The Head
The entire purpose of the human body is to maintain and serve the head and its function. As the seat of the soul, the head includes the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and the face itself. Examination of the head includes detailed observation of the scalp, the eye, the ear, the nose, the mouth and its contents, and the face itself.
Headaches
Headache, the silent crying of an over-burdened mind, is often traceable to a need for refreshment in some disagreeable part of our lives and only a few headaches have their origin in genuine physical disease. The popular escape from this malady, the Aspirin tablet, is consumed in enormous amounts each year, reflecting the sad fact that over a third of us have headache difficulties. Most of us would like to find and eliminate, if possible, the cause of our headache and so it is most interesting to see what headaches really are as well as what causes them.
It is amazing but true that the brain itself is incapable of any feeling and that it cannot possibly ache, even though severely burned. It is only the small blood vessels and coverings of the brain that possess any sensation or ability to feel pain. The pulling, stretching and dilatation of these vessels and brain coverings, in addition to a few painful nerve impulses from outside the brain, constitute all head pain.
Fig. 2. Headache and emotional upheavals are closely connected. Headache is the most common of all human complaints, and psycho-mental problems occupy over half of all our U.S. hospital beds.
With this simple picture, we can examine and consider most forms of headache easily.
Blood vessel headaches
The most common headache is a result of blood vessel dilation and stretching. It is found in people with migraine, high blood pressure, diabetes and hardening of the arteries. The brain arteries involved, produce the headache pain when stretched or dilated by reflexes starting in fear, anxiety or resentment. An example of a visible blood vessel dilatation, caused by reflex mental activity, is the commonplace blush, caused by embarrassment.
Relief from blood vessel headaches, usually requires a fresh approach to a disagreeable situation in our lives, or elimination of the situation altogether. This means the intelligent solving or altering of frustrating problems in our lives. Examples include thwarted ambitions, distasteful work, nagging mates and “keeping up with the Jones’.”