Headache - Causes

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 by


Headache
 It is a pain or discomfort in the head, scalp or neck. Serious causes of headaches are rare. Most people with headaches can feel much better by making changes in your lifestyle, learning ways to relax and sometimes taking medications.
Causes
The types of most common headaches are probably caused by muscle tension in the shoulders, neck, scalp and jaw. These are called tension headaches.

May be related to stress, depression, anxiety, sustaining a head injury or head and neck in an abnormal position.
Tension headaches tend to be on both sides of the head. They often start at the back of the head and spread forward. The pain may feel dull or squeezing, like a tight band or vice. You may feel pain and stiffness in the shoulders, neck and jaw.
Migraines are severe headaches that usually occur with other symptoms such as changes in vision or nausea.

The pain may be throbbing, pounding, or pulsating. Tends to begin on one side of the head, although it may spread to both sides.
You may have an "aura" (a group of warning symptoms that start before your headache). The pain usually gets worse as you try to move from one place to another.
These headaches may be triggered by foods like chocolate, some cheese, and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Caffeine withdrawal, lack of sleep and alcohol can also trigger them.
The rebound headaches, headaches that keep coming back, can occur from excessive consumption of analgesics. You can also call headache by excessive consumption of drugs .Patients taking analgesics more than 3 days a week on a regular basis can develop this type of headache.

Other types of headaches:
 Cluster headaches: headaches are sharp, extremely painful headaches that tend to occur several times a day for months and then disappear for a similar period.
Sinus headaches cause pain in the front of the head and face. This type of headache is caused by inflammation in the sinus passages that lie behind the cheeks, nose and eyes. The pain tends to worsen when you bend forward and when you wake up in the morning.
Headaches may occur if you have a cold, flu, fever, or premenstrual syndrome.
There may be inflammation and swelling of an artery (which irrigates part of the area of the head, temples and neck) with a condition called temporal arthritis.
On rare occasions, a headache may be a sign of a more serious cause such as:

Brain infection like meningitis or encephalitis, or abscess
Brain tumor
Hydrocephalus
Problems with blood vessels and bleeding in the brain, such as arteriovenous malformation (AVM), cerebral aneurysm or stroke
Pseudo tumor cerebra
Very high blood pressure Home Care
There may be things you can do to relieve the symptoms of a headache. Try to treat the symptoms immediately.

This entry was posted in . Bookmark the permalink.