Headaches can become more complicated than most people realize. Different kinds of headaches can have different symptoms,and may need different types of medicines.However,most people treat themselves with over-the-counter medicines and many migraine sufferers go undiagnosed. When people start using analgesics on a regular basis, the analgesics can in fact be the cause of headaches.
Facts about headache
- More than 70 percent of women in India suffer from headach s.
- Five percent of adults has a headache daily or almost daily
- Headache is the most commonly reported bodily pain
- Headache is also a leading reason children miss days from school.
- Headaches may be genetic or hereditary.
What Causes Headaches?
The pain in a headache can originate from a mix of signals between one’s brain, blood vessels, and nearby nerves..
Sometimes, doctors suggest a CT scan or MRI to look for problems inside your brain that might cause your headaches.
What Are the Types of Headaches?
There are many different types of headaches. The most common ones are:
Also known as stress headaches, or chronic daily headaches,they are the most common type among adults and teens.
A tension headache is the most common type of headache. It can cause mild, moderate, or intense pain in your head, neck, and behind your eyes. Some patients say that a tension headache feels like a tight band around their forehead.Women are twice as likely to suffer from tension headaches as men.
These headaches are throbbing or pulsating in nature.Along with the pain, people can have other symptoms, such as sensitivity to light, noise, or smells, nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite, and upset stomach. When a child has a migraine, he often looks pale, feels dizzy, and has blurry vision,and an upset stomach.
Women can get headaches from changing hormone levels during their periods, pregnancy, and menopause. The hormone changes from birth control pills also trigger headaches in some women.
Mixed headache syndrome
This headache is a mix of features of migraine and tension headaches. Both adults and children can have it.
This type is intense and feels like a burning or piercing pain behind the eyes.
They’re called “cluster headaches” because they tend to happen in groups. You might get them one to three times per day during a cluster period, which may even last upto months. The headaches may disappear completely (go into “remission”) for months or years, only to come back again.
When headaches can be dangerous
Most headaches are benign, harmless. However, in certain cases headaches can be a sign or symptom of a serious disorder or disease. Seek immediate medical attention if you have headaches with the following characteristics that:
- Occur more frequently or increase severity
- Happen everyday
- Occur suddenly and severely, similar to a thunderclap
- Begin after age 50
- Change in the pattern or nature of headaches
- Cause seizures or confusion
- Occur along with fever, severely elevated blood pressure, stiff neck, vision changes, changes in sensation, weakness, fainting or loss of coordination