Everyone at least once in a lifetime faces a headache. This phenomenon is considered not a separate disease, but only a sign that cannot be ignored if it manifests itself often enough. Pathologies that have any effect on nerve endings can be factors that cause headache. That is why it can give to the neck, eyes and so on. What causes the headache and what to do when it occurs? The answer to these and other questions can be obtained from the sections of this article.
Why does my head hurt?
If this symptom does not bother a person too often, he hardly needs the help of a specialist. However, if someone often experiences such a malaise as a headache, diagnosis and treatment are extremely necessary. After all, cephalgia can be a sign of serious illness. So, first of all, you need to find out what causes this symptom. Among the factors provoking it, the following can be listed:
- Vascular cramps.
- Inadequate supply of oxygen to brain cells .
- Hypertension (in this case there is pain in the occipital part of the head).
- Hypertonicity of the muscles of the head and neck.
- The presence of neurological diseases.
- Irregular nutrition, strict diets.
- Excessive sports.
- Viral diseases.
- Intellectual and psychological overload.
- Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses.
- Pathology of the cervical vertebrae.
The head can hurt in women before menstruation or during the period of bearing a child. Such phenomena are associated with hormonal changes in the body.
Cephalgia is also a characteristic symptom that occurs in connection with head injuries (for example, with a concussion). A person can hardly successfully cope with such a thing as a headache. Diagnosis, specialist advice and taking prescribed medications is a much more reasonable solution to the problem.
Types of Cephalgia
There are several types of headaches. First of all, it is customary to distinguish between primary and secondary pathology. The following varieties are assigned to the 1st category:
- Headache of tension (caused by diseases of the nerves, hypertonicity of the muscles of the neck, mental and emotional strain).
- Hemicrania.
- Beam cephalgia.
Secondary headache occurs as a result of mechanical damage to the head or cervical vertebrae. It can also be triggered by vascular diseases, an increase or decrease in pressure inside the skull, viruses, the use of certain drugs, or the abolition of drug therapy.
Diseases of the oral cavity, ears, respiratory organs are manifested by such a symptom as a headache. Diagnosis and treatment of this pathology is impossible without establishing the cause that provoked it.
Associated symptoms
With cephalgia in a person, other symptoms may appear. What they will be depends on the nature of the pain. For example, cephalalgia of tension is accompanied by a sensation of pressure in the forehead and temples, lethargy, sleep disturbances, increased irritability. Beam headache most often affects men. With this kind of cephalgia, discomfort is concentrated in one area (for example, in the temples).
The pain usually lasts no more than five minutes, it has a paroxysmal character. It must be remembered that bundle cephalgia can indicate a serious pathology. If a person has a severe paroxysmal headache, diagnosis and treatment is extremely necessary for him.
Hemicrania is another type of cephalgia that is usually accompanied by nausea, repeated vomiting, and increased sensitivity to sounds, light, and smells.
Forehead pain
This type of cephalgia is often associated with pathologies not of the brain, but of other organs. Therefore, in order to eliminate this symptom, taking an analgesic is usually not enough. Headache in the frontal region may be due to the following reasons:
- Pathology of the paranasal sinuses.
- Diseases of the central nervous system, cardiovascular system.
- Neurological pathology.
- Diseases of the cervical vertebrae.
- Mechanical damage to the head.
- Infections
- Poisoning.
- Cancerous tumors.
- Emotional overload.
Pain in the forehead is often observed with hymecrania (in this case, it becomes more intense with movement). With beam cephalgia, not only the head hurts, but also the eyeballs. Pathological processes in the paranasal sinuses, viral diseases and poisoning with poor-quality food or household chemicals can be accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the forehead and other characteristic signs (nausea, vomiting, high fever). Sometimes a symptom is associated with impaired blood supply to the brain and abnormal functioning of the organs of vision.
Temple pain
This symptom often indicates excessive tension of the nerve endings located in this area. A headache in the temple may occur due to an infectious disease or sleep disturbances. Hormonal changes (with menopause, before menstruation) often provoke such discomfort. Other factors that cause pain in the temples include adrenal gland pathologies, low or high blood pressure inside the skull, carbon monoxide poisoning, alcohol poisoning, flying, and climbing to great heights. Such cephalgia can also occur with migraines.
General and differential diagnosis of headaches
Examination of a patient with cephalgia is determined by the putative factors that caused its appearance. When identifying the causes of a headache, the doctor asks questions in order to clarify some facts. The specialist needs to find out the following:
- The ratio of cephalgia and other pathological phenomena.
- The duration of the headache, the time of day at which it usually occurs.
- Properties of cephalgia, characteristic features of its manifestation in a patient.
- The presence or absence of a hereditary predisposition to headache.
- External factors that make cephalgia more pronounced.
For a general examination of the body, the doctor prescribes complex measures, which include computed and magnetic resonance imaging, laboratory tests of blood and urine, x-rays. Dif Diagnosis of headaches requires additional research and depends on in which area the cephalgia is localized in a particular patient.
Daily headache: causes
Often with such phenomena, they turn to general practitioners and to specialists in neurological diseases. Among the possible causes of daily cephalgia are the following:
- Increased pressure in the arteries and inside the skull.
- Vascular pathology.
- Diseases of the cervical vertebrae.
If a person has a headache during the day and it persists for a long time, he should in no case be self-medicating. After all, uncontrolled administration of analgesics can only aggravate the situation. In addition, daily cephalalgia is fraught not only with all kinds of consequences, but also fatal.
The best solution in this situation is to seek medical help. A competent specialist can clearly establish what caused the headache, and diagnosis will allow you to choose the necessary therapy and eliminate the symptom.
Dangerous signs
There are phenomena that accompany cephalgia, which are a direct threat not only to the physical condition, but also to the life of the patient. In no case can one ignore a headache in the following situations:
- She first appeared in a child or adult.
- Cephalgia is pronounced.
- The occurrence of headache was preceded by mechanical damage.
- Cephalgia appeared at night and does not allow a person to sleep.
- In addition to a headache, the patient has such phenomena as visual, hearing, consciousness, vomiting, and motor disorders.
- Cephalgia is accompanied by skin rashes and fever.
- The pain does not go away for several days and does not stop with analgesics.
Headache and vomiting: causes, treatment
The combination of these symptoms is quite common. It occurs in the following situations:
- During the period of bearing a child. Pregnant women in the early stages often have cephalgia, nausea and vomiting (especially in the morning), as well as a slight decrease in weight and appetite. These conditions are associated with hormonal changes in the body. If they do not cause a woman severe discomfort, do not worry. Severe symptoms of toxicosis during pregnancy (headache and vomiting) are a reason for immediate medical attention.
- With hemicrania, cephalgia is one-sided. Headache is accompanied by vomiting and hypersensitivity to sounds, smells and light.
- A hangover is often manifested by cephalgia. After drinking alcohol, symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, high blood pressure, and dry mouth also occur.
- Hypertension signals itself by cephalgia, loss of sensitivity in some parts of the body. Also, with increased blood pressure, vomiting, increased heart rate, severe pain in the temporal region are observed. If untreated, hypertension can lead to such sad consequences as a stroke.
- Brain cancer is accompanied by vomiting, impaired intellectual ability and impaired consciousness.
- An increase or decrease in pressure inside the skull occurs after infections or in the presence of neoplasms. It is manifested not only by cephalgia and vomiting, but also by increased fatigue.
- Poisoning by poor-quality food and mechanical damage to the head can also cause similar symptoms.
To eliminate such phenomena as cephalalgia and vomiting, it is recommended to take analgesics. If symptoms are triggered by intoxication, activated charcoal can help. However, in cases where a headache and vomiting occurred after a stroke or a fall, you must urgently contact a trauma center.
Self-medication is strictly prohibited in this situation.
Preparations
Continuing to talk about such a thing as a headache (clinic, diagnosis, treatment - all this interests us), it is necessary to talk about treatment methods. The drugs that are usually used to combat this pathology include the following:
- Rapimig.
- Diclofenac.
- Ibuprofen
- "Paracetamol".
- "Analgin."
- Drotaverinum.
- "Papaverine".
It must be remembered that there are a number of contraindications for taking this or that medicine. For example, some medicines are prohibited for pregnant or minors. Therefore, it is better not to experiment with your health and take cephalgia pills only as directed by your doctor. Moreover, timely contact with a specialist and diagnosis of the causes of headaches will allow you to choose the right treatment tactics.
Folk remedies
You can deal with cephalgia not only with the help of drugs. Some suggest using folk methods, such as:
- Compresses from cabbage leaves and lemon slices.
- A mixture of tea leaves and mint.
- A decoction of fireweed.
- Massage the temples using peppermint oil or cloves.
- Hot shower.
However, it is worth noting that folk remedies have their contraindications. Moreover, in some cases, they, unfortunately, do not help.
How to prevent a headache
As already mentioned, this symptom may indicate the presence of any acute or chronic pathologies. If cephalalgia suddenly occurs or a person often experiences a severe headache, diagnosis and treatment by a competent specialist are extremely necessary measures. Is there any prevention? Of course, yes. You can prevent this unpleasant phenomenon if you adhere to the following tips:
- Follow the principles of good nutrition.
- Stop smoking and excessive drinking.
- Try to avoid intellectual, physical and emotional overload.
- Timely treat chronic diseases.
- Do not forget about exercise and regular walks in the fresh air.