This type of headache is called a helmet headache because it covers the entire head. This is a comprehensive, persistent, long-lasting, chronic headache. Suffering from it begins at any time due to the most insignificant cause: movement, drinking wine or taking something vapor-forming; it is caused by loud sounds, but sometimes it rises from medium-sized sounds, so that the sufferer avoids all noise, light and communication with people. He loves solitude, darkness, peace and prefers to lie on his back. Such patients suffer unequally from the effects mentioned: some people suffer from some of them, and others from others. The patient always feels as if he is being hit on the head with a hammer, or the head is being pulled hard, or it is splitting, and the pain reaches the base of the eyes.
Galen considers the cause that brings on this disease to be weakness of the brain or its great sensitivity, and the cause that gives rise to this is bad juice, a hot or cold tumor, and such a headache often arises from a black gall or hard tumor. Most often, the tumor forms in the middle of the shell, either on the outside of the skull or inside it. You already know that if the cause of a headache is a tumor or some other damage in the inner membrane of the skull, then the pain felt extends to the eyes, because this membrane covers the hollow nerve and part of it reaches the eyeball. If the damage is in the outer shell, then pain is felt when you touch the head with your hand, and it is unpleasant for such a patient when his head is roughly touched.
Most often, such headaches arise as a result of previous diseases, from which the substance of the brain and its internal and external membranes are weakened, so that it is irritated by even slight movements in the body caused by food or vapors, and external movements, and it absorbs excesses that cause suffering. . Some doctors, speaking about a helmet, do not take into account these conditions and call any pain that covers the entire head outside or inside the skull and is caused by vapors in the stomach or vapors in the head, or matter, or phlegmon in the brain itself or in its membranes - a helmet. such pain is accompanied by heaviness and painful throbbing, or erysipelas, and then the pain is accompanied by burning and burning without significant heaviness. The cause of such a headache may be other juices, if there is no erysipelas, but there is heaviness and signs of the presence of cold juices. Each of these varieties is treated with appropriate means. However, in fact, skilled doctors use the name helmet only for headaches that are accompanied by the conditions mentioned.
Treatment. If you know that the patient has a lot of blood and the first cause or moving cause is blood, then bleed; if the signs indicate that the juices are cold, and also if the disease has dragged on and you have already used distracting remedies at the beginning, then prescribe watering with waters with somewhat dissolving and warming substances, which at the same time slightly distract and bind, such as, for example, the inflorescences of the aromatic rush , chamomile, mint and others that you learned about from the Canon. Gradually move on to stronger remedies and empty your bowel movements with the help of suitable medications. The use of sabur pills with mastic is one of the very useful remedies for helmet; repeat this every three nights. During bowel movements, kukiya pills are prescribed, if there is a need for bowel movements and strong ones, and then the patient is given a decoction of the laxative cassia with four bowls of castor oil.
Know that after the bowel movements are completed, all you have to do is cleanse the brain and its membranes with the help of strengthening things that you already know about. These include smelling agents with musk and amber, to which camphor is also mixed; and sometimes sabur is also mixed in so that strengthening occurs along with resorption. Make such a patient constantly use hot medicinal dressings and numbing agents that you already know. When the disease subsides, then prescribe a bath and highly absorbable medicinal bandages, but while the disease is in the initial stage and you know that the matter is hot, then take the measures that have already been taught to you and which you learned from the basic rules of treating the brain, feeding a heart patient Cassia laxative with almond oil for several days in a row. Sometimes it is useful to inject mumiyo with violet oil into the nose. Know that if the helmet lasts, then the nature becomes cold, even if the headache arose from a hot cause. Know also that a chronic helmet can be broken off only by means with strong absorbent and warming properties. Sometimes it is useful to introduce star cakes, shalisa, musk medicine and the like into the nose, diluting any of them in the milk of a nursing woman, especially when pain increases and insomnia predominates.
As for cauterization, bleeding from the arteries and cutting the arteries or frontal veins with a helmet, they do the same as for an old headache. And for food, as you already know, they give dishes that do not form steam, for example, lentils with butter, sweet almonds, and also a decoction of vegetables. It is a good idea to feed this food to people with a cold nature, as it produces little vapor. As for ointments, sometimes you have to lean towards those that cause a slight numbness; the main goal in this case is resorption. These ointments include ointments with opium, dragon's blood, saffron and gum, which are used to smear the head from one temple to another if necessary to induce numbness; The same remedies include saffron, galls and star cakes. If you smear it all over your forehead, it helps. Refer also to the Pharmacopoeia and to the headings of simple drugs.