|
|
A headache is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache.
Headaches have a wide variety of causes, ranging from eyestrain to inflammation of the sinus cavities to life-threatening conditions such as encephalitis, brain cancer, meningitis, and cerebral aneurysms. When the headache occurs in conjunction with a head injury the cause is usually quite evident; however, many causes of headaches are more elusive. The most common type of headache is a tension headache. Some people experience headaches when they are hungry or dehydrated.
It is common to take mild painkillers such as aspirin or acetaminophen (sold as Tylenol or Panadol) to relieve headaches.
Types of headache
Tension headache
Migraine
Cluster headache
Rebound headaches
Ictal headache
Ice cream headache
Thunderclap headache
Vascular headache
Tension headaches, which were recently renamed tension type headaches by the International Headache Society, are the most common type of headaches. The pain can radiate from the neck, back, eyes, or other muscle groups in the body. Nearly everyone will have at least one tension headache in their lifetime.
Migraine is a form of headache, usually very intense and disabling. It is a
neurological disease of vascular origin. The word "migraine" originates from the Greek construction hemikranion (pain affecting one side of the head)
Cluster headaches are rare headaches that occur in groups or clusters. Cluster headache sufferers typically experience very severe headaches of a piercing quality near one eye or temple that last for between 15 minutes and three hours. Cluster headaches are frequently associated with drooping eyelids, red, watery eyes, and nasal congestion on the affected side of the face. The headaches are unilateral and occasionally change sides. The neck is often stiff or tender in association with cluster headaches, and jaw and teeth pain is sometimes reported.
Rebound headaches occur when medication is taken too frequently to relieve headache pain. Rebound headaches frequently occur daily and can be very painful. A diagnosis of rebound headaches can be easy or difficult, as the cause is very easy to identify but very difficult to diagnose. Overuse of painkillers can be confirmed simply by asking the patient if his or her headaches assumed a new pattern or became more severe after taking painkillers excessively (generally classified as more than 3 times per week). However, the only way to make a certain diagnosis of rebound headache is to withdraw the patient from medication for anywhere up to 6 months. It should be noted that withdrawal from medication will actually intensify the headaches for the first few weeks. After this period, the headaches will gradually recede.
Following treatment, many patients revert to their prior headache pattern. A physician should be consulted before re-use of medications.
Ictal headaches are headaches associated with seizure activity. They may occur either before (pre-ictal), after (post-ictal), or most rarely during a seizure. Many cases of ictal headache may be misdiagnosed as migraine with aura, or even cluster headache. However, whereas these conditions usually involve just one side of the head (are unilateral), an ictal headache may be centrally situated or cover the entirety of the head.
Brain Freeze or ice cream headache is a term used to refer to the pain sometimes inflicted by devouring something cold like ice cream or a cold beverage, often very quickly.
Thunderclap headache is a sudden and severe headache, diagnosed via a process of exclusion with accompanying negative CT and Lumbar Puncture results
A vascular headache
is a headache where blood vessel swelling or disturbance is causing the pain.
|
|
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Headaches"
|
|
|
