Headache: diagnosis and treatment

2024 Author: Curtis Blomfield | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 20:44

Everyone experiences a headache at least once in their life. This phenomenon is not considered a separate disease, but only a sign that cannot be ignored if it occurs often enough. Pathologies that have any effect on the nerve endings can be factors that cause headaches. That is why it can give to the neck, eyes, and so on. What causes a headache and what to do if it occurs? The answers 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 is unlikely to need specialist help. However, if someone often experiences such an ailment as a headache, diagnosis and treatment are urgently needed. 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 are the following:

1. Vascular spasms.
2. Inadequate supply of brain cellsoxygen.
3. Hypertension (in this case, pain appears in the back of the head).
4. Hypertonicity of the muscles of the head and neck.
5. Presence of neurological disease.
6. Irregular meals, strict diets.
7. Excessive exercise.
8. Viral diseases.
9. Intellectual and psychological overload.
10. Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses.
11. Pathologies of the cervical vertebrae.

The head can hurt in women before menstruation or during childbearing. Such phenomena are associated with hormonal changes in the body.

Also, cephalgia is a characteristic symptom that occurs in connection with head injuries (for example, with a concussion). A person is unlikely to be able to successfully cope with such a phenomenon as a headache. Diagnosis, consultation with a specialist and taking prescribed medications are a much smarter 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 included in the 1st category:

1. Tension headache (caused by diseases of the nerves, hypertonicity of the neck muscles, mental and emotional strain).
2. Hemicrania.
3. 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,taking certain medications or stopping medication.

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 Features

When a person has cephalalgia, other symptoms may also appear. What they will be depends largely on the nature of the pain. For example, tension cephalgia is accompanied by a feeling of pressure in the forehead and temples, lethargy, sleep disturbances, and increased excitability. Bundle headache most often affects the stronger sex. With this type of cephalalgia, discomfort is concentrated in one area (for example, in the temples).

Pain usually lasts no more than five minutes, it has a paroxysmal character. It must be remembered that beam cephalgia may indicate a serious pathology. If a person has a severe paroxysmal headache, diagnosis and treatment are urgently needed.

Hemicrania is another type of cephalalgia, which is usually accompanied by nausea, repeated vomiting, increased sensitivity to sounds, light and smells.

Forehead pain

This type of cephalalgia is often associated with pathologies not of the brain, but of other organs. Therefore, in order to eliminate such a symptom, taking an analgesic is usually not enough. Headache in the frontal region may be due to the followingreasons:

1. Pathologies of the paranasal sinuses.
2. Diseases of the central nervous system, cardiovascular system.
3. Neurological pathology.
4. Diseases of the cervical vertebrae.
5. Mechanical damage to the head.
6. Infections.
7. Poisoning.
8. Cancerous tumors.
9. Emotional overload.

Forehead pain is often seen with hymecrania (in which 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 may be accompanied by discomfort in the forehead and other characteristic symptoms (nausea, vomiting, high fever). Sometimes the symptom is associated with impaired blood supply to the brain and improper functioning of the organs of vision.

Temple pain

This symptom often indicates excessive tension of the nerve endings located in this area. Headache in the temple area may occur due to an infectious disease or sleep disorders. Hormonal changes (with menopause, before menstruation) often provoke such discomfort. Other factors that cause pain in the temples include pathologies of the adrenal glands, low or high pressure inside the skull, carbon monoxide poisoning, alcohol, flying and climbing to high altitudes. Such cephalgia can also be observed with migraine.

General and differential diagnosis of headaches

Events forexamination of a patient with cephalalgia are determined by the alleged factors that caused its appearance. When identifying the causes that provoke a headache, the doctor asks questions in order to clarify some facts. The specialist needs to find out the following:

1. The ratio of cephalalgia and other pathological phenomena.
2. Duration of headache, time of day it usually occurs.
3. Properties of cephalalgia, characteristic features of its manifestation in a patient.
4. Presence or absence of hereditary predisposition to headache.
5. External factors that make cephalalgia more pronounced.

For a general examination of the body, the doctor prescribes complex measures, which include computed and magnetic resonance imaging, laboratory blood and urine tests, x-rays. Dif. diagnosis of headaches involves additional research and depends on the area in which the cephalgia is localized in a particular patient.

Daily Headache: Causes

Often, such phenomena are referred to general practitioners and specialists in neurological diseases. Possible causes of daily cephalgia include:

1. Increased pressure in the arteries and inside the skull.
2. Vascular pathology.
3. Diseases of the cervical vertebrae.

If a person has a headache during the day and it persists for a long time, in no case should he self-medicate. After all, uncontrolled intake of analgesics can only aggravate the situation. In addition, daily cephalgia is fraught not only with all sorts of consequences, but also with a fatal outcome.

The best solution in this situation is to seek medical help. A competent specialist can clearly establish what caused the headache, and the diagnosis will allow you to select the necessary therapy and eliminate the symptom.

Danger 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. Never ignore a headache in the following situations:

1. She first appeared in a child or adult.
2. Cephalgia has a pronounced character.
3. Headache was preceded by mechanical damage.
4. Cephalgia appeared at night and does not allow a person to sleep.
5. In addition to the headache, the patient has such phenomena as visual, hearing, consciousness, vomiting, and movement disorders.
6. Cephalgia is accompanied by skin rashes and fever.
7. Pain does not go away for several days and is not relieved by analgesics.

Headache and vomiting: causes, treatment

The combination of these symptoms is quite common. It occurs in the following situations:

1. During the period of bearing a child. Pregnant women in the early stages often experience cephalalgia, nausea and vomiting (especially in the morning), as well as a slight decrease in weight and appetite. These states are associated withhormonal changes in the body. If they do not cause a woman severe discomfort, you should not worry. Severe symptoms of toxicosis during pregnancy (headache and vomiting) are an occasion for immediate medical attention.
2. In hemicrania, cephalgia is unilateral. The headache is accompanied by vomiting and increased sensitivity to sounds, smells and light.



3. Hangover is often manifested by cephalalgia. After drinking alcohol, symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, high blood pressure, dry mouth also occur.
4. Hypertension is signaled by cephalalgia, loss of sensation in some parts of the body. Also, with high blood pressure, vomiting, an increase in heart rate, and severe pain in the temporal region are observed. If left untreated, hypertension can lead to such unfortunate consequences as a stroke.
5. Brain cancer is accompanied by vomiting, deterioration of intellectual abilities and disorder of consciousness.
6. 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.
7. Food poisoning and mechanical damage to the head can also cause similar symptoms.

To eliminate phenomena such as cephalalgia and vomiting, it is recommended to take analgesics. If symptoms are triggered by intoxication, activated charcoal may help. However, in cases where headache and vomiting occur after a blow or fall,you need to urgently go to the emergency room.

It is strictly forbidden to self-medicate in this situation.

Drugs

Continuing to talk about such a phenomenon as a headache (clinic, diagnosis, treatment - all this interests us), it is necessary to talk about the methods of therapy. Drugs commonly used to treat this condition include the following:

1. "Rapimig".
2. "Diclofenac".
3. "Ibuprofen".
4. "Paracetamol".
5. "Analgin".
6. "Drotaverine".
7. "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 women or minors. Therefore, it is better not to experiment with your he alth and take cephalalgia pills only as directed by your doctor. Moreover, a timely visit to a specialist and diagnosis of the causes of headache will allow you to choose the right treatment tactics.

Folk remedies

You can cope with cephalalgia not only with the help of drugs. Some suggest using folk methods such as:

1. Compresses of cabbage leaves and lemon wedges.
2. Mixture of tea leaves and mint.



3. Decoction of fireweed.
4. Temple massage using mint or clove oil.
5. Hot shower.

However, it is worth noting that folk remedies have their contraindications. In addition, in some cases, they, unfortunately, do not help.

How to prevent headaches

As already mentioned, this symptom may indicate the presence of any acute or chronic pathologies. If cephalgia suddenly occurs or a person often experiences a severe headache, diagnosis and treatment by a competent specialist are extremely necessary measures. Is there a prevention? Certainly yes. You can prevent this unpleasant phenomenon if you follow the following tips:

1. Follow the principles of good nutrition.
2. Quit smoking and excessive drinking.
3. Try to avoid intellectual, physical and emotional overload.
4. Treat chronic diseases in a timely manner.
5. Don't forget about exercise and regular walks in the fresh air.