Squeezing, heaviness, fog in the head, tapping in the temples, and also clouding of consciousness are a signal that you need to see a doctor. Medical practice shows that such a condition can be caused by a variety of reasons. If your head is in a fog, then this may indicate the development of astheno-neurotic syndrome, circulatory disorders in the brain, as well as cervical osteochondrosis. We will talk more about this unpleasant symptom in this article below.
Features of manifestation
Dizziness, turbidity, heaviness, can accompany people constantly or appear periodically. If your head is in a fog, then this will not always indicate the development of a disease. Quite often, a similar sign is observed due to the influence of certain factors, for example, excessive physical exertion, changes in weather conditions, mental work, lack of sleep and much more.
The main feature of the symptom when the head is in a fog is its unexpected appearance. For example, if a person felt very good a minute ago, then almost in an instant, he begins to feel discomfort, dizziness, fogging, dull consciousness and a violation of clarity of vision.
The whole problem of feeling the head in a fog is that a symptom may appear when doing some important business or workplace. For this reason, the patient is deprived of the opportunity to carry out their usual activities. Turbidity and head as in a fog can be accompanied by other symptoms, for example:
- Low or high blood pressure.
- Weakness.
- Drowsiness during the day and sleep disturbances at night.
- Headache.
- Strong heartbeat.
- Excessive sweating.
Quite often, such a picture is accompanied by unreasonable fear, a feeling of lack of air, as well as the formation of ringing in the head. There are many different causes of fog in the head. A list of them will be described below.
Causes of the symptom
As mentioned earlier, the causes of the appearance of such a symptom will not always indicate health problems. For example, in the event of a malfunction in the hormonal system, a person almost always has a fog in his head, a confused muddy consciousness. The pregnancy period of women often accompanies a similar condition, and also forgetfulness and irritability are added. In addition, a dull consciousness, a fog in the head of the fair sex appears during menopause.
Astheno-neurotic syndrome
If there is a lack of clarity in the head, then this may indicate an astheno-neurotic syndrome. This pathology, in addition to constant fog in the head, is accompanied by other signs:
- Trouble falling asleep.
- Shallow sleep.
- Suspicion, irritability, temper.
- Fast fatiguability.
- Unreasonable anxiety.
- Drowsiness during the day.
- Decrease in disability.
- Sensation of a lump in the throat.
- Memory problems.
- Stiffness of movements.
- Dizziness.
- Squeezing headaches.
- Tremor of the limbs.
In most cases, people who are mentally stressed are affected by this syndrome. In addition, this pathology often affects those who have an unstable psyche.
The main causes of asthenoneurotic syndrome are prolonged stress, prolonged nervous tension, feelings, chronic lack of sleep, and overwork. In addition, pathology can occur in people who have the following diseases and ailments:
- Various chronic diseases.
- Hypertension.
- Vegetovascular dystonia.
- Poisoning.
- Acute viral infection.
- Avitaminosis.
- Head injuries.
- Bad habits.
The syndrome develops over time. At the initial stage of its development, a person feels weak in the morning, anxiety and slight irritability. After that, in the absence of medical intervention, other signs are added in the form of sleep disturbances, loss of strength, memory problems, heaviness in the head, feeling of cottoniness, the appearance of fog in the eyes, as well as reduced ability to work.
After this, pain in the heart joins, excessive irritability gives way to weakness, appetite disappears, mood decreases, libido, apathy appears, and the patient constantly thinks about his state of health. Typically, these people have a fear of death. Ignoring such symptoms can lead to mental illness.
Vegetative dystonia
This disease is the most common reason for which there is no clarity in the head, fog. However, attention should be paid to the fact that vascular dystonia is not a separate disease, but a set of many symptoms that arise due to a violation in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system of a person, which is responsible for the work of internal organs, as well as systems. The ailment is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- Turbidity and head, as in a fog.
- Dizziness.
- Anxiety.
- Headache.
- Stomach pain, nausea.
- Unreasonable fears.
- Lack of air.
- Tachycardia.
- Shakiness when walking.
- Tremor of the limbs.
- Insomnia and shallow sleep.
- Irritability.
- Blood pressure drops.
- Flies before your eyes.
- Strong ringing in the ears.
The list of symptoms of vegetovascular dystonia can be endless. In addition to the fact that a person forms a fog in the head, there is no clarity of thinking with this disease, it should be noted that panic attacks appear. If the patient does not take any measures, does not strive for a change in lifestyle, does not seek the help of a doctor, this can provoke the appearance of various fears and phobias.
Lack of oxygen
If the human brain begins to lack oxygen, it can provoke a feeling of blurred consciousness. For this reason, hypoxia develops due to the compression of blood vessels, through which blood must carry oxygen, as well as all the necessary substances for organ nutrition. In addition to fog, a person has other symptoms:
- Weakness.
- Dizziness.
- Decrease in disability.
- Heaviness in the head.
- Bad memory.
- Vague consciousness.
- Inhibition of reaction.
- Problems with the perception of information.
- Fatigue, severe weakness.
If you do not start treatment of this pathology, then brain cells that experience oxygen starvation will gradually lose their functionality, which will lead to serious complications.
Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
Patients suffering from osteochondrosis of the cervical spine experience various manifestations of the disease. These are pains extending to the arm and occipital region, and severe headaches. But perhaps one of the most traumatic symptoms is dizziness.
Medicine calls the usual dizziness with cervical osteochondrosis cochleovestibular symptoms. The main cause of dizziness is insufficient cerebral blood supply due to pressure on the vertebral artery.
The vertebral artery supplies blood to the cerebellum, hypothalamus, inner ear, and brain stem structures. It departs from the subclavian artery and runs in the canal, which is formed by the transverse processes of the vertebrae of the cervical spine.
Why does dizziness develop? Initially, due to dystrophic processes or injuries, the working structure of the segment of the spinal system in the cervical region is disturbed. Fractures, dislocations and subluxations of the joints in the spine of the cervical spine are possible, leading to displacement of the vertebrae and a change in the lumen of the channel formed by the openings of the processes of the vertebrae. And the vertebral artery passes through the channel, which, due to the described disturbances, experiences compression. Compression can also occur due to protrusion of the disc, the development of intervertebral hernia and inflammation.
Compression of the artery leads to a decrease in blood flow and, as a result, to oxygen starvation of brain tissue. All of the above leads to the manifestation of SPA symptoms (symptoms of the vertebral artery) - dizziness, severe throbbing headache (sharp, burning character, especially intense in the back of the head and temples), visual disturbances (darkening in the eyes, sensation of sand, flies in front of the eyes, sparks).
Dizziness is noted to varying degrees from slight swaying, with not severe disturbance of cerebral circulation, to the so-called drop attacks, when a person turns sharply while turning his head, while consciousness remains. With severe brain disorders, there may be nausea, vomiting, tinnitus.
How to dispel fog in the head?
If negative symptoms appeared due to lack of sleep, then you can just get enough sleep and rest. Then the fog will pass in the head. But with the regular manifestation of this symptom, measures must be taken to avoid possible complications.
But how to remove the fog in the head and gain clarity of thought? First of all, you should seek help from a qualified doctor who should find out the main reason for the appearance of such a symptom.
Treatment of astheno-neurotic syndrome
This disease can be cured with the help of psychotherapeutic methods. However, provoking factors should also be excluded at the initial stage of therapy: lack of sleep, stress, mental stress and excessive physical exertion. If you do not reduce the influence of these factors, then medication and psychotherapy will not have the desired effect, and also will not eliminate the unpleasant symptom.
Medications are used in severe cases. The most effective are hypnotic drugs, restorative drugs, antipsychotics, antidepressants and tranquilizers.
Treatment of vegetovascular dystonia
So, we have figured out that the head is in a fog - this may be a symptom of vegetative-vascular dystonia. To eliminate it, you need to seek help from a doctor. Different medications are used to relieve symptoms: sleeping pills, sedatives, dizziness medications, and medications to normalize blood pressure. In addition to drug treatment, experts also recommend adjusting their lifestyle: eating right, doing light sports, walking more often, eliminating stressful situations, waking up and going to bed at the same time, abandoning bad habits.
Also very effective in the fight against this ailment are physical procedures, massage, acupuncture.
Treating poor circulation in the brain
With this ailment, medications with a nootropic and vasodilating effect are prescribed. It is possible to treat this pathology at the initial stage of development without drugs, with the help of manual therapy and massage.
Treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine
At the moment, treatment of vertebral artery syndrome is a difficult task, as evidenced by many different treatment methods from different clinics and the lack of a single universally recognized treatment regimen. Here are the main directions in the treatment of vertebral artery syndrome:
- Anti-inflammatory and decongestant treatment.
- The use of drugs that normalize the blood circulation of the brain. The use of neuroprotectors and metabolic therapy to protect brain nerve cells in conditions of oxygen starvation.
- In case of severe cerebrovascular accident, surgical treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is used to eliminate the causes of compression of the vertebral artery.
- Reconstructive treatment involving physical therapy, massage, acupuncture.
Severe headaches with cervical osteochondrosis are somewhat relieved by painkillers, but you can finally get rid of this symptom only by eliminating osteochondrosis.
Prevention
The clouding in your head will no longer bother you if you follow preventive measures. First of all, this symptom manifests itself in people in case of an incorrect lifestyle. If you eat poorly, walk a little in the fresh air, smoke, drink alcohol, do not exercise, take drugs, sleep badly or constantly experience stress, you should not even think about well-being.
That is why, in order to improve the condition, experts recommend normalizing the regimen of rest and sleep, while sleeping at least 8 hours every day. It will be very important to avoid frequent stressful situations. In addition, experts recommend increasing physical activity, playing sports regularly. The best option would be swimming, cycling or jogging. In parallel with all this, you will have to adhere to the correct diet and diet, as well as abandon bad habits.
Now you know how to deal with the fog in your head. If you completely change your life, you can get rid of not only clouding in your head, but also strengthen your immune system and improve your overall health.