Headache is one of the most common clinical symptoms, and almost everyone experiences headache in their lifetime, only the severity and frequency of attacks vary. Headache is often caused by overexertion, tension, cold, little sleep, etc. It will disappear after rest and sufficient sleep, so it does not attract much attention, so some people say that headache is not a disease. However, headache caused by certain diseases is a kind of signal that cannot be recovered even after rest, which should draw our attention. When headache attacks, many patients want to know more about headache, so the following are answers to some common questions. 1.What types of headache are there? Headache can be divided into primary headache and secondary headache according to the cause. Primary headache refers to those headaches that are not caused by other underlying diseases or states, the most common ones include tension headache, migraine, cluster headache, etc. More than 90% of headaches are primary headaches. Secondary headaches refer to headaches caused by other underlying diseases or conditions, such as those caused by five sensory diseases such as paranasal sinusitis and glaucoma; those caused by fever; those caused by changes in hormone levels, such as those that occur during menstruation and pregnancy in women; and those caused by encephalitis, stroke and brain tumors. The following highlights a few common primary headaches: Tension headache is the most common type of all adult and adolescent headaches, mostly bilateral occipital, temporal and parietal pressure, with almost daily attacks, also known as chronic daily headache, associated with persistent contraction of head and neck muscles and depressed and anxious mood, often accompanied by sleep disturbances. Migraines often present as moderate to severe throbbing or drilling pain; they are often accompanied by nausea and vomiting; patients are photophobic, acoustic, and sleepy; some patients have visual and sensory abnormalities before the headache, and the headache can last from a few hours to three days, with variable frequency of attacks. Some children may have no headache symptoms, but only repeated vomiting, which is called abdominal migraine. Another group of patients may present with a combination of migraine and tension headache. As the name suggests, it is a kind of headache with a concentrated number of attacks. Although it is less common than the above three, it is the most severe type of headache, which is characterized by severe pain in the orbital area, with 1-3 attacks per day, lasting for 2 weeks to 3 months, and can be repeated after an interval. 2.How does headache occur? Various pathogenic factors acting on the head stimulate nociceptive nerve endings, which then generate nerve impulses that are transmitted to the center via the nociceptive transmission pathway and finally to the cerebral cortex, where pain is perceived through comprehensive cortical analysis. Sudden onset of headache is usually caused by disease, such as infection, cold and fever. Other causes are sinusitis, pharyngitis and otitis media. In some cases, headaches can also be triggered by head trauma or more serious illnesses. Often tension headaches are associated with family or social-related psychological stress, and other factors include alcohol abuse, dieting, excessive eye use, and poor neck and back posture. Headaches can also be triggered by factors such as passive smoking, furniture odors, noise and light pollution, weather changes and eating certain foods such as chocolate, coffee and cheese, etc. Excessive physical activity can sometimes trigger migraines in adults or children, so it is important to work with your doctor to find out what triggers your headaches. 3. Can headaches be inherited? Will migraines in children heal themselves when they grow up? Yes, headaches, especially migraines, run in families. 90% of children or adolescents with migraines have a family history of the condition, and when both parents have migraines, 70% of the children will get migraines. If only one parent has migraines, the child has a 25-50% chance of having migraines. The headache may improve as the child grows older, and sometimes the headache returns after it has been gone for a while as they grow older. By high school, many boys’ migraines will have resolved themselves, but girls’ migraine attacks will increase in frequency due to changes in hormone levels, and about three times as many girls as boys will have migraines during adolescence. 4.What should I do after a headache occurs? It is important to go to the hospital promptly for examination by a neurologist, who will determine which diseases the headache may be caused by and what other tests are needed after conducting a detailed history and physical examination. You need to provide as much information as possible about the nature of the headache and a complete medical history to help the doctor make a correct judgment; do not take painkillers blindly until you know the cause of the headache. If the headache is really unbearable, a specialist should decide whether it can be taken and what kind of painkillers are appropriate; after the cause is clear, the key to pain relief is to treat the cause, and only on this basis should pain medication be taken appropriately. It is comforting to know that once a correct diagnosis of headache is obtained, effective treatment measures can be found. 5.What are the treatments for headache? Treatment of headache depends on a variety of factors, including the type of headache, the frequency of attacks, and the cause. Not all headaches require medication. Treatment should also include education of patients about the disease, psychological relief to relieve stress, and biofeedback therapy, and should emphasize individualized treatment plans that vary from person to person. When treatment is started, patients should also actively pay attention to the whole treatment process and its efficacy, and can record the daily changes in the degree of headache (headache diary) to cooperate with the doctor for further adjustment of the treatment plan.