Headache at one point: causes, diagnosis and treatment

Headache is of varying intensity and nature. Most often, this condition does not cause concern for their health in people - after all, migraines from time to time happen to everyone. This condition at least once in a lifetime was with anyone. At the same time, migraine does not bring any significant health effects. So the majority of the population thinks. This is a mistake - some symptoms of a headache should alert the patient and cause a visit to a neurologist. Diagnosis is necessary to exclude the appearance of neoplasms. Point pain in the head in one place is a serious symptom that cannot be ignored.

Types of migraine and their causes

Migraine is a neurological disease. We are talking about it if the patient complains of recurring headaches. They can be different in nature and intensity. Migraine can be both an independent ailment and a symptom of a disease. In order to find out what disease caused the development of migraine, many diagnostic studies should be carried out. This is a CT scan, an MRI scan, checking the condition of the cervical spine, evaluating the functioning of blood vessels, etc. If the head hurts at one point, this is also one of the manifestations of migraine.

Neurology distinguishes the following types of migraine:

• Classical (with aura). Such a migraine is characterized not only by a severe headache in the temples or forehead, but also by the so-called aura. It seems to the patient that he sees flickering on the left and on the right, but when looking, it turns out that there is nothing there. This effect is called the "visual aura", it is familiar to all patients suffering from classic migraine.
• Ordinary migraine without aura usually appears in people aged twenty years or older. The cause of this condition is often osteochondrosis of the cervical spine, pathology of the cardiovascular system, mental disorders. Ordinary migraines are not characterized by point pain in the head. It is herpes zoster. it often hurts at the same time the back of the head, and the forehead, and the temples. Or a temple on one side and the back of the head. The crown almost never hurts with ordinary migraines.
• Ophthalmoplegic migraine is a condition in which the muscles of the visual organs cease to function fully or partially. As a result of this, from the developing pain syndrome, double vision is observed, ptosis or mydriasis. This diagnosis is quite rare, and not only a neuropathologist, but also an ophthalmologist is involved in his therapy. If the patient notes that pain in the right side of the head (in rare cases, on the left) or in the forehead is accompanied by visual impairment, it is possible that he has an ophthalmoplegic migraine.
• The retinal form of the disease is accompanied by the appearance of "blind" spots. The patient suffers from the appearance of black patches in the field of vision. This process is accompanied by shooting pain in the back of the head. in some cases, the pain may not be sharp, but aching. For an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment, the patient will have to undergo an MRI of the brain, to make an electroencephalogram. In some cases, a vascular check may be required for diagnosis.
• Complicated migraine is characterized not only by headache, but also by visual, auditory, and vestibular disorders. In some cases, an attack of this disease can trigger a loss of consciousness. If the condition is complicated by convulsions, the patient may have an epileptic seizure. To identify the exact cause of the disease, an electroencephalogram and a number of other studies should be taken.

Point headache

A piercing headache, sharply arising at one point, is an extremely dangerous syndrome. This condition, depending on the frequency of occurrence and brightness of sensation, may indicate diagnoses:

• vegetative-vascular dystonia;
• neoplasms of a benign or malignant nature;
• intracranial pressure;
• jumps in blood pressure (hypertension or hypertension);
• osteochondrosis of the cervical spine.

These are the main reasons why the headache at one point. The more often discomfort and pain occurs, the more likely it is that the patient is dealing with a serious illness.

Sensations experienced by the patient

Before consulting a neurologist, the patient should listen to himself in order to describe as precisely as possible how exactly his head hurts at one point. Sensations may be as follows:

• A sharp and sudden pain resembling a puncture with a sharp needle.
• Localization of the problem: the head hurts at one point - on the top of the head, in the back of the head or in another place.
• It darkens in the eyes when an attack occurs or, perhaps, the patient lost consciousness during an exacerbation of migraine.
• During the attack, the patient observes any shadows, flickering on the left or right, darkening of some areas in the field of vision.

It will also be necessary to clarify how long the seizures are - a few seconds or minutes? The more the patient describes the symptomatology to a neurologist, the easier it will be to compile a clinical picture for prescribing the appropriate treatment.

Treatment

When a headache occurs at one point, most people prefer to take a potent analgesic pill. This approach is fundamentally wrong: a fit of pain will come back again and again. Stopping it every time with pills is wrong. It is better to go through a complete diagnosis once, find out the cause of the pain and take a course of drugs that will cure the cause of the disease and prevent the occurrence of repeated pain.

• If the reason lies in the violation of cerebral circulation, the use of nootropics and vasodilator drugs will help. Cinnarizine, which, although it belongs to the drugs of the old generation, has been well established, is still actively used in modern neurology and psychiatry. This drug is cheap, already in the first week of administration it can have a significant vasodilating effect, which will contribute to the complete disappearance of migraines of any etiology, regardless of the location of the pain - in the right side of the head, back of the head, crown.

• If the patient is diagnosed with cervical osteochondrosis, headache is a common phenomenon. His forehead often hurts, there are pointed pains in the temples and crown. In this case, just stopping the pain is useless - you need to treat osteochondrosis in the first place. The course of intramuscular injections "Combilipene", "Milgamma" should be repeated every three months. A therapeutic massage of the cervical-collar zone is required. Moderate physical therapy exercises will also benefit. In no case should the patient strain and lift more than five kilograms, as well as engage in weightlifting and traumatic sports.
• Point cephalgia in the head is often one of the manifestations of vegetative-vascular dystonia. In this case, the use of vasodilator and sedative drugs will help. Often you can get by with the use of soothing infusions. For example, "Fitosedan" has a fairly powerful sedative effect. You can also use nootropics. In some cases, the doctor may prescribe drugs with a mild tranquilizing effect - for example, Afobazol.

Beam headache: symptoms

A more rare and complex manifestation of point headache is beam cephalgia. Doctors also call it cluster, histamine or Horton, depending on the location and nature of the pain. It manifests itself in the following symptoms:

• soreness of the temporal artery with the next attack;
• discomfort and pain on one side only (not always) in the temple;
• cephalgia can develop at night - and often the patient is forced to wake up from the intensity of pain;
• the duration of the attack is different - most often it is five to six minutes, but in rare cases it can last for hours before taking the anesthetic;
• swelling of the nasopharynx and lacrimation;
• narrowing of the pupils.

Harbinger of serious illness

Beam cephalalgia, in which the patient constantly experiences a pulsating pinpoint pain in the right side of the head, may indicate the development of the following diseases and conditions:

• brain tumors of various origins;
• condition of withdrawal;
• aneurysms;
• hematomas due to brain injuries and concussions;
• poisoning with certain drugs;
• taking vasodilator drugs (e.g. nitroglycerin) or histamine.

Bundle headache therapy

A neurologist can prescribe medication after receiving the results of the studies. For accurate diagnosis, it is often necessary to undergo brain MRI and electroencephalography. If the exact cause of the onset of cephalalgia is not known, you can stop the pain with the following drugs before determining the exact diagnosis:

• Ketorol is a powerful prescription pain medication that relieves even the most severe pain ten to fifteen minutes after administration.
• "Moment". The active substance of the drug is ibuprofen. It is a fast-acting effective anti-inflammatory and analgesic medicine. Sold in any pharmacy without a prescription.
• Citramon is the most popular and cheapest analgesic that also contains caffeine. Gives vivacity, has a stimulating effect.

With a sharp point pain in the head, most people prefer to take a tablet of a potent analgesic. This approach is doubtful: the attack of pain will return, and more than once. Stopping it every time with pills is wrong. It is better to undergo a complete diagnosis once, find out the cause of the pain and take a course of drugs that will eliminate the cause of the disease and prevent the occurrence of repeated pain.

Which doctor is involved in migraine therapy

In order to permanently get rid of bouts of beam cephalalgia or point migraine, to find out why the back of the head hurts, you should undergo a full examination. By acting on the source of the problem, you can achieve long-term remission. You can make an appointment with a paid neurologist. But then all the research will be paid. As a result, the total amount that the patient will have to spend to find out the cause of the pain will be at least twenty thousand rubles (brain MRI, electroencephalogram, decoding of the result will need to be paid).

You can go the other way and not spend a dime on diagnosis. But this will take more time. The patient must take his medical policy and go to the district clinic, where he will be given a coupon for an appointment with the local therapist. He, in turn, will issue a coupon for a consultation with a neurologist. Already there, after all the complaints have been stated, further treatment will be prescribed and a referral for the necessary studies will be issued.

The relationship and difference of point pain from ordinary migraine

Spot cephalgia is often a component of other types of headaches:

• "Pain of tension" - this concept in neurology arose a long time ago and is still relevant. It occurs both in men and in women due to serious nervous and physical overwork. It is expressed not only in point cephalgia, but also in the fact that the forehead and nape hurt (the localization and nature of the pain change on average once an hour). At the same time, the patient feels nauseous, dizzy, and may lose consciousness. To stop these symptoms, it is often enough to get enough sleep. If the patient is not able to fall asleep himself - you should resort to taking sleeping pills.
• Histamine pain. In 40% of cases, it is interconnected with pain of a primary nature. One type of migraine can be a harbinger of another and change the patient's condition. For example, a condition begins as a migraine with an aura, after an hour it flows into an ophthalmoplegic form.
• Cranialgia is a condition that occurs with inflammation of the trigeminal nerve. This is a common reason why the back of the head and head are sore. Cranialgia is characterized by lumbago in the form of short-term impulses. Most often, this condition does not require any special treatment and disappears after the inflammatory process of the trigeminal nerve stops.

Tips of neuropathologists: how to avoid the development of bundle and point pain

A list of simple recommendations that will help prevent the development of migraines of any etiology and diseases that provoke it:

• Every night you need to sleep at least eight hours. no matter what problems the patient pursues, whatever stresses he experiences, a good night's sleep should be a must.
• Good nutrition is the foundation of a healthy nervous system. In no case should you adhere to strict diets and starve - even if the consequences do not appear immediately, they will come with time (the nervous system exhausted by starvation does not forgive such an attitude).
• A sufficient amount of amino acids, vitamins and trace elements in the diet.
• The right reaction to stress - in any situation, you should stay calm so that you don’t think about why your head hurts (back of the head, crown or forehead).
• Moderate physical education - do not exhaust yourself with exercises, do not provoke overwork.