The Complete Herbal Guide: A Natural Approach to Healing the Body - Heal Your Body Naturally and Maintain Optimal Health Using Alternative Medicine, Herbals, Vitamins, Fruits and Vegetables (100 page)

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Feeling of pressure and fullness in your brow

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Feeling of pressure and fullness in your forehead

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Pain may get worse when you bend forward or lie down.

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If sinusitis becomes chronic, the headaches may become a constant dull ache.

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Yellow-green nasal discharge

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Sore throat

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Fever

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Cough

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Fatigue

What is the difference between a sinus headache and a migraine?

The signs and symptoms of the two types of headaches often have common characteristics. Migraine pain often gets worse when you bend forward. Migraines can also be accompanied by various nasal signs and symptoms.
Such as:

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Congestion

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Facial pressure

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Watery nasal discharge

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Pounding or throbbing, aggravated by noise or bright light

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Accompanied by nausea

Causes

Sinusitis can be caused by colds, allergies, bacterial or fungal infections, problems with the immune system, or structural problems in the nasal cavity. The caused by pressure changes in the sinuses can trigger headaches.

Risk factors

Sinusitis can affect anyone. You may be more likely to develop chronic sinusitis if you have:

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Asthma

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Nasal growths (polyps)

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Allergies to dust

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Allergies to mold

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Allergies to pollen

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A weak immune system

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A condition that affects the way mucus moves within your respiratory system, such as cystic fibrosis

Treatment

If
you are diagnosed with sinusitis, your doctor may recommend antibiotics. You should always finish the entire prescribed medication, even if your signs and symptoms go away before all the pills or capsules are gone. This is the only way to get rid of the bacteria causing the infection. If the sinusitis is related to inflammation or allergies, your doctor may prescribe corticosteroid nasal sprays or pills.

As the sinus infection clears up, the sinus headaches should disappear. Over-the-counter pain relievers, decongestants and saline nasal spray might help you feel better too. If a structural problem in your nasal cavity is contributing to sinusitis or sinus headaches, surgical correction may be recommended.

If you continue to experience headaches, your doctor may look for other possible causes.

Prevention

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Wash your hands often:
Soap and water can help you avoid the upper respiratory infections that can lead to sinusitis. You may want to ask your doctor about a yearly flu vaccine as well.

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Avoid cigarettes, cigars and pipe smoke:
These and other air pollutants can cause your sinus membranes to swell.

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Use a humidifier:
Adding moisture to dry indoor air can help prevent sinusitis. However, watch out do not overdo. High indoor humidity can create mold and dust mite growth. Be sure the humidifier is clean and free of mold.

If you develop a cold or other upper respiratory infection, take good care of yourself. Drink plenty of fluids. Keep your nasal passages clear by gently blowing your nose, one nostril at a time.

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Angina is a chest pain or irritation that occurs when there is a lack of blood flow to the heart. Angina can be hazardous to your health, so it is important to take notice to chest pain
you are experiencing, know what is normal for you, teach yourself how to check, manage it, and understand when you need to get medical care.

Types of Angina:

Stable angina:
The pain is predictable and present only during hard work or extreme stress, fading away slowly.

• Unstable angina:
  This may signal an impending
  heart attack
  . Unstable angina is angina pain that is different from your regular angina pain or pain that occurs while at rest. The angina may occur more frequently, more easily at rest, feel more severe, or last longer. Although this type of angina can often be relieved with oral medications (medicine taken by mouth), it is unstable and may progress to a
  heart attack
  . Usually more intense medical treatment or a procedure is required.
  

• Prinzmetal's angina
  :
  This is when angina occurs when you’re resting, when sleeping, or when exposed to cold temperatures. In these cases, the symptoms are caused by decreased blood flow to the heart's muscle or from spasm of the coronary artery. The majority of people with this type of angina also have coronary artery disease. These spasms occur close to the blockage.
  

Causes

When blood flow to an area of the heart is decreased, it impairs the delivery of oxygen and vital nutrients to the heart muscle cells. When this happens, the heart muscle must use alternative, less efficient forms of fuel so that it can perform its function of pumping blood to the body. The byproduct of using this less efficient fuel is a compound called lactic acid that builds up in the muscle and causes pain.

Symptoms

Common symptoms:

1.  Are often described as pressure, squeezing, burning, or tightness in the chest

2.  Usually start in the chest behind the breastbone

3.  May also occur in the arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, throat, or back

4.  May feel like indigestion

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The pain or discomfort:

1. Occurs when the heart must work harder, usually during physical exertion
   
2. Is expected, and episodes of pain tend to be alike
   
3. Usually lasts a short time (5 minutes or less)
   
4. Is relieved by rest or angina medicine
   
5. May feel like gas or indigestion
   
6. May feel like chest pain that spreads to the arms, back, or other areas
   

The pain or discomfort:

• Often occurs at rest, while sleeping at night, or with little physical exertion
  
• Is unexpected
  
• Is more severe and lasts longer (as long as 30 minutes) than episodes of stable angina
  
• Is usually not relieved with rest or angina medicine
  
• May get continuously worse
  
• May signal that a heart attack will happen soon
  

The pain or discomfort:

• Usually occurs at rest and during the night or early morning hours
  
• Tends to be severe
  
• Is relieved by angina medicine
  

Diagnosis

To find out if you have angina, your doctor will:

• Do a physical exam
  
• Ask about your symptoms
  
• Ask about your risk factors and your family history of coronary artery disease (CAD) or other heart disease
  

Sometimes, your doctor can diagnose angina by noting your symptoms and how they occur. Your doctor may order one or more tests to help make a diagnosis of angina. The tests your doctor may order include:

• EKG
  (electrocardiogram).
  This test measures the rate and regularity of your heartbeat. Some people with angina have a normal EKG.
  
• Stress Test
  . Some heart problems are easier to diagnose when your heart is working harder and beating faster than when it's at rest. During stress testing, you exercise (or are given medicine if you are unable to exercise) to make your heart work harder and beat faster while heart tests are performed. During exercise stress testing, your blood pressure and EKG readings are monitored while you walk or run on a treadmill or pedal a bicycle.
  
• Other heart tests, such as nuclear heart scanning or echocardiography, also can be done at the same time. These would be ordered if your doctor needs more information than the exercise stress test can provide about how well your heart is working.
  
• If you are unable to exercise, a medicine can be injected through an IV into your bloodstream to make your heart work harder and beat faster, as if you are exercising on a treadmill or bicycle. Nuclear
  heart scanning or echocardiography
  is then usually done.
  
• During nuclear heart scanning, radioactive tracer is injected into your bloodstream, and a special camera shows the flow of blood through your heart and arteries. Echocardiography uses sound waves to show blood flow through the chambers and valves of your heart and to show the strength of your heart muscle.
  
• Your doctor also may order two newer tests along with stress testing if more information is needed about how well your heart works. These new tests are
  magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning of the heart
  . MRI shows detailed images of the structures and beating of your heart, which may help your doctor better assess if parts of your heart are weak or damaged. PET scanning shows the level of chemical activity in different areas of your heart. This can help your doctor determine if enough blood is flowing to the areas of your heart. A PET scan can show decreased blood flow caused by disease or damaged muscles that may not be detected by other scanning methods.
  
• Chest x ray.
  A chest x ray takes a picture of the organs and structures inside your chest. These include your heart, lungs, and blood vessels.
  
• Nuclear heart scans
  . This test provides your doctor with moving pictures of the blood passing through your heart's chambers and arteries and shows the level of blood flood to the heart muscle. A small amount of a radioactive tracer is injected into your bloodstream through a vein, usually in your arm. A special camera is placed in front of your chest to show where the tracer lights up in healthy heart muscle and where it doesn't light up (in heart muscle that has been damaged or has a blocked artery).
  
• There are different types of nuclear heart scans. Most scans have two phases—taking pictures of the heart at rest and while it is beating faster (called a stress test), although sometimes only a rest scan is done. Many heart problems show up more clearly when your heart is stressed than when it is at rest. By comparing the nuclear heart scan of your heart at rest to your heart at "stress," your doctor can determine if your heart is functioning normally or not.
  
• Echocardiogram
  .
  This test uses sound waves to create a moving picture of your heart. Echocardiogram provides information about the size and shape of your heart and how well your heart chambers and valves are functioning. The test also can identify areas of poor blood flow to the heart, areas of heart muscle that are not contracting normally, and previous injury to the heart muscle caused by poor blood flow.
  
• There are several different types of echocardiograms, including a stress echocardiogram. During this test, an echocardiogram is done both before and after your heart is stressed either by having you exercise or by injecting a medicine into your bloodstream that makes your heart beat faster and work harder. A stress echocardiogram is usually done to find out if you have decreased blood flow to your heart (
  coronary artery disease
  ).
  
• Cardiac catheterization
  .
  A thin flexible tube (catheter) is passed through an artery in the groin (upper leg) or arm to reach the coronary arteries. Your doctor can determine pressure and blood flow in the heart's chambers, collect blood samples from the heart, and examine the arteries of the heart by X ray.
  
• Coronary angiography.
  This test is done during cardiac catheterization. A dye that can be seen by x ray is injected through the catheter into the coronary arteries. Your doctor can see the flow of blood through your heart and the location of blockages.