Short-term headaches in different places. Headache: causes and treatment methods

The phrase "headache" is used by people in almost all cases of ailments, so as not to explain what's what for a long time, so headache (GB, cephalgia, cephalgic syndrome) is a diagnosis for all occasions. Meanwhile, not all headaches are the same in origin, intensity, character, localization and duration. In this regard, to find out its cause, a large number of different analyzes and studies are often required.

Why does headache appear?

Why is the head so sensitive to all processes occurring in the body? This is due to 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). They perceive pain and receptors that are outside the cranium (skin and tissue underneath, arteries, tendons, aponeuroses, oral and nasal cavities, teeth, middle ear). In this regard, only the superficial veins, the bones of the skull and the spongy substance of the bones of the cranial vault (diploe) remain indifferent.

Any pathology that affects pain receptors can give a headache. and triggering the mechanism of development of cephalgia. Pain in the head manifests itself in many diseases, and sometimes it is generally the only symptom. In this regard, it is important to find out what kind of pain is: compressive, pulsating, bursting, squeezing, dull or sharp. Important criteria for diagnostic search are also:

• Duration of pain (constant or short-term);
• Seizure frequency (GB, occurring frequently or occasionally);
• Harbingers signal an impending headache or an 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 neck pain, unilateral or covering the entire head).

In addition to the amazing variety of options for a seemingly single symptom (GB), seizures differ 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 various remedies for headaches help to cope with (folk and medication);
3. In other cases, an attack can lead to incredible suffering, proceed painfully and for a long time, depriving a person not only of the joys of life, but also of the opportunity to work.

Causes of cephalgia

Headache can be caused by various reasons, which are also of some importance, because everyone knows that GB with an increase in temperature due to a cold will pass after recovery, while constant or often recurring episodic pain requires additional diagnostic methods.

The occurrence of cephalalgia may be due to:

• Vascular mechanism - slowing blood flow, excessive intracranial, hypoxia;
• Raised or lowered;
• Tension of the muscles of the head and neck during excessive (static) loads and stresses with activation of the transmission of impulses in neuromuscular synapses;
• The impact of various pathological processes on the nerve endings;
• The combined action of the above mechanisms.

The launch of the above pathogenetic mechanisms is carried out by certain factors that are considered the main causes of headaches:

1. Change in blood pressure as a result of increased sensitivity of cerebral vessels to a lack of oxygen. Oxygen starvation is a provocateur and, of course, a severe headache that accompanies it. More often, GB associated with an increase in blood pressure is localized in the back of the head, however, with high numbers, patients often note a knock in the temples, nausea, dizziness, visual disturbances;
2. The ratio of such factors, as the ambient temperature, humidity and composition of the air, atmospheric pressure, entails a chain reaction of oxygen imbalances, which contributes to the occurrence of cephalalgia, which especially affects people who have;
3. Sudden change in weather conditions(flight from one climatic zone to another) causes meteotropic reactions, characterized not only by a headache, but also by other symptoms. Nausea with vomiting, weakness, dizziness, cardialgia are a sign of a failure of biorhythms and stereotypes of the human body, which, when changing climatic zones, comes into an uncomfortable state. In addition, not only climate change, but also the flight itself can negatively affect the health of a person who already has vascular problems, so it becomes clear why hypertensive patients are not recommended to drastically 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, starvation.

Headache again... Frequent and chronic pain

The causes of frequent headaches, when a person considers himself practically healthy, as a rule, lie in the wrong lifestyle, when working in the office is so addictive that you forget about walking in the fresh air, the need to do physical education 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 of itself every day;
  • Hypokinesia, which develops into hypodynamia and leads to weakness, fatigue, weakness and ... headaches;

Types of GB according to the 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 the ICD-11 is divided into primary and secondary. In addition, a group represented by cranial neuralgia, central and primary pains, and other GBs is separated into a separate (third) part.

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 bundle headaches, since they occur in the form of a series of attacks (clusters, bundles);
4. Other types of primary GB.

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

Cold headache, which is 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 that radiates to the temples occurs with prolonged bronchitis (cough), and tension headache in other cases can lie in wait at the most inopportune moment - during violent sexual contact. In general, all the reasons leading to primary cephalalgia cannot be counted ...

Causes of secondary cephalalgia

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 can be presented:

• Post-traumatic cephalgia, which were the result of TBI (traumatic brain injury) and / or trauma to the cervical spine;
• Pain in the head due to vascular lesions of the head and neck;
• GB with intracranial pathology of non-vascular origin;
• Pain resulting from the use of certain drugs or their sudden withdrawal;
• GB caused by infectious diseases;
• Cephalgia associated with a violation of the constancy of the internal environment;
• Psychogenic cephalalgia caused by diseases of the internal organs;
• Symptomatic headaches arising from structural changes in the skull and cervical spine, disorders 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.

HDN is muscular in nature

Tension-type headache (THT) affects 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 unrest, fatigue, calculate correctly physical activity and strictly follow all the prescriptions of medicine. HDN can be triggered by daily life factors, which a person is not always able to prevent: a stuffy room, strong wind, transport, weight lifting, alcohol and much more ... And how diverse the causes that caused the pain are, how heterogeneous its manifestations are.

Patients compare the nature of cephalalgia with tightening the head with a hoop, being in a vise or in a helmet, which indicates a tightening, squeezing (but not pulsating!) pain. Usually, HDN is monotonous, but each person has its own strength: mild, "bearable" or painful, accompanied by other symptoms (irritability, nervous tension, weakness, intolerance to loud sounds and bright lights). At the same time, with HDN, as a rule, neither vomiting nor nausea is present, and it does not have attacks.

In addition, HDN is divided into episodic, lasting from half an hour to a crescent (but not more than 6 months a year) and chronic, when the head hurts for a week and does not go away, the second, third, and in total it turns out that a person does not part with it. Chronic pain is monotonous, exhausting, leading to neurosis and depressive states, a person gets tired of it, he is not happy with life and, as they say, “the white light is not dear to him.” There is only one way out in a chronic situation - a trip to the doctor for examination and treatment. First, you can contact a family therapist, if there is one, or go to the clinic in the community. Further treatment of the headache will most likely take place with a neurologist.

Cluster headache is a “privilege” for men

Cluster headache (CHH) 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 a "pleasure" extremely rarely, and then after complex surgical interventions caused by gynecological pathology.

Cluster or bundle headache slightly resembles a widespread migraine, but it also has a number of differences, where the main one is a series of emerging attacks (clusters) that haunt a person from a day to a week, mainly at night. The attack lasts from half a minute, although it seems that an eternity passes, up to several minutes, then the pain subsides for a short period of time (from 5 minutes to 1 hour) to resume again. And so 5-6 times a night for several days. Beam GB ends as suddenly as it begins, and after a series of attacks it may not appear for several years, but it is difficult for a person who has experienced incomparable, sharp, "wild" headaches to forget about them. And sometimes they are even impossible to withstand, in medical practice there are cases of suicide, the cause of which was cluster headaches.

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

1. Expansion of the carotid artery (vascular character);
2. Irritation of the nerves behind the eyes, which causes 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 in the eye and reaching the very brain, torture, when the skin of the face is torn off a living person or dissolved in acid. In a word, the symptoms of cluster headache are quite eloquent:

• A piercing acute headache “behind the eyes” quickly joins the stuffing of the ear;
• Eyes redden, tears flow;
• stuffy nose;
• Breaks into sweat.

At the first attack, the pain is usually one-sided, with repetition it spreads over the entire head.

KGB does not imply self-therapy, since traditional headache remedies are unlikely to give the desired effect, therefore, having survived one night, it is better to visit a doctor (therapist 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 have a headache, although, as it turned out, this statement is not true. Just small children are not able to correctly assess their feelings and indicate the localization of pain. They act up, they have a fever, they may vomit, but, as a rule, adults attribute such manifestations to the symptoms of an infection, which is completely understandable, since infectious diseases also have such a 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, due to the presence. Migraine headaches are common. As it turned out, migraine often begins in childhood and in approximately 25% (of all headaches) gives severe headaches, from which girls suffer more.

sinus headache in children is a common occurrence in the disease

Constant headaches torment babies with various neurological pathologies. It hurts very much when a simple touch on the baby's head with dropsy of the brain gives him a severe headache.

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

A pediatrician, or rather, a pediatric neurologist, who is sometimes called a cephalgologist, is engaged in the treatment of headaches in children. It should be noted that such a profession, as it were, does not 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. Adults in such cases go to their local doctor (therapist), who, if necessary, sends them to a neurologist or other specialist, depending on the cause of GB.

Does pregnancy cause headaches?

Headache during pregnancy is a fairly common occurrence for this condition. In addition, headache and nausea in other cases are the first to tell a woman about the 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 to rebuild in order to prepare for childbirth, therefore it becomes especially sensitive and reacts faster to the environment.

Due to the changed hormonal influence, an increase in the volume of circulating blood necessary to ensure the nutrition of the fetus, fluid retention, especially in the later stages, women often experience fluctuations in blood pressure, and, in addition, chronic diseases are often exacerbated. For example, migraine can 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, and a severe headache began to haunt with the onset of pregnancy.

Many problems are created by diseases of the spine, which also has to bear a significant load. Brain malnutrition, which often occurs with cervical osteochondrosis, is especially undesirable for a pregnant woman, as it leads to jumps 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 stresses.

Pregnant women especially feel the lack of fresh air, they even know its smell, so they tolerate hypoxia extremely poorly. If a woman walks a little, leads a sedentary lifestyle, does not follow her diet, ignores moderate physical activity, then 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 condition of a pregnant woman, referring to which you 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 therapist or neurologist (depending on the cause) deals with the treatment of headaches during pregnancy, and the consultation of these specialists is prescribed by the doctor (gynecologist) of the antenatal clinic, who observes the woman before childbirth.

Headache treatment

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

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

In other cases, it is necessary to treat a headache, not forgetting about the underlying disease, the consequence of which it became:

1. For a bursting headache in the occipital region, inherent, affect not only antihypertensive drugs and medicines that normalize the tone of arterial vessels, but also by other methods (massage, gymnastics, adherence to sleep, 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 that goes along the nerve (trigeminal) is very intense, usually burning, sharp and also, like a cluster headache, suggestive of suicide, so the intervention of a specialist in this situation is extremely necessary.

These are just a few examples, but it is not possible to list all the headache medicines, because each disease, the symptom of which is a headache, requires its own approach, and long-term regimens should be indicated by the attending physician after examining the patient. We can only keep over-the-counter headache medicines in our medicine chest, designed to help a person who has a headache as a result of banal circumstances.

All actions of the human body are connected with the work of the brain. If frequent headaches appear, adults quickly get tired, nervous and unable to work. Nausea, dizziness and increased pressure also join. It is possible to establish why the head often hurts with the help of instrumental and laboratory studies. If the head hurts often, you need to see a doctor, take the prescribed pills and do certain exercises.

Causes of frequent headaches

Frequent headaches can cause a violation of the organs of the cardiovascular system and the digestive tract. Therefore, discomfort in the head can simulate serious diseases, which can only be detected by an experienced doctor.

The causes of frequent headaches are described below.

1. Migraine. This disease can cause severe headaches, dizziness, blurred vision. The disease appears in middle-aged women, is inherited. Headaches last from 30 minutes to 3-4 hours, cover the head on the left or right. There can be up to 3-4 attacks per day.
2. Cluster pain often affects men. In addition to pain in the head, patients have impaired vision and swelling of the skin around the eye on one side. Attacks last 15-60 minutes in whole series. 5-10 attacks can be noted per day.
3. Tension headaches appear after a hard day at work, overwork and lack of sleep. The temples and the back of the head are mainly affected. Pain can be throbbing, bursting and appear mainly in the evening or in the morning after sleep.
4. Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is a common cause of headaches in the back of the head and crown. This is due to compression of the vertebral arteries, nerve roots, as a result of which the brain cells suffer from a lack of oxygen. Sharp movements in the neck cause "lumbago", increase pain.
5. Hypertension is associated with high blood pressure, which is marked by variability. At levels above 140/90 mm Hg. Art. patients begin to hurt and make noise in the head, fatigue, malaise join. If this continues further, visual impairment, ringing in the ears and dizziness may join.
6. Meteorological sensitivity, especially in winter, is caused by a sharp change in weather conditions. The transition from frost to thaw affects adults, with pressure fluctuations, fatigue and severe headaches. After 1-2 days everything goes away.
7. Injuries to the head and spine always leave a number of consequences. Patients often report headaches, stiffness of the neck muscles, worsening with sudden movements and changes in the weather.

Important! Migraine headaches are due to vasodilation rather than vasoconstriction.

Only a doctor is able to determine the main cause of headaches and prescribe the correct treatment.

Symptoms associated with headache

The sensation of soreness in the head does not appear on its own. Adults always note other unpleasant symptoms. Depending on the reason for which the head often hurts, patients indicate the following complaints:

• general weakness, malaise after the disappearance of pain;
• drowsiness or insomnia, nightmares;
• increased urination, mild nausea;
• vomiting may occur at high pressure;
• soreness in the cervical muscles, when turning and bending the neck;
• deterioration of visual acuity, especially in the evening;
• ear and eye pain, hearing loss;
• dizziness appears with a prolonged attack.

So it may happen that at the peak of severe pain in the head, fainting may occur. In this case, the person loses consciousness for a few seconds and falls to the floor.

Doctor's advice! When fainting, do not quickly raise the patient to their feet. It is enough to lay a person on his back, raise his legs 20-30 cm above the floor and wipe his face with cold water. In parallel, someone else has to call an ambulance

This attack occurs infrequently, mainly during a hypertensive crisis, as well as a sharp “shoot through” of pain in the head.

Necessary examinations for frequent headaches

If the left and right sides of the head hurt so often, steps should be taken to establish the diagnosis. To do this, you need to make an appointment with a family doctor. The research algorithm includes the following:

1. At the first stage, the doctor collects an anamnesis of the patient's life, then a medical history. It is important to note when the headache began to hurt so much, how long it lasts, and after which such a condition appeared. The doctor notes past and concomitant diseases.
2. Examination of the patient is important in order to identify possible local changes in pulse and pressure indicators, which may indicate hypertension. Tension of the muscles of the cervical spine, pain during passive movements of the head occurs with osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia. Scars on the scalp or neck indicate previous surgery, which may be the cause of headaches.

Among the instrumental and laboratory studies, the doctor may prescribe the following:

• general analysis of blood and urine;
• bilirubin, urea and blood creatinine;
• ECG; measurement of blood pressure;
• radiography of the cervical spine in 2 projections;
• CT and MRI of the head and neck, encephalography;
• spinal puncture - only if meningitis, subarachnoid hematoma and injuries are suspected;
• Ultrasound of the carotid arteries; measurement of intraocular pressure in case of suspected glaucoma.

Important! If the head hurts strongly and for a long time, first of all, it is necessary to measure the blood pressure on the shoulder with a tonometer. Headache may occur due to hypertensive crisis or stroke

If the patient says: “I have occasional fainting,” an MRI or CT scan of the head should be performed immediately. This symptom may be the first sign of a brain tumor.

Treating headaches with exercise

What to do if you often have a headache and dizziness joins? First of all, you need to consult a doctor about the presence of diseases. If the doctor has established a diagnosis, then treatment can begin.

Relaxing massage has practically no contraindications and side effects. The method helps to eliminate headaches caused by osteochondrosis, stress or injury. The masseur adheres to the following sequence:

1. The patient lies on his stomach, his head is placed on a special pillow.
2. By tapping and rubbing the skin for 2-3 minutes, the neck muscles are warmed up.
3. A thin layer of massage oil is applied to the skin of the cervical spine.
4. The doctor, standing on the side of the patient, with moderate force presses on the muscles of the neck, starting with the trapezius muscles and ending at the back of the head. This lasts about 3 minutes.
5. Then the procedure is repeated 10-15 times, massaging the muscle fibers on the neck.

The massage session lasts 20-30 minutes, then the patient lies for another 10 minutes, and then he can stand up. The course of treatment for tension headaches is 12 sessions for 1 month.

Important! The masseur should not perform sharp turns of the head during the session.

If the doctor sees no contraindications, then pain in the head can be eliminated by the following exercises:

1. You need to sit on a chair, your back is straightened. Close your eyes and slowly bend your head back and forth, to the right and to the left. Perform 10 approaches on each side. So you can repeat 5-6 times a day.
2. In a supine position, a person should massage areas of the head with the tips of all fingers. Perform small circular movements, like washing your hair in the shower. The procedure begins with the frontal part, then the parietal and temporal, and ends with a massage on the back of the head. The session can be carried out 5 minutes 3-4 times a day.

Such simple exercises are indispensable. They help relieve tension from muscle fibers, eliminate spasm of the vessels of the neck and head.

What medications relieve headaches

In situations where the head hurts very often, you need to have medications that can provide first aid. The constant nature of the pain forces you to take painkillers, despite the possible negative consequences.

After consulting a specialist and confirming the diagnosis, the doctor may prescribe the following medications:

	A drug	Application
High blood pressure	Enap N (the drug contains a diuretic)	1 tablet in the morning
	Sumitran. Sumamigren	1 tablet (50 mg) 2-3 times a day as soon as possible after a migraine attack
Tension headache	Milistan. Eferalgan. Panadol	½ tablet (250 mg) two to three times a day, but not longer than 5 days
	Diclofenac. Almiral	3 ml intramuscularly 1 time per day, but not longer than 3 days
	Nimesulide. Nimid. Nimesil	Dilute one sachet in 100 ml of warm boiled water. Use 2 times a day for 4-6 days
	Ketorol. Ketorolac	1 tablet with increased headaches, but not more than 3 tablets per day
Dizziness	Vestibo. Betaserc	1 tablet (8 mg) three times a day for 1 month
	Domperidone	1 tablet 10 minutes before meals for 2 weeks

Doctor's advice. Arterial hypertension requires daily intake of drugs that lower blood pressure. Intermittent use of pills can lead to a stroke or heart attack

It is important to note that in addition to the headache, the accompanying symptoms must also be eliminated. If the doctor has accurately established the diagnosis of hypertension, then it is necessary to treat not only the pain in the head, but also the cause of this condition - high blood pressure.

Headache is one of the most common complaints. Although most often headache is not a sign of serious illness, yet there are times when it requires medical attention. If your head hurts more than ever before, you need urgent medical attention. If you are pregnant and have headaches, discuss this problem with your doctor.

About 90% of all headaches fall into one of three categories: tension headaches, headaches associated with an increase in blood pressure, cluster headaches and migraine.

Tension headaches are often accompanied by muscle tension in the back and shoulders. They can be caused by emotional and psychological, depression and anxiety.

Pressure problems are the most common cause of headaches. If you have a chronic headache (3 or more times a week for several months), see your doctor.

Cluster (also called histamine-dependent) headaches are usually very severe. Most often they occur in middle-aged men. Cluster headache gets worse quickly and lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours. There are no signs that herald the onset or end of a cluster headache attack.

Causes of migraine development

Migraine associated with changes in the functioning of the nervous system, the release of certain chemicals in the brain and the expansion of blood vessels. Possible migraine triggers include hunger, fatigue, bright lights, alcohol, caffeine, anxiety, stress, certain medications, environmental factors, and certain foods.

Symptoms

To the symptoms tension headache relate:

• persistent, non-throbbing headache;
• feeling of tension, pressure in the head and neck;
• a feeling of discomfort that does not increase or only slightly increases during the performance of everyday activities.

Learning to relax through meditation, hypnosis, music, video, and stress management techniques can help prevent tension headaches.

To the symptoms cluster headache relate:

• constant sharp pain in the eye area, often repeated at the same time of day;
• redness of the eye, tearing and congestion of the nostrils (on one side of the face);
• swelling of the eyelids.

If you have a cluster headache, it is not recommended to lie down, this can only worsen the condition. Conventional over-the-counter pain medications may not help with cluster headaches. Consult your doctor, he may prescribe special medications or suggest other therapies.

To the symptoms migraine relate:

• throbbing pain with increasing intensity;
• pain is often concentrated in one half of the head;
• pain that is aggravated by walking and any activity;
• painful sensitivity to light;
• nausea.

About 20% of migraine sufferers see bright spots or flashes of light just before the onset of another headache attack. These symptoms are called an aura. Some people have a sharp surge of strength and energy before a migraine attack. In most cases, migraines require professional diagnosis and medical attention. Contact your doctor and discuss your treatment. Your doctor may prescribe medication to relieve pain.

If you have rare headaches that do not cause much discomfort, you can deal with them yourself. It is recommended to consult a doctor for recurring headaches, for headaches that appeared after within the last 18 months, and for severe headaches lasting more than 3 days.

If a headache accompanied by nausea and, if the pain is very sharp or sharp, if the headache is accompanied by fever and stiff neck (inability to press the chin to the chest) or weakness or numbness of the arms and legs, difficulty speaking, blurred vision, uneven gait, then immediate treatment is required for medical help.

What can you do

Do specific relaxation exercises. Ask your doctor to show you these exercises. Take over-the-counter pain relievers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen to help relieve pain. However, they should not be abused. Too frequent use of such drugs can lead to the so-called rebound effect, and headaches will appear again. Children should not be given acetylsalicylic acid (), because. its use can lead to a dangerous condition called Reye's syndrome (hepatocerebral syndrome).

Try to relax, rest or sleep in a dark, quiet room, keep your head up. Apply a cool compress to your head to relieve pain. Take a cool shower. Massage the muscles of the neck and shoulders.

What can a doctor do

Frequent or very intense headaches require a visit to a doctor. Only a doctor can accurately determine the cause of headaches, if necessary, by conducting additional examinations. The doctor will also prescribe appropriate treatment, and in some cases will offer hospitalization for a detailed examination and selection of therapy.

Preventive measures

For headaches of any type, it is recommended to keep a special diary. This will identify the most common causes of headaches. In the diary, you need to enter information about meals, sleep patterns, physical activity, work and household chores. Women should also record their periods as they hormonal changes can also affect headaches. To prevent headaches, avoid any triggers you can identify in your diary.

Try to follow the routine. Eat around the same time, 3-6 times a day, in small portions. Get enough sleep, go to bed and get up at the same time, do gymnastics or sports regularly. Avoid stress whenever possible. Headaches are often the result of fatigue, tension, emotional disturbances. If you smoke, it is recommended that you quit the habit as soon as possible. can provoke or exacerbate them.

A headache usually comes on suddenly and takes the person by surprise. Doctors have a different opinion on this matter: behind each attack of a severe headache there are reasons caused by pathology of the cardiovascular, nervous or any other system.

Severe headache requires special treatment. It needs to be taken seriously. Pain in the head can be a mask of one of the serious diseases that require a visit to a doctor and a complete examination of the body.

Of course, medicines that can be bought at a pharmacy should help with a severe headache. This treatment option is justified only in the case of tolerable pain and a single attack. If or excessively strong, you should consult a doctor: go to an appointment or call an ambulance. So, let's see what caused and how to relieve a severe headache?

Why can a headache be so bad

Common causes of severe headaches include:

• Stroke
• Skull injury, brain injury
• High blood pressure
• chronic stress
• migraine attacks
• Inflammatory changes in the lining of the brain

1. Stroke

The brain itself never hurts. Pain of varying intensity appears with damage and inflammation of the nerves, membranes of the brain, blood vessels, compression processes and increased pressure in the cranium.

A stroke is a serious pathology that develops as a result of the death of a part of the brain. The causes of a stroke can be different - hemorrhage (rupture of a vessel), thrombosis, ischemia, compression.

A stroke often manifests itself not only in the form of severe headaches, but also with special symptoms: vomiting, loss of consciousness, loss of sensation in one of the limbs or half of the body.

A stroke is the outcome of a critical state of the body. A person who has had a stroke often suffers from metabolic disorders, diseases associated with the work of the heart and blood vessels.

Seeing a doctor, calling an ambulance are mandatory steps in the treatment of a stroke. Without the help of specialists, a fatal outcome is possible.

2. Trauma of the skull

Head injuries are one of the typical causes of severe headaches. When trauma usually develops a state of inhibition, loss of consciousness. Possible.

Trauma to the skull is one of the causes of malaise

A concussion requires treatment by medical specialists. Surgical care is necessary for head injuries associated with damage to the bones of the skull, a fracture of the base

In most cases, traumatic brain injury is difficult to miss. The pain is combined with other manifestations, including bleeding and a violation of the general condition of the body.

3. High blood pressure

Arterial hypertension is a relative concept. Each person lives with his "working" blood pressure. In some cases, the standard pressure of 120/80 can cause a person severe discomfort and pain in the head.

The pressure is due to the work of the heart. Violation of its normal functioning leads to vascular pathology and increased tension in them. Headache is just one of the symptoms. In addition to the brain, the kidneys, liver and all other organs suffer.

The treatment of headaches caused by arterial hypertension must be approached thoroughly, with the help of qualified specialists. A cardiologist, after conducting all the necessary studies, will be able to make an accurate diagnosis and begin to treat the disease, and not the symptoms in the form of a headache.

Medicines prescribed for severe headaches help only for a certain period of time, blurring the picture of the underlying disease that requires special treatment.

Only an integrated approach, correction of eating behavior and lifestyle, drug therapy can keep the cardiovascular system in a healthy state.

4. Chronic stress

Stress can also be the cause of high-intensity headaches. The human brain is a complex system that needs rest. You can compare the brain to a computer. If a digital device works without interruption for several days, then even the simplest operations take more and more time from it. As a result, the computer freezes.

Pain during stress and overwork is a signal from our “internal computer” that the brain is tired and needs rest.

It is worth noting that before diagnosing stress, it is necessary to exclude other dangerous diseases. This requires a doctor's consultation and a complete examination.

If stress turned out to be a confirmed diagnosis, measures should be taken to rehabilitate the nervous system.

A number of rules must be followed. Compliance with the regime of work and rest is the basis of stress prevention. Only by correctly distributing the load, one can achieve not only excellent performance, the discovery of creative thinking, but also the absence of unpleasant symptoms from the brain.

Proper nutrition is important for the human body. By following the rules of a nutritionist, calculating the amount of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, the ratio of plant and animal food, you can lose weight by a few kilograms and improve your well-being. Sometimes a change of activity helps to overcome fatigue and stress. Periodic change of routine work for creative activity improves well-being and gives a new surge of strength.

5. Migraine attacks as the cause of severe headaches

One of the main ones is pain in the head of varying intensity. It can be unilateral, bilateral, dull and pulsating.

There are several theories of migraine. The most common: genetic theory, vascular theory (deterioration of blood flow in the brain), neurological disorders, metabolic disorders.

The diagnosis of "migraine" should be made by a specialist doctor, excluding diseases that are amenable to standard drug treatment.

Headache associated with migraine can be described as:

• At least five seizures
• Medium or high intensity
• Increases with physical activity
• May be accompanied by nausea, vomiting
• No associations with other diseases were found during the survey.

6. Inflammation of the membranes of the brain

The most common cause of inflammation is a bacterial or viral infection. Meningitis and encephalitis have special symptoms of the manifestation of the disease, require treatment in a medical hospital with the use of drugs.

Timely admission to the hospital is the main factor determining the degree of effectiveness of therapy for meningitis and encephalitis.

The symptoms of meningitis include repeated vomiting, pain that causes a strong cry, a special position of the body (posture of a pointing dog, when a sick person lies with his head thrown back, bringing his arms and legs to the body). Symptoms of intoxication of the body are characteristic: lethargy, weakness, decreased appetite and high fever.

Pain in this pathology is often severe. What to do when you have a severe headache and there is a suspicion of an infection? Urgently call a doctor and start treatment.

In the meantime, headaches can turn into chronic ones and significantly ruin your life. Which headache indicates a serious illness? And what is the disease itself? Let's try to figure out how to distinguish between headaches and how to treat them.

Tension pain

This is the most common type of headache in the world - each of us has experienced it at least once in a lifetime. They do not recur often, they become chronic in 3% of cases.

signs. Feels like pressure or tightness around the circumference of the top of the head. It may seem that the muscles of the forehead and eye sockets are too tense, but you cannot relax them. The duration of such pain varies from half an hour to a week, the intensity usually increases in the evening.

Possible reasons. Tension pain may be due to excessive stress or injury to the muscles of the head and neck. However, when diagnosing the source of pain, as a rule, remains "uncertain".

How to treat. Since the pains rarely become regular, the best remedy for them is simple painkillers, such as ibuprofen or paracetamol. If the pain does not go away for more than a week, you can try to do light physical education, regularly stretch your shoulders and neck, and spend more time in the air to level out stress. Chronic tension pain is treated with medication as prescribed by a doctor.

Migraine

signs. Migraines are recurring pains on one side of the head that last about 4 hours or longer. Typically, migraine episodes recur and can lead to dizziness, nausea, and photophobia (photophobia). Sometimes, before the onset of an attack, patients experience visual anomalies - they see bright colored rings and stripes - or feel a slight tingling all over their body.

Possible reasons. The mechanism of migraine occurrence has long been the subject of debate in scientific circles. Now doctors are sure that this is definitely not a mental illness. It is associated with impaired brain function, but with what, it is not known for certain. It is noted that during the onset of pain, the blood vessels of the head greatly expand, and abnormal electrical activity occurs on the cerebral cortex.

How to treat. Approximately 20% of migraine sufferers experience pain after a certain external influence - a pungent odor, a loud monotonous sound, cigarette smoke, etc. Doctors simply advise such patients to avoid "risk factors", while the rest have to drink medicines as directed (the most effective are triptans, but they act almost like a drug - the more you drink, the worse it heals). Unfortunately, migraine cannot be completely cured, and simple painkillers will hardly help the cause.

cluster pain

These pains affect approximately 1% of the total population of the planet, and in 80% of cases these are men.

signs. This is an intense throbbing pain on one side of the head, usually in the front, near the eye. It lasts from 15 minutes to an hour and is accompanied by redness of the eyes, tearing, runny nose, and a rush of blood to the head. It usually occurs at the same time of day with uniform time intervals - once a week, a month, two, and so on. Sometimes it reaches such severity that a person cannot not only function normally - even move and talk.

Possible reasons. Unknown.

How to treat. This type of pain is difficult to treat because it occurs episodically and can disappear as unpredictably as it appeared. For prolonged attacks, oxygen therapy is used (the patient breathes through a mask) and drug injections as prescribed by a doctor.

Hangover

signs. Obvious.

Possible reasons. There is a lot of conjecture about exactly how alcohol contributes to headaches. One of them says that alcohol dilates the vessels of the brain and disrupts the work of the neurotransmitter serotonin, a substance through which electrical signals are transmitted from one nerve cell to another. Both of these symptoms are observed in migraine pain. In addition, alcohol dries out the body, and dehydration is also known to trigger migraine attacks.

How to treat. The best remedy is a paracetamol tablet and good sleep. But it's still not worth treating a hangover with a joke. If your head hurts even after a small dose of alcohol, you may be suffering from a migraine, and alcohol just pushes the attacks.

Brain tumor

Hypochondriacs and simply worried patients often link headaches to brain cancer. We hasten to reassure: in fact, only 4% of tumor formations appear in this way.

signs. If the pain is still associated with a tumor, they usually appear in the morning and are accompanied by vomiting. The episodes recur periodically and get worse and worse over time. If against this background there is a sharp weight loss, personality changes and convulsive seizures, this is an occasion to undergo a brain examination.

Possible reasons. When the tumor grows to a certain size, an increase in brain volume leads to an increase in intracranial pressure. Hence the initial symptoms.

How to treat. Depends on the location, size and type of education.

intracranial bleeding

Having received an injury to the head vessels, a person may not understand this immediately. Sometimes hemorrhage appears several hours after the rupture of the vessel, but is potentially very dangerous.

signs. Sudden, increasing pain in any part of the head. Accompanied by visual impairment, speech skills, coordination, personality disorders, nausea. Symptoms come on in turns and get worse over time. Eventually, the person may lose consciousness.

Possible reasons. A vessel rupture can occur as a result of trauma (strong impact) or due to excessive thinning of its walls.

How to treat. First of all, the doctor will need to remove the accumulated blood from the skull, since the hematoma will put pressure on the brain, damaging it. Then it is extremely important to find out the cause of the hemorrhage: if it was not preceded by obvious trauma, the gaps may recur. Such patients need examination of the vessels of the brain.

Temporal arteritis

The disease usually occurs in people aged 50 and older and can lead to total blindness if left untreated.

signs. Severe headaches occur against the background of weight loss, insomnia, depression, sometimes fever and redness of the scalp. The shoulder and neck can also hurt.

Possible reasons. Many different factors, including viral infections, can push the disease. A strong attack on the immune system causes it to malfunction and causes the immune system to attack the walls of the blood vessels. Among the other “provocateurs” of arteritis are uncontrolled medication, intense exposure to sunlight, alcoholism, hypothermia, and various injuries.

How to treat. The most commonly used steroid drugs that stop the inflammation of the blood vessels. If there are associated problems with vision (for example, clouding of the lens), an ophthalmologist should be involved in the treatment.