tinnitus, anxiety, and impaired sensitivity in the arms and legs.
Electroencephalography of the brain . Electrodes that transmit electrical impulses are attached to the patient's head. This diagnostic method is prescribed for seizures, insomnia, and frequent dizziness.

There are many traditional medicine recipes that help in the fight against headaches. If a headache appears again after taking it and begins to cause great inconvenience and discomfort, you need to turn to the following methods:

Ginger tea . Ginger has the ability to speed up metabolism, due to which food is absorbed by the body faster. The recipe is simple - one teaspoon of ginger per glass of boiled water. Let it brew for about 10 minutes and add sugar or honey to improve the taste.
Mint . A drink with mint is perfectly refreshing and quenches thirst. The leaves must be washed well and brewed in a thermos. After 15 minutes, the decoction can be taken; sweeten it as desired.
Warm bath . Helps improve blood circulation and the patient's condition. You can add a few drops of essential oil to the water - citrus, sage or lavender.

We must not forget that the treatment of headaches directly depends on its type. Perhaps the headache is a symptom of another disease. For treatment purposes, valproates, B vitamins, sedatives, as well as physiotherapy and vascular drugs are used.

Prevention

To prevent food headaches from appearing and to ensure that your health remains normal, you should:

to refuse from bad habits;
eat right (small portions, at least five times a day);
drink a lot of water;
consciously approach food choices;
do not use hunger strikes as a method for losing weight or treating various diseases;
problems with excess weight are best solved by consulting a nutritionist and following his advice;
lead an active and healthy lifestyle;
give up sweet carbonated water, light carbohydrates and fast food;
often walk in the fresh air;
be more happy.

These techniques are an excellent preventive measure against headaches. If the causes of painful symptoms after eating are not clear, you should consult a doctor.

At-risk groups

In weather-dependent people and people who are forced or intentionally refusing to eat, a painful condition occurs more often. This is due to the tendency of vascular spasms to occur and impaired microcirculation of the cervical spine during stressful psycho-emotional overloads. When a person has chronic migraine, it is dangerous for him to change his diet and take long breaks between meals.

People at risk should not engage in therapeutic fasting without consulting a doctor. He will give recommendations on how to properly decompress the body and lose weight without risking your health. Violating the diet is also undesirable:

people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries;
patients with osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

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