Headache after chemotherapy: causes and effective treatments

But even after the end of chemotherapy , a person does not always feel satisfactorily; sometimes a headache , forcing him to ask a doctor for help

Causes 

The occurrence of pain can be influenced by all sorts of reasons, different for each patient. Medical practice identifies the following main factors that provoke headaches after completion of chemotherapy:

• A person's immunity undergoes significant changes and decreases after the use of drugs to treat cancer, and his body loses the ability to effectively fight infections. Once inside the patient’s body, pathogenic microorganisms begin to multiply rapidly and cause inflammatory processes in different parts of the body. Infectious diseases are often accompanied by headaches
• Painful sensations can cause metastases in the human body
• The use of “chemistry” affects pathological processes in organs. The tumor may decrease in size, but at the same time the nerve endings are pinched or displaced, and the person may experience severe pain
• Strong pharmacological drugs not only suppress the growth of malignant cells. They are highly toxic, and their effect also negatively affects healthy cells. One of the complications after the use of cytostatics is damage to certain areas in the human brain, and as a result - the appearance of cephalgia

Features of symptoms

The frequency, strength and duration of pain are influenced by the stage of the disease, the dose of cytostatics and the number of previous courses of therapy. Some drugs always cause headaches in a person, and in some cases the result also depends on the characteristics of the individual patient’s body:

• Patients often complain of moderate pain that bothers them periodically. In this case, painkillers are prescribed to combat pain.
• If the patient reports “throbbing pain,” blood pressure monitoring is necessary. Antihypertensive drugs may be prescribed
• In case of dangerous complications, headache is caused by swelling of the brain. If the development of this pathology is suspected, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis and prescribe decongestant therapy

Diagnosis for headaches

To identify the causes of headaches, the patient should consult a doctor. In this case, the oncologist may prescribe:

• Blood and urine analysis
• X-ray
• Ultrasound examination
• CT scan of the brain

Treatment and prevention of cephalalgia after chemotherapy

Headaches in the case of cancer should only be treated by a specialist; self-medication is not allowed in this case. To relieve symptoms, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antispasmodics can be used ( Indomethacin , Ibuprofen , Drotaverine , Celifen, Diclofenac , Acetaminophen , No- Shpa , Efferalgan , Paracetamol, etc.)

Traditional medicine suggests trying the healing effects of such remedies as nettle extract and aloe juice. It is necessary to prevent dehydration of the body by drinking enough purified water. To quickly remove chemicals from the body, you can eat foods and drink decoctions that have a diuretic effect (seaweed, rose hips, parsley, pomegranate, etc.)

It is useful to drink pomegranate juice and water saturated with silver ions every day. It is necessary to follow the oncologist's instructions, get more rest and avoid nervous overstrain, which can cause headaches.