Headaches
Most people experience headaches at some point in their lives. People have different kinds of problems, and for quick relief, people treat themselves with simple painkillers, drinking extra water, resting, or by merely waiting for the pain to subside on its own. Headaches can lead to distress and compel people to think they may have a severe underlying cause. Most headache problems are unpleasant but cause no lasting harm.
Types of Headache:
The doctor can generally detect the cause of your headache by talking and examining you thoroughly. After examination, they decide how to reduce or stop the problems, which involves medication to prevent them or, sometimes, discontinuing medicine you are already taking.
Migraines: A migraine causes severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, generally on the side of the head or the neck. Migraine can often result in vomiting, nausea and extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine attacks can last for hours or days, and the pain can be so severe that it could interfere with daily activities. Migraines can be disabling. The eyes can see funny visuals, like diagonal lines, fireworks display, or blind spots. These warning signs can last for an hour, accompanied by a headache.
Migraines can trigger due to stress, certain foods such as chocolate and red wine, tiredness, and lack of body fluid (dehydration). Migraine can be a result of Auto immunes diseases, sinus, brain tumours etc.
Tension Headaches: Tension headaches are dull pain or pressure across the forehead or behind the head. This type of headache results from spasms muscles of the scalp due to stress. Tension is the usual kind of headache associated with adults. They can continue for several days. Tension headaches are a possible cause of Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder,
Cluster headaches: Cluster headaches are severe headaches, often called ‘suicide headaches.’ The pain occurs in and around the eyes. It tends to occur in clusters, usually every day for a certain number of days or weeks. They then vanish for months on end. They are uncommon and occur, particularly in male adult smokers. It is unilateral headache, which can affect the quality of daily life.
Chronic tension headache: Chronic daily headache is generally a result of muscle tension behind the neck, and women are likely prone to suffer from this kind of problem. Chronic headaches are persistent and ongoing and occur every day for three months or more. These headaches can be a trigger because of neck injuries or fatigue and may be made worse by overuse of medication.
Medication overuse headache: Medication overuse headache occurs when people get accustomed to taking headache treatment, unaware that the medication can worsen the problem. Painkillers are usually the cause, but many other types of medication can contribute to these headaches. It feels similar to tension headache and can ne easily taken care of.
Exertional Headaches: Exertional headaches are a result of physical activities. The pain may become extreme after a strenuous activity such as running, coughing, and strain in bowel movements.
Secondary Headache: These headaches are related to trauma like brain injury.
Other common causes of headaches are dehydration, consumption of excess alcohol or caffeine, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc.
How do headaches affect our daily lives?
- Headaches and migraines interfere with work as they make a person feel unproductive at work, and they may need to call in sick because of pain associated with the headache. Some people quit their jobs as they are not able to get through the day.
- Headaches affect people in their personal lives, as well. People feel angry or stressed, as people around them do not understand what they feel.
- People restrict their social activities and cannot enjoy their time as they are not sure when their headaches would start.
Diagnosis of Headaches:
Doctors generally use a patient’s history of the headache known as subjective evaluation. After evaluating, the doctor will examine you. Based on your history and the physical examination, the doctor may decide to run some additional tests to help in the diagnosis.
Tests:
Testing of various types enables to rule out an underlying cause of a secondary headache. Some of the tests used are:
- MRI
- CT scan
- PET scans
People who suffer from recurring headaches of any kind should consult a doctor
