Back From Taiwan!

Hi all Buen Amigo!

Sorry that I've not been posting for quite sometime.
Recently been really busy with Life.

Or should I say, I'm tire of never changing Life Style, therefore I'm working hard to change it =)

That's what happen to most of us.
Everyday is just a routine with a standard timetable.
Things we do, people we talk to, stuff we hear.
Sometimes it's so routine that Life seem so meaningless.

I love changes and I love exploring Life!
And my latest Life Exploration is Taiwan.

It might be a short 8 Days trip, but understanding how their way of Living differs from ours made a deep impact to me.
These differences allows me to understand how different people struggles to Live while enjoying Life in this ever changing world under different culture.

Do allow me to share some of the photos I took during the trip.
And if you hope to know or understand more, why not travel there yourself and experience it?

Enjoy =)









Last but not least, for my Buen Amigo who've been wondering who's the guy behind this blog.

My girlfriend and me =)

That's all for today, take care Buen Amigo!

Headaches Part 2

There’s so many ways of relieving headaches out there whether it’s scientifically proven or not.

From using Lemons, Apple, Cinnamon to even Rosemary.
No one is able to say if it’s useful or able to relief as it depends on individual.

What about the ways to control or relief headache scientifically?

Before I start, do remember all the following methods RELIEF headaches but not CURE it.

These methods can be categorized into 2 groups, natural or drugs relief.

Let me explain the methods without help of drugs or natural remedy.


Get Some Sleep
As we discussed previously, most common headache are often triggered by stress and fatigue.
Sleeping reduces stress (check out post regarding Stress and Management) and fatigue.
Therefore getting some good sound sleep relieves many tension headaches.
But sleeping can also cause a headache if you get too little or too much.
So it’s important to set regular bedtime and get up the same time every morning.

Fuel Your Body
Skipping meals can cause headaches just as easily as missing sleep.
When your body runs low on fuel, it activates the part of the nervous system that increases tightness of the muscles throughout your body,

Mind Your Diet
It's a good idea for people who get frequent headaches to consider the possibility that the foods they ate two to three hours earlier had something to do with their headache.
The common offenders are foods that contain tyramine, an amino acid known to trigger headaches in many people.
Foods or beverages containing tyramine or other headache-producing substances include most alcoholic beverages, aged cheeses, cured meats, pickles, chocolate, citrus fruits, pizza and anything containing monosodium glutamate (MSG).
As different food might have different effect on individual, it’s always a good way to try eliminating them one by one from your diet and see what happens if you suspect that foods are causing your headaches.


Pass On Red
The next time you're offered red wine, think twice.
Red wine contains many chemicals that can dilate blood vessels and cause headaches.

No More Third Cups.
Don't drink excessive amounts of coffee.
If you drink three or more cups of coffee every day in the office and you sleep in late on Saturday, you could wake up with a headache because of caffeine withdrawal.
To prevent that, doctors suggest that you drink no more than one or two eight-ounce cups of coffee a day.

Quite Smoking
Smoking is bad for everyone, and it will make certain headaches worse.
If you smoke, quit.

Get Moving
Exercise is a surprisingly effective treatment for headaches.
It seems odd, but there are people who will play a vigorous game of racquetball and find that their headaches go away.
Exercise relieves stress and can trigger production of natural painkillers called.
Just walking 30 minutes a day three times a week may be enough to prevent headaches and enhance your health in other ways.
But if your headache is accompanied by a fever, you should seek medical advice and postpone exercise until you recover.

Get Warm
One important home remedy is using a heating pad on the neck and shoulders for 15 to 20 minutes daily.
It's a very good way to gradually reduce the frequency of your tension headaches.
The heating pad helps soothe tight muscles and prevents them from squeezing off circulation.
In a pinch, you can try taking a warm shower or hot bath, but neither is as effective as a heating pad, he says.

Learn To Relax
Most important, learn to relax your mind and body.
Do things you enjoy, spend time with your families.
Learn to make time for yourself.

If natural remedies don't work for you, there are plenty of prescription and over-the-counter medications that may relieve your headache pain.


Here are some examples of drug relief.

Reach For An Aspirin
Most people can find excellent relief from their headaches if they take two aspirin or acetaminophen.
Aspirin decreases inflammation, and both aspirin and acetaminophen are good pain relievers.

Do note, never give Aspirin to Children as it might cause Reye syndrome.
Reye syndrome is sudden (acute) brain damage (encephalopathy) and liver function problems of unknown cause.
The syndrome has been associated with the use of aspirin to treat chickenpox or the flu in children.

Caffeine Cure
If you have a moderate to severe headache, try taking your aspirin with a strong cup of coffee.
The caffeine in the coffee will speed absorption of the aspirin.
But do note, as caffeine can increase the effect of certain drugs.
It’s not always suitable to take caffeine with drugs as it might speed up the side effects too.
For example caffeine in coffee or tea can interact with antibiotic like ciprofloxacin and may increase nervousness, sleeplessness, heart pounding, and anxiety.

Is It Time For A Prescription?
For severe cluster or migraine headaches, you may need a prescription drug such as ergotamine with caffeine (Cafergot) or dihydroergotamine.

Ergotamine or dihydroergotamine are in a class of medications called ergot alkaloids.

Ergotamine works together with caffeine by preventing blood vessels in the head from expanding and causing headaches while dihydroergotamine works by tightening blood vessels in the brain and by stopping the release of natural substances in the brain that cause swelling.

Ask your doctor if a prescription medication is right for you.

Be Wary Of Painkillers
There's nothing worse for a headache than using painkillers regularly.

Any pain medication, whether it is prescription or over-the-counter, should not be used more than twice a week for headaches, because regular use of these medications actually lowers your pain threshold and will increase the frequency of your headaches.
These increased in frequency are called rebound headaches, and when this happen consult your family doctor.

Antihistamine The Other Alternative
Histamines are substances that try to attach to the cells in your body and irritate them (Mosquito Bite). Histamines can cause itching, sneezing, a runny nose and watery eyes.
Antihistamines prevent histamines from attaching to your cells and causing symptoms.
Antihistamines can also relieve itchiness caused by insect bites and stings, poison ivy and poison oak.
It’s more commonly use against motion sickness and allergies.

Over-the-counter antihistamines that don't also contain pain medication may subdue your tension headache if you take one or two tablets every four hours.
You can take up to 300 milligrams per day, but don't exceed the daily limit given on the package label.

These antihistamines can cause muscle relaxation if taken repeatedly.
They're effective and they get you away from pain medications.
They may make you drowsy at first, but the more you take them, the more effective they will become against your headaches and the less drowsy you will be.

Headaches Part 1

Recently I’ve been having frequent headache.

Sometimes to the extent that even painkiller won’t help.

As I am partial medically trained, I understands some of the danger of headaches.
Do you know headache can be one of the symptoms of stroke?

Guess busy schedule, stress and fatigue are the main causes of my headache.

So I’ve decided to do a little research one headache and find a little ‘cure’.

Before I share these causes and cures, as listed below are some symptoms and if you case of headache is alike, STOP reading this article and consults your doctor immediately!

1. You never had headache before, but are getting them now.
2. Your headache persists for more than 72 hours and is disrupting your day to day work.
3. The headache feels like ‘explosion’ in your head.
4. You are also experiencing vision problems, difficulty talking, problems with coordination, weakness in your arms and legs or difficulty thinking clearly.
5. You also have a fever or stiff neck.
6. You get a headache whenever you exert yourself.
7. You're also vomiting but don't feel nauseated.
8. Your headaches are becoming more frequent and severe.

I might sound scary but fortunately, less than 5 headaches in 100 are a sign of a serious underlying illness.
For the majority of us, headaches are a painful but routine part of life.
(Still, do consult your doctor for persistent headache)

Sometimes it seems like nothing feels worse than a nasty headache.
It throbs, it bangs, and it squeezes.
It can feel as if it's twisting your head inside out and wringing all the energy from your body.


9 out of every 10 headaches are muscle contraction headaches, also known as tension headaches.

Often triggered by stress and fatigue, these headaches are caused by sustained contraction of the head and neck muscles.
Tension headaches usually strike in the late afternoon and can feel like a tight band is wrapped around your head.

Sometimes, people often mistake migraine with headache.

Unlike headache, migraine occurs when blood vessels in the scalp dilate.

It often begins early in the morning with intense pain on one side of the head or behind the eyes.

The pain can last for several hours or linger for up to three days.
Some people who have migraines experience auras, flashes of light or zigzag lines, which might lasts from 15 to 30 minutes before the headache occurs.
Migraines also can cause nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light

Do you know 65 to 75 percent of the people who have migraines are women and are often connected to the menstrual cycle?

Men, however, are more likely to get cluster headaches, an extreme burning or gnawing type of head pain in or around one eye.
Considered one of the most painful types of headaches, cluster attacks may last up to two hours once or twice a day for a month and then not occur at all for six months or several years.
It’s one of the more uncommon types of headache, as it only occurs once in every 100 headache.

Headaches also can be a sign of a cold, flu, high blood pressure, brain hemorrhage, stroke, brain tumor, meningitis, Lyme disease, tapeworm, glaucoma, abscessed tooth or caffeine withdrawal.
They can also be side effects of certain drugs.

As you can see, we can’t really pin point what causes our headache.
They are often natures warning that something is wrong somewhere in the body.

So consulting a doctor is still the best option.

In the next post I’ll share some useful ways to relieve headache =)