Headache is one of the most common complaints people seek help from specialists. It indicates that some processes are disturbed in the body. Headache can be caused by overwork, taking medications, injuries, serious illnesses. If this symptom often torments, then you should not ignore it. It is very important to contact a specialist in time and find out what causes a headache every day.
Hypertension
Headache may be associated with hypertension. This is a chronic condition of the cardiovascular system, a disease characterized by a persistent increase in blood pressure (abbreviated as BP) from 140/90 mm Hg. Art. and higher. Approximately 20-30% of adults suffer from arterial hypertension. With age, this figure increases. About 50% of people over 60 have a named chronic condition.
People suffering from arterial hypertension have high blood pressure and headaches in the early hours. The place of localization of pain is the occipital region. Costsnote that pain may not occur with a slight or moderate increase in pressure. They are always observed only with a rapid increase in blood pressure over 200/120 mm Hg. st.
Hypotension
If you often have a headache, what could be the reasons? One of the answers to this question is arterial hypotension. This is a condition in which the blood pressure is 90/60 mm Hg. Art. and less. He is characterized by a headache. It can be dull, constricting, bursting or pulsating. The place of its localization is the fronto-parietal or fronto-temporal region. With arterial hypotension, the following signs are also observed:
- weakness;
- morning lethargy, drowsiness;
- dizziness;
- emotional instability;
- weather sensitive;
- pallor;
- palpitations and shortness of breath on exertion.
Specialists have created a classification of arterial hypotension. There are acute and chronic varieties. The latter is subdivided, in turn, into physiological, primary and secondary. Acute hypotension is a sudden decrease in blood pressure. A similar condition is observed with blood loss, acute myocardial infarction.
Low blood pressure, headache… Such symptoms are sometimes noticed by absolutely he althy people. Athletes are an example. They have low blood pressure with constant physical activity. This feature is an adaptive reaction of the body,protective measure. This type of arterial hypotension is called physiological.
The primary appearance is considered an independent disease. It is not a consequence of any pathologies, does not occur against the background of existing diseases. Doctors see primary hypotension as a special form of a neurosis-like disease of the vasomotor centers of the brain. But the secondary variety is observed in various diseases (for example, with heart failure, brain injuries, arrhythmias).
Subarachnoid hemorrhage
Sudden onset diffuse or occipital pain may be characteristic of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. This term (abbreviated designation - SAK) experts refer to the accumulation of blood in the cavity between the pia mater and arachnoid. Hemorrhage occurs suddenly due to rupture of an arterial aneurysm or traumatic brain injury.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage survivors report that the pain they experienced was the worst they have ever experienced in their lives. Other symptoms of SAH include nausea, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. With a hemorrhage, a person needs urgent medical attention. This is a very dangerous condition that can lead to death or severe disability.
Intracerebral hemorrhage
Diffuse or local intense pain may be a symptom of an intracerebral hemorrhage. This is the entry of blood into the substance of the brain. Hemorrhage occurs when ruptured altered walls of cerebral vessels or diapedesis (exit of blood elements from vessels in violation of their permeability and tone).
Who might experience this dangerous condition? Most often, hemorrhage occurs in people in adulthood and old age due to cerebral atherosclerosis, hypertension. Much less often, the causes are blood diseases, inflammatory changes in the cerebral vessels. Cerebral hemorrhage sometimes occurs in young people. The most common cause is drug use.
Brain formations
If you often have a headache, what are the reasons? An unpleasant symptom can be caused by various brain formations (hematomas, tumors, abscesses). Pain is most often diffuse. Sometimes it occurs in the place where the volumetric formation is localized. In the early stages of the disease, it makes itself felt in the morning and is weak. As the disease progresses, the nature of the pain changes. It becomes constant and stronger. Other symptoms that indicate the presence of space-occupying formations include:
- vomiting without nausea;
- appearance of oculomotor disorders;
- memory deterioration;
- changing behavior, etc.
It is worth noting that pain sometimes occurs when tilting the head, coughing, straining, physical exertion. Such a symptom may be characteristic of tumors of the posterior cranial fossa. Pain that occurs in these situations and is short-term,may occur without intracranial pathologies.
Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses
If the head often hurts in the forehead, heaviness is felt near the nose, then this is sinusitis. This term means inflammation of the mucous membrane lining one or more paranasal sinuses. Sinusitis occurs as a complication of influenza, runny nose, infectious diseases. Bacteria and viruses provoke inflammation.
Pain and heaviness in sinusitis are not the only symptoms. Other signs of the disease are:
- nasal congestion;
- fever;
- purulent nasal discharge;
- pain when tapping the area of the affected sinus.
Acute angle-closure glaucoma
The term "glaucoma" refers to an eye disease, which is characterized by such a sign as an increase in intraocular pressure. There are 2 forms of this disease. One of them is called angle-closure glaucoma. It occurs due to contact between the trabecular meshwork and the iris. With an illness, the outflow of intraocular fluid from the eye becomes difficult, the functioning of the trabecular network is disrupted. As a result, intraocular pressure rises.
Acute angle-closure glaucoma is what causes headaches every day for some people. With this disease, people complain of pain in the eye area, vision of rainbow circles around the light source, blurred vision. Intraocular pressure is measured to confirm or rule out angle-closure glaucoma.
Tranio-cerebral injury (TBI)
When your head hurts often, the reasons may be a long-standing TBI. The pain can be excruciating for a long period. Its character is dull, diffuse and aggravated by physical exertion. Usually this symptom is accompanied by memory impairment, decreased attention, poor sleep, dizziness, fatigue and psycho-emotional disorders.
In some cases, there are suspicious signs such as an increase in headache, drowsiness, confusion, changes in pupil size, asymmetry of reflexes. They may not be the consequences of TBI, but symptoms of chronic subdural hematoma.
Tension headache
Tension headache, symptoms and treatment of the disease is a very hot topic today. What is meant by this term? This is a common type of primary pain. Currently, it is called differently. Experts are using a new term - tension-type headache.
This symptom can occur at any age. It begins to manifest itself most often after 25 years. Tension pain is characterized by moderate intensity. In almost all cases, it is bilateral, and the place of its localization is the temporal, frontal and occipital regions. Pain has a squeezing effect. It usually lasts from several minutes to several days. Vomiting is not observed. Sometimes there is nausea, sound and photophobia.
Tension headache, symptoms andthe treatment of which is known to about 20% of the inhabitants of our planet, has a different etiology. The causes of pain are different:
- getting into stressful situations;
- sleep disorder;
- irregular meals;
- too high or too low ambient temperature;
- hormonal disorders;
- excessive eye strain, etc.
Medication pain
If your head hurts often, it may be due to medications you take. The following remedies cause an agonizing symptom:
- vasodilating (calcium antagonists, nitrates, chimes);
- anticonvulsants;
- corticosteroids;
- nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- hypolipidemic;
- antihistamines;
- estrogens;
- antibacterial.
Visit to a specialist
If headaches periodically torment, then you need to seek help. This symptom may hide diseases that are life-threatening. If you often have a headache, which doctor can help? First you need to make an appointment with a therapist and tell him about your problem. It is very important to convey all the important information to the specialist, because the effectiveness of the treatment depends on it.
So, at the reception you should tell:
- in which area of the head the pain is localized;
- what time of day does it make itself felt;
- when the pain first started (e.g. a few days ago);
- whenpain sensation becomes maximum;
- what additional suspicious symptoms are observed with a headache;
- are any medications taken;
- how many pain attacks happen per day;
- are there any diseases.
It is imperative to express your point of view about what could have caused the pain. Maybe a few weeks (months, years) ago there was an injury or a blow to the head. This is very important information that will help the specialist determine the cause of the headache that occurs.
The therapist, after listening to all complaints, will prescribe the necessary examinations (blood test, X-ray, computed tomography, etc.). The doctor will also give a referral to the necessary specialist (for example, to an otolaryngologist in the presence of diseases associated with the ear, throat, nose, head, to a neurologist to rule out or confirm diseases related to the nervous system) in order to finally find out why the patient often hurts head.
The reasons (what to do, we described above) for the appearance of such a symptom, as is clear from the foregoing, are different. But summing up, it is worth noting that only 5% of patients who turn to doctors with complaints of headache have serious illnesses. Despite this, you should not refuse to make a visit to a specialist. The doctor will find out the real cause of the pain and give advice on how to get rid of this painful symptom.
