"Sick Headaches"

My father suffered from what he called “sick headaches.” These might come on at any time and I think either slowly or abruptly. Usually they developed in the latter part of the day. The headache could be accompanied by an upset stomach and vomiting. His remedy for the headaches was first of all absolute quiet and the having his head bound with some sort of towel or wrapping, after the application of Musterole to his forehead. He would then want to rest with no disturbance. The headaches would not persist overnight.



Musterole

I have been subject to somewhat the same kind of headache but not as severely as my father was and I have never resorted to the head wrapping and the Musterole. My father would also take several aspirins and this latter plus a period of quiet was my personal remedy when I had this kind of headache. My experience was that I could usually detect the possibility of a headache occurring, and if I caught it soon enough by a couple of aspirins it might be avoided. Any relaxing of tension would also aid in the avoidance.

The occurrence of these headaches has become less frequent as I have become older, and I think this was the pattern with my father also. In fact, I can recall only once when I had this kind of headaches since we retired to Oregon. It occurred when Vincent and Jean visited us and we were driving down to leave them with Marold and Jeanne. Somewhere around Atascadero it reached the point that they left me to spend the night at a motel and Jean drove on with Vincent and Jean to Marold’s, She picked me up the next morning and I was all right by then. Occasionally I still feel the early symptoms but a couple of aspirins handles the situation. This may occur 3 or 4 times a year.

In later years my father decided that his headaches were somehow connected with having oatmeal for breakfast (oatmeal up to then being one of his favorite breakfasts). From that time on he eschewed it. Whether this was just a coincidence or a real cause/effect relationship I have no idea.

Our daughter Palma is subject to what is termed migraine headaches. Perhaps that is what afflicted my father and then me. I am aware of no other of my offspring having this difficulty. Palma has connected her getting these headaches with her eating chocolate, either as such or in food. I don’t know for sure but perhaps she avoids other foods also.