Hilton Head is a common vacation destination. All summer long, we welcome thousands of visitors, and we’re very happy when everyone who comes here has a great time and leaves happy.
However, some people come to Hilton Head and find that they can’t enjoy their vacation because they get headaches. It seems like a cruel joke, but there are actually many reasons why people develop headaches on their vacation.
Your Stress Is Gone
It’s one of life’s little ironies that not only does stress cause headaches, but a lack of stress can also cause headaches. This is typically true of people who have migraines. When your stress level goes down, it can trigger migraines, the same way that being stressed can.
If you experience high levels of stress for a long time, your body gets used to the stress hormones. When the stress hormones go down, you can get an effect that’s similar to withdrawal, which can trigger migraines.
On the plus side, this means your vacation is working, right? On the minus side, you could lose up to three days from your vacation to a migraine.
Different Food and Drink
When we’re on vacation, we have a tendency to eat and drink differently than we do at home. Maybe you’re eating more salty food, or perhaps you’re eating more food with MSG, which has been linked to both headaches and jaw pain in some people.
Other times, the problem could be one too many scrap irons. Alcohol can cause headaches either when you’re drinking or the next morning.
Another problem is dehydration. If you’re spending more time out in the sun (and drinking more alcohol), you might get more dehydrated on vacation than you do at home. So it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough water when you’re on vacation.
Physical Exertion
Many of us aren’t able to be as active as we like most days, so when we get on vacation, we can sometimes go a little crazy. And there are many great ways to be active on Hilton Head. You might play tennis or golf. Go biking on some of our great trails. Or maybe get on a boat and go sport fishing.
Unfortunately, this can often lead to headaches. First of all, make sure you’re not dehydrated. But there could be a more chronic problem that’s causing your headaches.
Efficient function of your muscles depends on a proper balance in your core, which means that your spine is centered and stable. But there are many places where the alignment of your spine can get off kilter, which can cause many effects, including headaches.
One of the most common places where people develop imbalance in their core is the jaw. The jaw is constantly active, playing a role in speaking, chewing, breathing, and just holding the head stable. When the jaw gets off balance, the muscles are more likely to get stressed because they can’t function efficiently. This leads to stress in the jaw muscles, which can cause either tension headaches or migraines.
Let Us Check Out Your Headaches
Fortunately, when you’re in Hilton Head, you’re close to some of the leading experts in neuromuscular dentistry, the treatment of jaw imbalance including conditions like temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ). We can evaluate your headaches and determine if your jaw is the cause. We are especially good at helping people who don’t get good results from traditional headache treatments.
To learn how we can help get rid of headaches, including vacation headaches, please call (843) 706-2999 today for an appointment with a neuromuscular dentist at Beyond Exceptional Dentistry.
