Headache is a painful condition in which pain in the head is the main symptom. It is one of the more common clinical symptoms. Headache is often caused by overexertion, stress, cold, and little sleep. It will disappear after rest and sufficient sleep and does not attract much attention. However, the headache caused by certain diseases is a kind of signal that cannot be recovered even after rest, and should attract our attention. The causes of headache are very complicated, including intracranial and extracranial ones; there are localized headaches and systemic ones; there are also many headaches for which no cause can be found so far.
At present, headache is the main symptom of infectious fever, hypertension, rhinitis, trigeminal neuralgia, intracranial disorders, neurosis, concussion, migraine and other diseases. The causes of headache are mostly due to external evil, disharmony of will, deficiency of body and diet, and loss of nourishment of brain marrow.
Many causes of headache
Headache can be caused by stimulation, pulling or compression of any tissue with pain sensation in the skull. There are many causes of headache, and treatment can only be effective if the cause is identified as soon as possible.
Hypertensive headache is a condition in which the middle-aged and elderly people are often in a state of tension and anxiety due to work and family problems, resulting in physical and mental haggardness and decreased physical strength, and hypertension creeps in without feeling it. Patients feel confusion, vague pain in the brain, and sometimes even fainting or numbness of fingertips, all of which are caused by hypertension.
Neuropathic headache is caused by tension and contraction of the head muscles, with a tight bundle or pressure-like, heavy feeling in the head, often throbbing pain, which is aggravated by excessive smoking and drinking. This is mostly caused by irregular life, excessive smoking and drinking, and lack of sleep.
Due to endocrine changes, the physiological functions of people are affected and there is often a change in personality. Patients show impatience and irritability, weakness and laziness, nervousness, low sexual desire and low menstrual flow.
Neuroleptic headache is mostly seen in brain workers, who often work day and night, lack of exercise, insufficient nutrition, and overexertion resulting in brain unsupported. Patients often have headache, insomnia, memory loss, and a sense of aging before aging.
Headaches caused by brain tumors or other intracranial lesions usually occur recently, are intermittent, last for several hours a day, and may be caused or disappear with changes in position. Initially, the headache may be confined to the site of the tumor, but may become diffuse as the intracranial pressure increases.
Clinical diagnosis
The exact cause of headache can only be concluded by analyzing the nature of the headache, the duration of the attack, the accompanying symptoms and a detailed examination. Several common diseases that cause headache are analyzed as follows.
1.Severe headache with vomiting indicates elevated intracranial pressure, commonly associated with cerebral hemorrhage, brain tumor, and meningitis.
2.Paroxysmal migraine, each attack for a few minutes, severe facial electric shock-like pain, which can be triggered by talking, eating or washing face, is seen in trigeminal neuralgia.
3.Headache with posterior-occipital pain and throbbing sensation, mostly seen in hypertension, which disappears when blood pressure is normal.
4.Severe headache with orbital pain, sharp loss of vision and vomiting is mostly due to acute glaucoma.
5.Headache with nasal congestion and runny nose, light in the morning and heavy in the afternoon, may be sinusitis.
6.Headache with vertigo may be cervical spondylosis, cerebellar hemorrhage, or insufficient blood supply to the basilar artery.
General treatment
1. Pay attention to the observation and experience of the nature, time and accompanying symptoms of headache attack, and go to hospital for further examination in time.
2.Reduce activities and rest quietly during headache attack. Apply a small amount of sedative and sleeping medicine if necessary.
3.Sudden onset of severe headache with vomiting and high blood pressure should be treated as first aid for brain hemorrhage and other diseases as soon as possible.
4.For headache suspected to be caused by acute glaucoma, do not take painkillers blindly to relieve pain, but go to ophthalmology in time to save vision, otherwise it will soon cause blindness.
5.Take painkillers, such as painkillers, craniotomidine, analgesic and other drugs, only for temporary pain relief. An overdose of painkillers can mask the condition. In addition, allergic rash caused by painkillers is also common.
6.Treatment for the cause, such as high blood pressure causes headache, by lowering blood pressure can make the headache better. Refractive error causes headache, wearing suitable glasses can make the headache disappear. Headache caused by cerebral vascular spasm resulting in insufficient blood supply to the brain can be relieved by vasodilatation.