“My husband has frequent headaches due to work stress. What should we do?”

Hello,

Stress is a common problem and contributor to pain and mood. I recommend your husband takes "me-time" daily in which he meditates and deep breathes. There are now a lot of smartphone applications that can assist with this process. Set a goal of once in AM and once in PM (perhaps when he gets home). Other ideas for this problem include seeing a pain psychologist, reading the book "Managing Pain before it Manages You" and epsom salt baths with lavender.

Sincerely,
Nichelle C Renk, MD

Start with anti anxiety medicine. If anti anxiety medical controls his blood pressure and prevents a headache, then he gets tension headaches.

The obvious solution is to identify a stress-reduction strategy up to and including changing work. I understand that this is not always feasible or reasonable. However, headaches that are increasing in frequency or duration need to be evaluated immediately by a neurologist with headache experience. There might be a relationship of the headache to untreated blood pressure problems or to a metabolic issue. It should not be ignored!

Kenneth D. Candido, M.D.

The American Headache Society recognizes over 40 types of headaches, so I would strongly recommend an evaluation by a pain management specialist or neurologist before just writing it off as stress-related.

From,

Christopher Creighton