Headaches when. Headache. What to do if you have a headache. Headache as a separate syndrome

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Cephalgia, which occurs from time to time, can significantly reduce a person’s quality of life, regardless of its severity. Constant headaches are a more alarming and dangerous symptom. It can occur not only as a result of lack of sleep or overexertion, but also be a sign of a serious illness. Ignoring the phenomenon and trying to cope with it on your own with the help of analgesics can lead to an aggravation of the situation and the disease becoming chronic. In some cases, permanent cephalalgia turns out to be a harbinger of an emergency condition, for example, a stroke.

Causes of constant headaches

Cephalgia, which occurs without disturbing the general condition of a person, is often ignored by him. Many people do not believe that a “non-dangerous” symptom is serious and that it can be effectively treated. They learn to endure, using analgesics and physical therapy methods as first aid. As a result, their health gradually deteriorates and the clinical picture becomes more complex. Only after this do they go to the doctor to find out the causes of the constant headache.

People whose work is closely related to computers, books, microscopes and looking at small details may often have headaches. This is due to constant tension in the muscles of the eyeball, drying out of the mucous membrane due to infrequent blinking, which leads to the development of inflammation.

Also, the cause of cephalalgia is often the refusal to use glasses or wearing the wrong pair. The sensations arise in the afternoon, they are intrusive and growing. Localized in the frontal part of the head, spreading to the temples. Complemented by weakness, mood swings, and fatigue.

Head injury

Persistent headaches result from traumatic brain injuries. The occurrence of a symptom after a head impact, even if several days or weeks have passed, should be reported to the doctor and further diagnostics carried out.

Pain can have any location, shape and degree of intensity. It is often accompanied by dizziness, weakness, nausea and vomiting, decreased quality of vision, and fainting. Particularly dangerous are cases when cephalgia is complemented by impaired consciousness or altered perception of the patient.

Taking medications

Headache is a side symptom of using many pharmaceutical drugs. It usually goes away after stopping drug therapy. Abuse of medications or violation of the schedule for taking them can cause persistent and painful abusive cephalgia. The sensations are pressing or squeezing, they respond poorly to treatment and persist for several weeks or even months.

Most often, persistent headaches are caused by taking the following medications:

• analgesics;
• NSAIDs;
• triptans;
• opiates;
• ergotamines;
• combination drugs;
• oral contraceptives.

Modern research methods will not help make such a diagnosis. It becomes obvious only after identifying the connection between medication and headaches. To confirm suspicions, the patient is advised to stop taking medications for a while. Symptoms of the disease should subside within a couple of months after this.

Hormonal disbalance

The causes of headaches associated with changes in hormonal levels can be physiological and pathological. The first include pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause. The symptom is mild or moderate in severity, lasts several days or weeks, and goes away on its own. The pain does not have a specific localization; often it covers the entire head. The symptom is accompanied by moodiness, mood swings, and fatigue. If there is no suspicion of the listed conditions, it is worth visiting an endocrinologist and checking the functionality of the endocrine glands, in particular the parathyroid gland.

Normally, a person should sleep 8-9 hours a day. Doctors recommend not dividing this time into several segments, but getting proper rest at night. In this case, the body will work like a clock, and the risks of headaches will be minimized.

Constant headaches due to violation of the regime can be caused by:

• lack of sleep - during rest, the brain tissue is actively cleansed of toxins. If you regularly do not get enough sleep, these processes will fail, the organ will begin to be poisoned by its own waste products, which will provoke cell destruction and headaches;
• excess sleep - exceeding normal sleep levels leads to oxygen starvation of the brain due to lack of access to fresh air in the room. Blood sugar levels also drop. The body, which has not received food for more than 9 hours, begins to give signals that it is hungry;

Don't overuse daytime sleep. Attempts to take a nap during the day are usually accompanied by taking an uncomfortable position, lack of fresh air in the room, and high noise levels. All this does not contribute to the rest of the body and brain, but only increases the risk of discomfort.

After conception, a situation may arise when the mother’s body is poisoned by the waste products of the fetus. Cephalgia is accompanied by nausea, weakness, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, and dizziness. This does not mean that a constant headache indicates some kind of problem with the child. You just need to endure the period, if possible, refusing to take medications in favor of physiotherapy and traditional medicine. The list of acceptable medications and manipulations is selected by the doctor.

Brain hematoma

The rupture of a vessel inside the skull leads to the formation of a cavity filled with blood. Depending on the degree of tissue damage and the size of the formation, the patient may experience severe headache, nausea and vomiting due to the pressure of the mass on the membranes, and confusion. Depending on the location of the hematoma, a person may experience problems with vision, speech, memory, and hearing. Lack of timely assistance leads to loss of consciousness, coma and death.

Meningitis

Inflammation of the meninges as a result of their infection is characterized by constant pain in the head, which does not allow you to do your usual activities. They do not respond to taking analgesics and antispasmodics, or physiotherapy methods. The patient experiences nausea. He may start vomiting, which does not bring relief. Due to the sensations and stiffness of the neck muscles, the patient takes a forced position - on his side, with his head thrown back, eyes closed and legs pulled up to his stomach.

Stressful situations

To understand why you often have a headache, sometimes it is enough to assess your general condition. Constant psycho-emotional overload provokes tension headaches. It is characterized by a pressing sensation around the perimeter of the head, which occurs in the afternoon and gradually increases.

Alcohol consumption

Regular consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to changes in the structure of blood vessels, changes in blood pressure, poisoning of brain tissue with toxins and breakdown products of alcohol. The cephalgia is constant, aching, irritating. It is accompanied by dizziness and nausea, redness of the skin and mucous membranes.

Vertebrogenic pain

Painful sensations in the head appear due to problems arising in the cervical spine. They can be the result of vascular spasm, damage to the nerve roots, hypoxia or intoxication of the brain due to decreased patency of the blood channels.

Cephalgia can be unilateral or symmetrical. It is accompanied by dizziness, numbness of the skin, the appearance of spots before the eyes, problems with balance and hearing.

Pain due to infections

The course of infectious diseases of various natures in the body leads to the appearance of signs of intoxication. Headache occurs against the background of increased temperature, general deterioration of health, weakness, fatigue, and drowsiness. Depending on the type of pathology and the degree of its severity, the clinical picture may be supplemented by nausea and vomiting, intestinal disorders, and changes in consciousness. Persistent cephalalgia of moderate severity and uncertain localization persists until the infectious agents are eliminated.

Constant migraine pain

Unilateral cephalalgia of a pulsating nature, which appears after an aura or without any warning signs, is characteristic of migraine.

In some cases, the condition does not respond to therapy, causing symptoms to persist for several days. In this case, the severity of sensations is weak or average. They may go away in response to taking strong drugs or on their own.

Vegetovascular dystonia

The disease, which occurs as a result of malfunctions of the nervous system, is very often accompanied by constant headaches. It is difficult to escape from unpleasant sensations in the forehead, temples, crown and back of the head, nausea and dizziness, weakness and ringing in the ears. Even rest and medication do not guarantee the desired result. For many patients, symptoms disappear only at night.

The pain is localized in the temples and back of the head, but can spread throughout the entire skull. It is intense, bursting or pulsating. Does not allow you to close your eyes and rest or be distracted in any way. May be accompanied by loss of coordination, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Arterial hypertension can lead to the development of a crisis or stroke, so it cannot be ignored.

Treatment of persistent headaches

Chronic cephalgia is an indication to see a doctor. First, you should visit a therapist, who will make a preliminary diagnosis and, if necessary, refer you to a doctor of a narrow specialization. Diagnosis of diseases that cause persistent headaches begins with an examination, medical history and general tests. Sometimes it is necessary to do a computed tomography, MRI, or apply approaches to assess the functioning of the vessels of the neck and head.

If you have a constant headache, treatment may be as follows:

• taking medications – you should not choose medications for headaches on your own; it is better to trust your doctor. Depending on the cause of the disease, the desired effect can be provided not by analgesics, but by antispasmodics, NSAIDs, antihypertensive or sedatives, nootropics, muscle relaxants and other medications;
• carrying out massage – treatment of the head or collar area can be carried out with the help of an assistant, a special device or on your own;
• the use of physiotherapeutic procedures - high or low temperatures, currents, magnetic waves can be used to combat headaches;
• surgical intervention - sometimes it is possible to get rid of headaches only after surgery (hematomas, tumors, vascular pathologies);
• reflexology – stimulating biologically active points with fingertips or needles allows you to quickly get rid of constant pain.

Patients who, due to the complexity of the situation, need to take medications on an ongoing basis, fear the development of side effects. Some of them are trying to replace pharmacy products with traditional medicine. This treatment option should be agreed with your doctor. Typically, natural medicines act as a complement to traditional approaches.

Prevention of headaches

Treatment of chronic cephalgia requires significant time and financial costs. Constantly taking pills for headaches can provoke the development of a number of complications and adverse reactions in the body. Carrying out simple and effective prevention of the condition will allow you not to encounter such problems. It includes adherence to a daily routine and night sleep of 8-9 hours a day. To strengthen the body, it is recommended to switch to a healthy diet, give up bad habits, and play sports.

Even minor headaches can cause serious mental problems if they bother you constantly. If a symptom occurs, do not delay visiting a specialist. Additionally, it is recommended to undergo an annual preventive examination with a therapist and neurologist in order to reduce the risks of developing diseases that are characterized by the symptom.

Many people habitually swallow pills when they experience a headache. However, not everyone knows that the effect of this can be the opposite: headache attacks will become more frequent. In addition, often the cause of headaches should not be looked for in the head. Perhaps this is just an “SOS” signal, which other organs of our body notify us that they need help.

She prevents us from living!

Of course, you don't have to take pills at all. There are many simple, non-medical ways to manage your headaches. But for this, it is very important that you determine what kind of headache you have, what type, and then begin effective treatment.

What kind of pain is yours?

So, let's try to decipher the Morse code of our headache. The fact is that our heads hurt due to many diseases, and they hurt in different ways. For example, it is known that 80 percent of all cases of headache are vegetative-vascular headaches. They often occur in people who are subject to constant stress or have concomitant diseases, in particular, thyroid dysplasia or hormonal imbalance. The most common types of headaches are:

. pressure,
. migraine,
. "histamine" headache,
. occipital,
. post-traumatic,
. vascular,
. caused by overvoltage.

There are also other types of headaches provoked by more serious factors, such as: cerebral hemorrhage, fever, high intracranial pressure, severe hypertension, inflammation of some arteries of the brain.

Some people experience headaches after eating foods such as ice cream, tomatoes, cheese, Chinese foods, etc. You should identify for yourself the foods that cause headaches and avoid eating them. If you have stopped drinking tea or coffee, or stopped smoking, and it gives you a headache, put a cold compress on your head and try to get some sleep in a dark room. A cold compress will constrict dilated blood vessels in the brain, and sleeping in a dark room will help you relax.

Live harmoniously, and there will be no pain!

It's no secret that all our diseases, including headaches, are usually provoked by the unhealthy lifestyle that people lead in the modern world. Here are a few rules that, if you adhere to, you can forget about such an unpleasant phenomenon as a splitting headache.

Pay attention to your diet. Headaches can be caused by excessive consumption of heavy and acidic foods and very cold water. Poor digestion does not ensure complete digestion of food, and this is also the cause of headaches.

Change your lifestyle. Suppressing natural desires, sleeping during the day, not getting enough sleep at night, consuming alcohol, talking very loudly, and being exposed to cold, especially at night, are very common factors for headaches.

Choose your location. The environment can also affect your condition. Headaches can be caused by such factors as an unpleasant odor, long trips by transport, being in a dusty space, in a smoky room, or in smoke. Therefore, try to spend more time in nature, take long walks in the fresh air.

Avoid stress. Often a psychological factor plays a decisive role in the occurrence of pain attacks in the head. Mental stress, crying for a long time or fighting tears can cause headaches.

Calm your barometer. Some of us get headaches when there are temperature changes, changes in season, two or three days before a significant change in atmospheric pressure. Such people are able to predict a storm or cyclone no worse than any barometer and are called weather dependent. A similar phenomenon often occurs with vegetative-vascular dystonia, and it is most effectively treated with non-drug methods of vascular training. Regular contrast (but not ice) showers, physical exercise, “inverted” yoga poses (headstand, and for those who find it difficult, stand on the shoulder blades) will put the needles of your internal “barometer” in the “clear” position.

Today, more and more often we are faced with such a condition as constant headache, or, scientifically, cephalgia. She exhausts, squeezes out all her strength every day; in such a state it is impossible to simply exist, let alone work. A headache can occur regardless of gender, age, or activity. Not to mention that this condition in itself is already quite dangerous, it is worth mentioning accompanying signs that aggravate the problem, such as disturbances in vision, memory, speech, coordination, weakness and numbness in one half of the body or part of it (for example, some fingers on the hand).

If you have a constant headache, it can mean a lot of things. Headache can occur due to various types of infections - sluggish caries or sinusitis. This also includes polyps deep in the nose or ears, tumors and other intracranial formations. Due to head injuries, pathologies of the development of the skull, face, and neck, daily pain is quite natural. Vascular disorders (migraine) and increased intracranial pressure bring a lot of suffering, adding their symptoms in the form of changes in the sense of smell, nausea, dizziness and photophobia.

The lack of fresh air, regular physical activity, as well as excessive physical activity aggravate the discomfort. Insufficient blood circulation impairs brain nutrition, and lack of movement causes osteochondrosis. Salts deposited in the vertebrae compress the vessels, which are already narrowed by sluggish blood flow. The result is a constant headache. This is the scourge of all modern office workers.

Metabolic disorders and hormonal disorders, such as diabetes, have a great influence on frequent cephalgia. And the very substances we use can be very insidious. If you are taking medications, your body will react to new drugs introduced into it. Or, on the contrary, finding yourself without the support of chemical “crutches” when you have just finished taking it, you will begin to be capricious and try to adapt to new conditions. They continue the topic of allergies, both obvious and hidden. Hypertension, hypotension, arterial hypertension and other pressure changes are also on the list of reasons why headaches often occur.

The human body is designed in such a way that, in a moment of danger, the muscles contract, preparing to protect what is hidden underneath. Emotions such as excitement and fear cause spasms, and the head is no exception. Pain from tension is a common occurrence, as current conditions leave us feeling stressed almost constantly. If stress becomes chronic and consciousness cannot overcome it, the “caring” subconscious strives to hide it within itself, so as not to distract consciousness from pressing matters. And then, it would seem, causeless pain in the head comes with even greater force.

If painful sensations torment you every day, then this is a serious reason to consult a doctor - a therapist or neurologist, and undergo a series of examinations prescribed by him. It is possible that you will be referred for examinations to other specialists.

Types of headaches and their symptoms

There are four types:

• Vascular. There is a feeling of pulsation, fullness, the head is dullly aching and dizzy, and the vision periodically becomes dark. It hurts to bend over, lie down, wear a hat, or comb your hair. This is usually caused by either low pressure, when blood stagnates in the vessels and stretches them, or high pressure, when blood is pushed through the arteries at too high a speed and puts pressure on surrounding tissues, or osteochondrosis, when salts, deposited on the bones, compress the blood flow.
• Liquorodynamic. Dizziness, nausea, pressure in the frontal part of the skull, temporary blurred vision. With hypertension, the pain either increases or subsides depending on different body positions. With hypotension, standing is especially painful. The reason lies in the increased secretion of cerebrospinal fluid. Because of it, intracranial pressure increases.
• Neuralgic. Sharp or cutting, sudden, accompanied. If you press on the sore point, it spreads to neighboring areas. Redness and swelling of the skin, changes in its sensitivity are possible. The discomfort almost never goes away even from taking painkillers. They can last for weeks and months. They can be provoked by prolonged and excessive physical activity in combination with hypothermia. This explains why microtraumas and inflammation of the nerve roots occur. Also, nerve fibers can be affected by various toxins that accumulate in the body due to infection (for example, botulism), contact with heavy metals (lead, mercury) or abuse of strong alcoholic beverages.
• Muscle tension. Painful aches, feeling of squeezing, squeezing, restriction, sometimes you want to scratch. It occurs against a background of eye strain, an abundance of different smells, loud music, fears and worries, lack of movement, pressure on various parts of the head (tight hair bands, hats, uncomfortable pillows and glasses).

Prevention and relief for headaches

There is a ban on certain products and procedures if you constantly have a headache:

1. Sausages may contain increased amounts of nitrites - dyes that give the product a pleasant pinkish color, and artificial flavors.
2. Chewing gum, chocolate, sweet soda, some types of sweets - the substance phenylethylamine.
3. Sugar substitutes, such as aspartame and additive E 961, can provoke headaches. They are found in soda, yogurt, low-calorie desserts, candy, cough drops and vitamins.
4. Cheese, red wine, smoked fish, nuts, chicken liver - amino acid tyramine.
5. Spices, soy - vegetable protein monosodoglutamate.
6. Alcohol. After a small dose, the discomfort may subside and disappear, but it may return later. What if you suffer from cephalalgia all the time?
7. Smoking. Nicotine spasms muscles.
8. Taking large amounts of painkillers.
9. Cold. Ice compresses and washing will not give anything other than additional vasospasm and muscle tension.

If you have not yet been able to find out the reasons for your frequent torment, try to help yourself and somehow alleviate the attacks with the following harmless means:

• Fresh air. Regular walks and frequent ventilation of the room will supply the body with oxygen.
• Herbal decoctions. Brew some lavender or chamomile and drink it as tea. After this, try to sleep.
• Compress. Add a few drops of mint or lavender essential oil to warm or slightly cool water, whichever you prefer. Then wet a towel or piece of cloth and apply it to your forehead and temples for a while.
• Self-massage. Lower your head slightly, massage with your fingertips, moving from the forehead to the back of the head. Walk through each area several times. It would also be a good idea to massage your neck and ears.

Treatment can only be prescribed by a doctor. Do not self-medicate by swallowing handfuls of pills day after day. If cephalalgia bothers you constantly, seek medical help as soon as possible to find out why and how dangerous your condition is, and what to do about it.

The phrase “headache” is used by people in almost all cases of ailment, so as not to explain for a long time what’s what, therefore headache (headache, cephalalgia, cephalgic syndrome) is a diagnosis for all occasions. Meanwhile, not all headaches are the same in origin, intensity, nature, location and duration. In this regard, finding out its cause often requires a large number of different analyzes and studies.

Why does there be pain in the head?

Why is the head so sensitive to all processes occurring in the body? This is explained by the presence of a large number of pain receptors located inside the skull (dura mater and its sinuses, large arterial vessels, meningeal arteries, V, VII, IX, X intracranial nerves, spinal cervical roots). Pain is also perceived by receptors that are located outside the skull (skin and tissue underneath, arteries, tendons, aponeuroses, oral and nasal cavities, teeth, middle ear). Only the superficial veins, the bones of the skull and the spongy substance of the bones of the cranial vault (diploe) remain indifferent in this regard.

Headache can be caused by any pathology that affects pain receptors and triggering the mechanism of development of cephalgia. Pain in the head is a symptom of many diseases, and sometimes it is the only symptom. In this regard, it is important to find out what kind of pain there is: squeezing, throbbing, bursting, squeezing, dull or sharp. Important criteria for a diagnostic search are also:

• Duration of pain (permanent or short-term);
• Frequency of attacks ( headache that occurs frequently or occasionally);
• Precursors signal an impending headache or the attack begins suddenly;
• The presence or absence of neurological manifestations, dizziness, fluctuations in blood pressure, nausea and/or vomiting, visual disturbances and speech disorders;
• Localization (temporal region, parietal, frontal or occipital pain, unilateral or covering the entire head).

In addition to the amazing variety of options for seemingly one symptom (GB), attacks vary in severity:

1. The pain can be mild, not particularly affecting the ability to work; just take a pill, lie down and everything goes away;
2. Moderate severity, which can be dealt with by various headache remedies (folk and medicinal);
3. In other cases, an attack can lead to incredible suffering, last painfully and for a long time, depriving a person not only of the joys of life, but also the opportunity to work.

Causes of cephalgia

Headache can be caused by various reasons, which also have a certain significance, because everyone knows that headache with an increase in temperature due to a cold will go away upon recovery, while constant or frequently recurring episodic pain requires additional diagnostic methods.

The occurrence of cephalalgia may be due to:

• Vascular mechanism - slowing blood flow, excessive intracranial, hypoxia;
• Increased or decreased;
• Tension of the muscles of the head and neck under excessive (static) loads and stress with activation of impulse transmission in neuromuscular synapses;
• The impact of various pathological processes on nerve endings;
• The combined action of the listed mechanisms.

The above pathogenetic mechanisms are triggered by certain factors that are considered the main causes of headaches:

1. Change in blood pressure as a result of increased sensitivity of brain vessels to lack of oxygen. Oxygen starvation is a provocateur and, naturally, a severe headache that accompanies it. Most often, headache associated with increased blood pressure is localized in the back of the head, but with high numbers, patients often note a knocking in the temples, nausea, dizziness, and visual disturbances;
2. The ratio of such factors, like ambient temperature, humidity and air composition, atmospheric pressure, entails a chain reaction of oxygen imbalances, which contributes to the occurrence of cephalgia, which especially affects people with;
3. Sudden change in weather conditions(flight from one climatic zone to another) causes meteotropic reactions, characterized not only by headache, but also by other symptoms. Nausea with vomiting, weakness, dizziness, cardialgia are a sign of a disruption in the biorhythms and stereotypes of the human body, which becomes uncomfortable when changing climate zones. In addition, not only climate change, but also the flight itself may negatively affect the health of a person who already has vascular problems, so it becomes clear why hypertensive patients are not recommended to dramatically change climatic conditions, and even more so with the help of air transport;
4. Lack of physical activity(hypokinesia);
5. Stress, psycho-emotional and physical stress, fasting.

Headache again... Frequent and chronic pain

The reasons for frequent headaches, when a person considers himself practically healthy, usually lie in an unhealthy lifestyle, when office work is so addictive that one forgets about walking in the fresh air, the need to do physical exercise disappears, and the psycho-emotional background is not given due attention at all. Thus, the prerequisites for the occurrence of frequent headaches are:

• • Hypoxia (oxygen starvation), which is doubly harmful for smokers, so there is no doubt that a “heavy, tired” head will remind you of itself day after day;
  • Hypokinesia, developing into physical inactivity and leading to weakness, fatigue, weakness and... headaches;

Types of headaches according to international classification

The causes of headaches often determine their types and classification.

Excluding episodes of cephalalgia in healthy people, which occur from time to time simply due to overwork or lack of sleep, headache in ICD-11 is divided into primary and secondary. In addition, a separate (third) part includes a group represented by cranial neuralgia, central and primary pain and other headaches.

Variants of primary headache

TO primary cephalgia include:

1. Various options;
2. Tension headache (muscle tension, psychogenic factor, occipital neuralgia);
3. Extremely painful, truly “hellish” cluster headaches, which are called cluster headaches, as they occur in the form of a series of attacks (clusters, beams);
4. Other types of primary headaches.

Primary headaches that appear as a result of exposure to some irritants are sometimes difficult to attribute to one type or another. For example, idiopathic acute headache is most often caused by migraine, but may also have other origins. It occurs in the eye area, in the temples, in the parietal region, its duration is short-lived, just a few seconds (it stings and that’s it), its character is stabbing, it can appear sporadically or occur as a series of attacks.

Cold headaches, which are usually localized in the forehead, can be experienced when exposed to cold (weather, swimming in an ice hole, or even food such as ice cream). Headache radiating to the temples occurs with prolonged bronchitis (cough), and tension headaches in other cases can lie in wait at the most inopportune moment - during violent sexual contact. In general, all the reasons leading to primary cephalgia cannot be counted...

Causes of secondary cephalgia

Looks a little different secondary headache, which, being a consequence of a pathological process, usually does not take a person by surprise, since he already has a problem in the form of an underlying disease. Thus, a group of secondary headaches accompanying other diseases may be presented:

• Post-traumatic cephalgia, which was the result of TBI (traumatic brain injury) and/or trauma to the cervical spine;
• Pain in the head caused by vascular lesions of the head and neck;
• HD in intracranial pathology of non-vascular origin;
• Pain resulting from the use of certain medications or their sudden withdrawal;
• HD caused by infectious diseases;
• Cephalgia associated with a violation of the constancy of the internal environment;
• Psychogenic cephalgia caused by diseases of internal organs;
• Symptomatic headaches arising due to structural changes in the skull and cervical spine, disturbances in the organs of vision and hearing, pathology of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, dental diseases.

Sinus headache is secondary and occurs due to “non-brain factors”

The most common type is tension headache.

TTH is muscular in nature

Tension headaches (TTH) plague people of both sexes, regardless of age. This is the most common form, arising for a number of reasons that occur at every step. We can agree that it is difficult to protect yourself from anxiety, fatigue, calculate correctly physical activity and strictly follow all medical prescriptions. TTH can be triggered by factors in everyday life, which a person is not always able to prevent: a stuffy room, strong wind, transport, heavy lifting, alcohol and much more... And how varied are the reasons that caused the pain, so heterogeneous are its manifestations.

Patients compare the nature of cephalgia to having the head pulled together with a hoop, being in a vice or wearing a helmet, which indicates a tightening, squeezing (but not pulsating!) pain. Typically, tension headaches are monotonous, but each person has their own strength: mild, “tolerable” or painful, accompanied by other symptoms (irritability, nervous tension, weakness, intolerance to loud sounds and bright light). At the same time, with TTH, as a rule, there is no vomiting or nausea, and it does not have attacks.

In addition, headache is divided into episodic, lasting from half an hour to half a month (but no more than 6 months a year) and chronic, when the headache hurts for a week and does not go away, a second, a third, and in total it turns out that the person does not part with it. Chronic pain is monotonous, exhausting, leading to neuroses and depressive states; a person gets tired of it, he is not happy with life and, as they say, “the white light is not nice to him.” There is only one way out in a chronic situation - going to the doctor for examination and treatment. First, you can contact a family therapist, if you have one, or go to a clinic at your place of residence. Further treatment for headaches will most likely be done by a neurologist.

Cluster headache is a “privilege” of men

Cluster headache (CH) is a rare type of vascular headache, only 1% of people living on Earth know about it, and the vast majority (about 80%) are men. The female half has such “pleasure” extremely rarely, and only after complex surgical interventions caused by gynecological pathology.

Cluster or cluster headache is slightly reminiscent of widespread migraine, but it also has a number of differences, where the main one is considered to be a series of emerging attacks (clusters), which haunt a person from a day to a week, mainly at night. The attack lasts from half a minute, although it seems like an eternity, to several minutes, then the pain subsides for a short period of time (from 5 minutes to 1 hour) before resuming again. And so 5-6 times a night for several days. Cluster headache ends as suddenly as it begins, and after a series of attacks may not appear for several years, however, it is difficult for a person who has experienced incomparable, acute, “wild” headaches to forget about them. And sometimes it is even impossible to withstand them; in medical practice, there are cases of suicide caused by cluster headaches.

The causes of sharp headaches in such situations are not fully understood, just as the exact scheme of the mechanism of their development has not been found. Meanwhile, the assumption that the KGB sources are:

1. Dilatation of the carotid artery (vascular nature);
2. Irritation of the nerves behind the eyes, why there is pain in the eyes, which is considered a characteristic sign of cluster headaches;
3. Significant hormonal imbalance (structural changes in testosterone, the male sex hormone).

Describing their condition during an attack, patients mention sharp hot objects stuck into the eye and reaching all the way to the brain, torture, when the skin of a living person is torn off or dissolved in acid. In short, the symptoms of cluster headache are quite eloquent:

• The blocked ear is quickly accompanied by a piercing acute headache “behind the eyes”;
• The eyes turn red, tears flow;
• stuffy nose;
• Breaks into a sweat.

At the first attack, the pain is usually one-sided, but when repeated, it spreads to the entire head.

CBG does not require self-therapy, since traditional remedies for headaches are unlikely to give the desired effect, therefore, after surviving one night, it is better to visit a doctor (generalist or neurologist), who will determine the type, cause and prescribe the necessary treatment.

Cephalgia in children

For many years, it was believed that children rarely got headaches, although, as it turns out, this statement is not true. It’s just that young children are not able to correctly assess their sensations and indicate the location of pain. They are capricious, their temperature rises, and they may vomit, but, as a rule, adults attribute such manifestations to symptoms of infection, which is completely understandable, since infectious diseases also have this beginning.

Older children can describe feeling unwell in two words: “headache” and usually mark a place in the forehead. In most cases (more than 50%), these pains are of a vascular nature, caused by the presence. Migraine pain is considered a common occurrence. As it turned out, migraine often begins in childhood and in approximately 25% (of all headaches) causes severe headaches, from which girls suffer more.

Sinus headache in children is a common occurrence in the disease

Constant headaches plague children with various neurological pathologies. It “hurts” very much when simply touching the baby’s head with dropsy of the brain gives him a sharp headache.

Besides, sinusitis and sinusitis are often a complication of ARVI in children and subsequently can turn into constant headaches, which cannot be treated with pills very well.

The treatment of headaches in children is carried out by a pediatrician, or rather, a pediatric neurologist, who is sometimes called a cephalgologist. It should be noted that such a profession does not seem to exist at all, or it is so rare that it is the privilege of only large cities, however, it is clear that a cephalgologist is a neurologist specializing in the treatment of headaches. In such cases, adults go to their local doctor (general practitioner), who, if necessary, refers to a neurologist or other specialist, depending on the cause of headache.

Does pregnancy cause headaches?

Headache during pregnancy is a fairly typical phenomenon for this condition. In addition, headache and nausea in other cases are the first to tell a woman about upcoming changes in her life. In pregnant women, attacks of cephalalgia are caused, in general, by the same circumstances as in other people, however, it should be borne in mind that the body begins restructuring in order to prepare for childbirth, therefore it becomes especially sensitive and reacts more quickly to the environment.

Due to changed hormonal influences, an increase in the volume of circulating blood necessary to provide nutrition to the fetus, fluid retention, especially in the later stages, women often experience fluctuations in blood pressure, and, in addition, chronic diseases often worsen. For example, a migraine may progress, which already brings a lot of suffering, and in such a state leads to constant headaches.

It should be noted that “interesting position” can provoke the onset of migraine, that is, some women note that they considered themselves healthy, but began to experience severe headaches with the onset of pregnancy.

Many problems are caused by diseases of the spine, which also has to bear a significant load. Poor nutrition of the brain, which often occurs with cervical osteochondrosis, is especially undesirable for a pregnant woman, since it leads to surges in blood pressure, that is, to symptoms. The repetition of such conditions has a negative impact not only on the well-being and health of the expectant mother, but also on the development of the fetus, which is unlikely to be comfortable from such stress.

Pregnant women feel the lack of fresh air especially acutely; they even know the smell of it, so they tolerate hypoxia extremely poorly. If a woman doesn’t walk much, leads a sedentary lifestyle, doesn’t watch her diet, and ignores moderate physical activity, is it any wonder that she often has a headache?

Meanwhile, frequent dizziness, nausea, vomiting and headache are considered symptoms of toxicosis and almost a natural state of a pregnant woman, referring to which one can miss a serious pathology. In this situation, a woman should not try to relieve a headache on her own, because this can harm the unborn child. The treatment of headaches during pregnancy is dealt with by a therapist or a neurologist (depending on the cause), and a consultation with these specialists is prescribed by a doctor (gynecologist) at the antenatal clinic, who observes the woman before giving birth.

Headache treatment

Cephalgia refers to those conditions that are said to you need to treat the cause, not the symptom.

Traditionally used ones (analgin, spasmalgon, paracetamol, askofen, etc.) help in cases of rare episodes of headache caused by some household reasons.

In other cases, it is necessary to treat a headache without forgetting about the underlying disease that caused it:

1. For a bursting headache in the occipital region, characteristic, act not only with antihypertensive drugs and medications that normalize the tone of arterial vessels, but also with other methods (massage, gymnastics, maintaining a sleep schedule, quitting smoking and drinking alcohol);
2. For treatment severe migraine headaches they use a number of drugs that are selected individually for each patient, since there is no clearly developed treatment regimen for this disease, since one is helped by vasodilators, and the other by vasoconstrictors;
3. Treat headache with cervical osteochondrosis localized in the back of the head and spreading to the forehead and temples, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with an analgesic effect (naproxen, ibuprofen, ketorol), simple analgesics, antispasmodics, muscle relaxants (tizanidine) help;
4. Take off headache due to neuralgia trigeminal nerve, often succeeds with carbamazepine and its analogues (finlepsin), phenibut, baclofen. By the way, the pain along the nerve (trigeminal) is very intense, usually burning, sharp and, like a cluster headache, suggestive of thoughts of suicide, so the intervention of a specialist in this situation is extremely necessary.

These are just a few examples; it is not possible to list all the medications for headaches, because each disease, the symptom of which is headache, requires its own approach, and regimens designed for long-term use must be indicated by the attending physician after examining the patient. In our home medicine cabinet we can only keep over-the-counter headache remedies designed to help a person who has a headache as a result of trivial circumstances.

Every person has experienced a headache at least once in their life. Regardless of the cause and intensity, this symptom always adversely affects daily activities. A person suffering from a headache becomes irritable, absent-minded, his performance decreases, and he cannot absorb new information. Frequent occurrence of this problem can significantly impair the quality of life. Why does headache occur and how to deal with it?

Types of headaches

Not many people know that headaches can hurt in different ways. It is important to be able to differentiate the symptoms that arise, as this greatly facilitates the establishment of the cause and the development of a treatment regimen. The most common types of pain are:

1. Tension pain. Every person has experienced it at least once in their life. It occurs when the neck is in an awkward position or when there is a long static load on it. For example, if you sit at a table for a long time and write, read, or work at a computer. In this case, the muscles of the neck and back experience prolonged tension, which is transmitted to the tissues of the head. Such pain can be compared to a tight hoop or hat that squeezes the head from the outside inward.
2. Hypertensive. Headaches often occur in people suffering from arterial hypertension. It usually has a pulsating nature, often localized in the temples or occipital region. The main way to diagnose it is to measure blood pressure.
3. Hypotensive. Lack of cerebral circulation also leads to the development of headaches. It occurs when arterial hypotension or compression of the vessels supplying the brain. This pain is accompanied by dizziness, and in some cases, syncope. To diagnose it, it is also necessary to measure blood pressure. Sometimes it is worth additionally examining the functioning of the blood vessels in the neck.
4. Migraine. How and why it appears is not known exactly. This is one of the most unpleasant types of pain. It occurs suddenly and differs in that it is localized in one half of the head. Such pain is accompanied by a fear of light, intolerance to loud sounds and a pronounced decrease in ability to work. It is very intense, difficult to treat and can last for several days.
5. Cluster pain. They occur predominantly in representatives of the stronger sex. There is an opinion that cluster or cluster pain affects men who try to appear strong, despite their internal vulnerability and sensitivity. A distinctive feature of this type is the paroxysmal pain. They appear as if in bunches, go away after a few minutes, and then can repeat again.

Pathological conditions and diseases that can cause headaches

It is worth saying right away that the brain itself does not have pain receptors. Even operations on this organ can be performed without anesthesia, after first anesthetizing all overlying tissues, which is often done by neurosurgeons. But the membranes of the brain have a lot of pain receptors and are a powerful reflexogenic field. Nerve endings also contain blood vessels in the brain.

There is an opinion that a headache can be a symptom of encephalitis, but in fact this is not the case. Even an extensive pathological focus with many other symptoms may not hurt at all until the inflammation spreads to the membranes of the brain. This phenomenon is also true for other diseases. This often prevents the diagnosis of tumor processes in the brain. What diseases can cause headaches? The following deserve special attention:

1. Meningitis. This is an inflammation of the meninges with specific changes in the cerebrospinal fluid. It can occur for many reasons, but is most often caused by a bacterial infection. The pain is intense, accompanied by photophobia and phonophobia, muscle rigidity and specific meningeal symptoms.
2. Meningism. Subjective symptoms are similar to those observed with meningitis, but there are no changes in the cerebrospinal fluid.
3. Tumor. The development of cancer cells in the cranial cavity is not always accompanied by pain. But there are multiple signs of focal brain damage: paresis, paralysis, decreased sensitivity.
4. Concussion. Occurs as a result of hitting the head on a hard surface. Moreover, a slight concussion can occur even with a minor impact. Often this condition is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and sometimes loss of consciousness.
5. Fracture of the skull bones. This injury is more dangerous than a regular concussion and requires urgent hospitalization. In this case, not only the membranes of the brain hurt, which may not be affected, but also the bones themselves and the tissues surrounding them.

Headache does not necessarily indicate the conditions listed above, but it is worth remembering that it can be a symptom of these diseases.

Sometimes even the doctor himself cannot determine the type and cause of the headache. There are entire scientific institutes that deal with this problem. They look for the causes, development processes and possible treatments for headaches.

These rules will help reduce headaches until the main treatment takes effect. Sometimes using these simple methods you can completely get rid of a headache. If this symptom occurs, do the following:

1. Go out into the fresh air or open a window. This will increase the oxygen concentration in the blood and reduce the carbon dioxide content. Even if this technique does not get rid of the headache, it should definitely reduce it.
2. Remove anything that is squeezing your head. This applies to hats, headbands, hoops and even hair ties. Braids and ponytails should also be unbraided. Free your head as much as possible.
3. Do a little warm-up. This advice is for those who suffer from tension headaches. A few exercises for the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle are enough.
4. Measure your blood pressure. If the pain is caused by a decrease or increase in blood pressure, just one tablet that normalizes blood pressure can solve the problem.
5. Lie down. This will help reduce discomfort regardless of the type of pain and the reasons that caused it. In this case, you should take the most comfortable position, preferably lying in a dark and quiet room.
6. Apply a cold compress. Soak a piece of gauze, a handkerchief or any other cloth in cool water and apply it to your forehead. Turn it over when it's hot, and then repeat the process again.
7. See your doctor. If the pain does not go away for a long time or often recurs, is accompanied by dizziness, nausea or other symptoms, contact your local physician. He will prescribe an examination plan to exclude all possible types of pathology and choose treatment tactics.

In fact, analgesics were invented to relieve pain. But it is worth considering that they cannot cope with all types of pain, and they also have a number of contraindications and side effects. You should not get carried away with taking such drugs. In addition, they usually do not eliminate the cause of the symptom, but only reduce its manifestations. Headaches should be relieved with the following medications:

1. Paracetamol. The most famous remedy that is widely used specifically for headaches. Indeed, the drug copes with this symptom perfectly, but doctors do not like to prescribe it. This is because paracetamol has a bad effect on the liver and there is a risk of getting hepatitis while treating a headache.
2. Aspirin. Also often used for headaches. In addition to reducing discomfort, it can reduce body temperature. This is a useful property if pain is a symptom of a cold. With frequent uncontrolled use, it can cause stomach ulcers and kidney failure.
3. Analgin. It acts similarly to aspirin, but the antipyretic effect is less pronounced.
   Trigan. It is an antispasmodic that effectively combats pain caused by muscle tension and vascular spasm.
4. Solpadeine. Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antitussive drug. Most often used for colds.
5. Ibuprofen. Belongs to the same group as analgin and aspirin, but less often causes side effects and has a more powerful analgesic effect.
6. Pentalgin. It contains antispasmodics, stimulants and analgesics. It is a fairly strong drug, but has many side effects. It cannot be used often. In addition, it is contraindicated for athletes who are about to undergo doping control.
7. Migrenol. It is used to treat migraines. Conventional analgesics and antispasmodics rarely cope with this task. It is worth considering that the drug has a hypnotic effect.
8. Imigran. Its action is different from migrenol, but this drug is also used to relieve migraine symptoms.

It can be concluded that headache is a common symptom for many people. It can appear due to various reasons, most of which do not pose any threat to life and health. However, under certain circumstances, it is worth undergoing a number of additional examination methods to rule out serious brain pathology. Headaches can be treated using various methods.

Video: 8 ways to quickly relieve headaches