Everyone has had a headache, and it can be a very unpleasant experience. While headaches are not difficult to manage; there are numerous types of headaches that, if not properly differentiated and disposed of, may prolong the pain or even make the situation worse.
Common headaches include tension headaches, migraines, and cluster headaches. There are also headaches that may not be known, such as painkiller headache, coat hanger headache, orgasm headache, ice cream headache, and teeth grinding headache. Serious diseases such as brain hemorrhage and meningitis can also manifest as headaches and should be seen promptly. Let’s learn more about the characteristics of various headaches and the measures to deal with them.
Tension headache
Also known as “stress headache”, it is a “tightness” like squeezing sensation on or around the sides of the head, mild to moderate pain that can spread down to the jaw and neck muscles. It usually lasts for a few hours, sometimes for several days or even weeks.
The cause may be due to dehydration, stress, fatigue (disturbing the balance of chemicals in the brain) or physical factors such as a sedentary head and neck in one position (causing constant contraction of the neck, face and scalp muscles). It is mostly seen in women and is twice as common as in men.
Treatment: While pain medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen are effective, it is best to first try simple relaxation techniques such as a head or neck massage or a hot bath.
Migraine
Pulsating pain in the front or side of the head, relieved when lying still or sitting comfortably, aggravated by body movement; often accompanied by its symptoms such as nausea, noise, photophobia of the eyes or flashes of light in front of the eyes. They can last from 4 hours to 3 days and can be very severe or even unbearable.
Traditionally thought to be caused by constriction of the dilated cerebral blood vessels, migraine is now thought to be more important due to an imbalance of chemically active substances in the brain such as the role of serotonin.
Treatment: Acetaminophen and ibuprofen, for example, can relieve mild migraines. It should be reminded that migraine attacks are often accompanied by nausea or even vomiting, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and the absorption of oral medications is often disturbed, so it is recommended to increase the first dose of the medication, while anti-nausea medications such as morpholine can be used in combination.
Ordinary painkillers are ineffective one can try sumatriptan or antidepressants such as amitriptyline, but all the above drugs have strong potential side effects including dizziness and drowsiness and need to be used under medical supervision.
In addition, a non-pharmacological treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) system, which stimulates the occipital cortical nerves by emitting magnetic pulse signals to reduce migraine attacks, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical use, which is certainly a boon for patients who cannot tolerate medication.
Given the very painful experience of migraine, experts agree that the “prevention is better than cure” strategy also begins with migraine, and it is even more important to recognize and control migraine triggers in order to prevent their occurrence or reduce their frequency and duration. This requires careful observation and experience by the patient, and keeping a detailed “headache diary” is a useful strategy.
Cluster headache
Cluster headaches present as a very severe cutting pain on one side of the head, often behind or around one eye, and the ipsilateral eye and nose may be involved with redness, runny, and restlessness.
Cluster headache is a sudden onset of pain that peaks in 5 to 10 minutes and can last from a few minutes to several hours, usually 30 to 90 minutes, and is most common in men. Headaches usually occur once or more per day, often at the same time of day, most often at night from 1:00 p.m. to 02:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and around 9:00 p.m. Cluster attacks typically last 4 to 8 weeks, up to 12 weeks, until the end of the “cluster” phase. Episodes tend to be seasonal, for example, in the spring or fall. The remission period can be weeks, months or even years.
The cause of cluster headaches is the result of the brain’s “exaggeration” in processing certain stimuli. Because it can affect the hypothalamus, which is responsible for sleep and wakefulness, another characteristic of this headache is that it tends to wake you from sleep.
Treatment: Common painkillers are generally ineffective, and some migraine medications such as sumatriptan nasal spray may provide help. Inhaling 100% pure oxygen is a quick and effective method, but it needs to be used immediately at the start of the attack.
Sinus headache
This is the headache caused by paranasal sinusitis and is a common and more insidious form of headache. The pain is often located in the forehead above the eyes, in the cheeks and around the nose. It presents as a persistent, dull pain that can last for several weeks.
Sinusitis is often caused by poor sinus drainage, so rhinitis turbinate enlargement and cold irritation are triggers, which can be viral secretory inflammation, acute suppurative inflammation and chronic inflammation.
Treatment: Fundamental treatment also lies in the treatment of sinusitis, painkillers and steroidal nasal sprays can help with pain relief and clearing sinus drainage help. The decision as to whether suppurative sinusitis should be treated with antibiotics needs to be made by a medical professional following the appropriate clinical guidelines. Chronic sinusitis sometimes requires surgical treatment.
Ophthalmogenic headache
If you have refractive errors in your eyes and experience pain in your eyes or the front of your head, it may mean that you need corrective eyeglasses or more appropriate glasses. Long hours of reading, especially nowadays when staring at computer and cell phone screens for long periods of time causes eye strain, can also trigger headaches.
The reason is simple: when we overuse our muscles, it can cause strain and soreness, and in the same way, visual fatigue can cause strain on the muscles associated with eye movements and lead to headaches. Therefore, visual fatigue headache is in fact a kind of tension headache.
The main prevention and treatment is to avoid the occurrence of visual fatigue by adopting the “20:20:20” rule: every 20 minutes, move your gaze to an object 20 meters away for 20 seconds.
Glaucoma headache
Sudden, severe eye pain and headache, which may be accompanied by flashes of light or rainbows in front of your eyes, may be a sign of acute glaucoma. Glaucoma is an emergency condition caused by a rapid increase in intraocular pressure due to impaired circulation of atrial fluid in the eye, which can lead to blindness if left untreated. You need to go directly to the emergency room for urgent treatment as soon as the above headache occurs.
Painkiller headache
Also known as rebound headache, or substance abuse headache. In some headache sufferers, the headache occurs daily or almost daily despite regular pain medication, and manifests as a lingering, persistent headache. It is also often accompanied by nausea, anxiety, irritability, depression, or sleep problems.
This is due to the long-term use of painkillers for the treatment of frequent headaches, especially some caffeine-containing agents, such as aminoglutethimide tablets and brain-clearing tablets, which are more likely to form the patient’s dependence on the medication, and once the medication is stopped or excreted from the body below a certain blood level, the headache becomes more severe and needs to be relieved by more painkillers, thus forming a vicious cycle. A vicious circle is formed.
This kind of painkiller headache is not uncommon, according to statistics, about 10% of headache patients attending headache specialist clinics have this condition.
The treatment is simple, mainly to stop taking painkillers. However, this is not easy to do because stopping the painkillers means more severe headaches, and many people cannot stick with them and continue to take those “life-saving” pills. Once a determined person can endure the 3-week ordeal, he or she will slowly feel better. Of course, when the pain is unbearable, you can also take steroid hormones for short periods of time, or you can switch to ibuprofen for relief.
Hanger headache
Some people suddenly stand up after lying or sitting for a long time is a kind of headache that occurs, also often accompanied by dizziness or nausea. It usually does not last long and can be relieved quickly if you lie down. In fact, this is a manifestation of postural hypotension, because blood gathered in the lower part of the body near the ground after lying or sitting for a long time, blood pressure drops after suddenly standing upright, and the pressure receptors located in the neck and heart area send signals to the circulatory center in the brain to order the heartbeat to accelerate and try to raise the blood pressure quickly. The combined effect of the drop in blood pressure and the accelerated heart rate causes headache and dizziness.
This type of headache, like some other headaches caused by poor posture, hunchback, and a bent neck, is characterized by pain in the shoulders, neck, and head, and the painful area is like a coat hanger, hence the name coat hanger pain or coat hanger headache.
Treatment: Includes drinking more fluids to keep the body hydrated and maintaining good body posture; sometimes additional sodium supplements (such as heavy sweating) and medication are needed.
Be alert for red flags
Usually a new, severe or frequent headache is a sign or manifestation of a serious illness that must be highly alert and requires prompt medical attention once detected.
1.Any new persistent headache over the age of 50 suggests the possibility of arteritis and requires prompt medical examination.
2.A new pulsating headache in women who are taking birth control pills suggests the possibility of thrombosis.
3.A new persistent headache that is aggravated by coughing, sneezing or bending forward is a sign of increased intracranial pressure, suggesting the possibility of intracranial occupying lesions (tumors).
4.The sudden occurrence of “thunderclap” headache with a violent blow to the head, sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting or coma and other serious conditions, indicates the possibility of cerebral hemorrhage, which is one of the most acute and serious diseases that can even cause sudden death, and requires lying on the side in place and keeping still, and quickly calling the emergency number.
5. Severe headache accompanied by fever, rash, nausea and vomiting and/or stiff neck is a possible sign of meningitis and requires prompt medical attention.