What often hurts. How to relieve a headache with home remedies and when should you see a doctor? Types of headaches according to international classification

Headache may be associated with hypertension. This is a chronic condition of the cardiovascular system, a disease characterized by a persistent increase in blood pressure (abbreviated as BP) from 140/90 mmHg. Art. and higher. Arterial hypertension affects approximately 20-30% of adults. This figure increases with age. About 50% of people over 60 years of age have a named chronic disease.

People suffering from arterial hypertension have high blood pressure and headaches in the early hours. The location of pain is the occipital region. It is worth noting that pain may not occur with a slight or moderate increase in pressure. They are always observed only with a rapid increase in blood pressure over 200/120 mm Hg. Art.

Arterial hypotension

If you often have a headache, what could be the reasons? One answer to this question is arterial hypotension. This is a condition in which the blood pressure is 90/60 mm Hg. Art. and less. It is characterized by headache. It can be dull, contracting, bursting or pulsating. Its location is the frontoparietal or frontotemporal region. With arterial hypotension, the following symptoms are also observed:

• weakness;
• lethargy in the morning, drowsiness;
• dizziness;
• emotional instability;
• sensitivity to weather conditions;
• pallor;
• palpitations and shortness of breath during exercise.

Experts have created a classification of arterial hypotension. There are acute and chronic varieties. The latter is divided, in turn, into physiological, primary and secondary. Acute hypotension is a sharp decrease in blood pressure. A similar condition is observed with blood loss and acute myocardial infarction.

Low blood pressure, headache... Such symptoms are sometimes noticed by absolutely healthy people. Athletes serve as an example. They experience low blood pressure during constant physical activity. This feature is an adaptive reaction of the body, a protective measure. This type of arterial hypotension is called physiological.

The primary type is considered an independent disease. It is not a consequence of any pathologies and does not occur against the background of existing diseases. Doctors see primary hypotension as a special form of neurosis-like brain disease. But the secondary variety is observed in various diseases (for example, heart failure, brain injury, arrhythmia).

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Sudden diffuse or occipital pain may be characteristic of subarachnoid hemorrhage. This term (abbreviated as SAC) is used by experts to refer to the accumulation of blood in the cavity between the pia mater and the arachnoid mater. Hemorrhage occurs suddenly due to a rupture of an arterial aneurysm or a traumatic brain injury.

People who have experienced subarachnoid hemorrhage note that the pain they experienced was the most severe that they had encountered in their lives. Other symptoms of SAH include nausea, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. If there is a hemorrhage, a person needs urgent medical attention. This is a very dangerous condition that can lead to death or severe disability.

Intracerebral hemorrhage

Diffuse or local intense pain may be a symptom of intracerebral hemorrhage. This is the entry of blood into the substance. Hemorrhage occurs when the altered walls of cerebral vessels rupture or during diapedesis (the release of blood elements from the vessels when their permeability and tone are impaired).

Who may experience this dangerous condition? Most often, hemorrhage occurs in people in adulthood and old age due to cerebral atherosclerosis and hypertension. Much less often the causes are blood diseases and inflammatory changes in cerebral vessels. Cerebral hemorrhage sometimes occurs in young people. The most common cause is drug use.

Brain formations

If you often have a headache, what are the reasons? An unpleasant symptom can be caused by various brain formations (hematomas, tumors, abscesses). The pain is most often diffuse. Sometimes it occurs in the place where the space-occupying formation is localized. In the early stages of the disease, it makes itself felt in the morning and is weak. As the disease progresses, the nature of the pain changes. It becomes permanent and stronger. Other symptoms indicating the presence of space-occupying lesions include:

• vomiting that occurs without nausea;
• the appearance of oculomotor disorders;
• memory impairment;
• behavior change, etc.

It is worth noting that pain sometimes occurs when tilting the head, coughing, straining, or physical stress. This symptom may be characteristic of tumors of the posterior cranial fossa. The pain that occurs in the listed situations and is short-term, can occur without intracranial pathologies.

Inflammation of the paranasal sinuses

If you often have a headache in the forehead area, or you feel heaviness near the nose, then this is sinusitis. This term means inflammation of the mucous membrane lining one or more paranasal sinuses. Sinusitis occurs as a complication of flu, runny nose, and infectious diseases. Bacteria and viruses provoke inflammation.

Pain and heaviness with sinusitis are not the only symptoms. Other signs of the disease are:

• nasal congestion;
• fever;
• purulent nasal discharge;
• pain when tapping the affected sinus area.

Acute angle-closure glaucoma

The term “glaucoma” refers to an eye disease that is characterized by an increase in intraocular pressure. There are 2 forms of this disease. One of them is called angle-closure glaucoma. It occurs due to contact between the trabecular meshwork and the iris. When the disease occurs, the outflow of intraocular fluid from the eye becomes difficult, and the functioning of the trabecular meshwork is disrupted. As a result, intraocular pressure increases.

Acute angle-closure glaucoma is something that gives some people headaches every day. With this disease, people complain of pain in the eye area, seeing rainbow circles around a light source, and blurred vision. Intraocular pressure is measured to confirm or rule out angle-closure glaucoma.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

When they can often consist of a long-standing TBI. The pain may persist for a long period. Its character is dull, diffuse and intensifies with physical activity. Usually this symptom is accompanied by memory impairment, decreased attention, poor sleep, dizziness, fatigue and psycho-emotional disorders.

In some cases, suspicious signs such as an increase in headache, drowsiness, confusion, changes in pupil size, and asymmetry of reflexes are observed. They may not be consequences of TBI, but symptoms of chronic subdural hematoma.

Tension headache

And the treatment of the disease is a very relevant topic today. What is meant by this concept? This is a common type of primary pain. Currently it is called differently. Experts are using a new term - tension-type headache.

This symptom can occur at any age. It begins to appear most often after 25 years. Tension pain is characterized by moderate intensity. In almost all cases, it is bilateral, and its localization is the temporal, frontal and occipital regions. The pain is characterized by a compressive effect. It usually lasts from several minutes to several days. No vomiting is observed. Sometimes nausea, sound and photophobia occur.

Tension headache, the symptoms and treatment of which are known to approximately 20% of the inhabitants of our planet, has a different etiology. The causes of pain are different:

• getting into stressful situations;
• sleep disturbance;
• irregular meals;
• ambient temperature is too high or too low;
• hormonal disorders;

Pain when taking medications

If you often have a headache, the reasons may lie in the medications you are taking. The following drugs cause painful symptoms:

• vasodilators (calcium antagonists, nitrates, chimes);
• anticonvulsants;
• corticosteroids;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
• hypolipidemic;
• antihistamines;
• estrogens;
• antibacterial.

Visit to a specialist

If headaches periodically torment you, then you need to seek help. This symptom may hide life-threatening diseases. If you often have a headache, which doctor can help? First you need to make an appointment with a therapist and tell him about your problem. It is very important to convey to the specialist all important information, because the effectiveness of treatment depends on it.

So, at the reception you should tell:

• in what area of ​​the head is the pain localized?
• at what time of day does it make itself felt;
• when the pain first occurred (for example, a few days ago);
• when the pain sensation becomes maximum;
• what additional suspicious symptoms are observed with headache;
• are you taking any medications?
• how many painful attacks occur per day;
• whether there are any diseases.

It is imperative to express your point of view about what could have caused the pain. Maybe a few weeks (months, years) ago there was an injury or blow to the head. This is very important information that will help a specialist determine the cause of the headache.

The therapist, after listening to all the complaints, will prescribe the necessary examinations (blood tests, x-rays, computed tomography, etc.). The doctor will also give a referral to the necessary specialist (for example, to an otolaryngologist in the presence of diseases associated with the ear, throat, nose, head, to a neurologist to exclude or confirm diseases related to the nervous system) in order to finally find out why the patient often hurts head.

The reasons (we described what to do above) for the appearance of such a symptom, as is clear from all of the above, are different. But to summarize, it is worth noting that only 5% of patients who go to doctors with complaints of headaches are diagnosed with serious illnesses. Despite this, you should not refuse to visit a specialist. The doctor will find out the real cause of the pain and give advice on how to get rid of this painful symptom.

A headache is not only an exhausting feeling of discomfort that interferes with a person’s full existence, but also a specific symptom that indicates the development or presence of serious brain diseases. Primary short-term cephalalgia caused by overwork or the influence of external irritants does not cause concern, but the occurrence of constant painful sensations in the back of the head, temples or pain that covers the entire head should be alarming.

Often, constant headaches are accompanied by a decrease in activity, memory and thinking, and weakness, which negatively affects overall well-being and lifestyle. That is why it is important to establish the exact cause of the pain syndrome in order to promptly begin treatment or take preventive measures to localize it.

Causes of constant headaches

Medical experts identify the main causes of persistent headaches depending on the type of pathological process:

• dysfunction of the central nervous system caused by hemorrhage or tumors of various origins in the cerebral cortex;
• changes in intracranial or blood pressure caused by internal pathologies or external factors (for example, poor nutrition, overwork, stress, injury);
• lack of oxygen access to the brain and poor circulation;
• toxicosis in pregnant women or toxic poisoning by harmful chemical substances;
• metabolic and hormonal disorders;
• consequences of TBI;
• viral and infectious diseases.

Pain that becomes constant may be a symptom of the following serious diseases:

• arterial hypertension – characterized by pain in the temples and back of the head;
• tumors of the central nervous system of various types - dull pressing pain is concentrated at the location of the tumor;
• diabetes mellitus – caused by insufficient blood supply and oxygen starvation of the brain;
• or acute sinusitis - almost constant bursting pain, increasing with turns and tilts of the head.

Many experts classify it as a disease accompanied by constant cephalalgia. In fact, with migraines, the pain is protracted or episodic, and the duration and severity of attacks depends on the condition of the blood vessels in the brain.

Why headache pills no longer help

The wide range of medications in pharmacies and the incompetence of pharmacists who advise “effective” tablets quite often lead to the fact that a patient suffering from constant cephalgia refuses to visit the doctor. He begins to self-medicate, and at first he focuses on taking painkillers, thereby aggravating an already serious condition.

Indiscriminate use of analgesics and other painkillers can both dull the symptoms of dangerous diseases and cause complications of pathological processes, contribute to the syndrome of addiction and intoxication of the body.

Addiction syndrome occurs as a result of frequent use of such drugs, when the usual dose does not relieve pain and it is necessary to increase it to achieve an effect. In a short period of time, harmful substances accumulate in the blood, and intoxication of the body occurs, which aggravates the patient’s condition and in most cases requires hospitalization. This condition leads to a decrease in immunity and increases the risk of a weakened patient contracting severe viral infections.

Getting used to painkillers contributes to the frequency of attacks of cephalalgia and their duration, as a result of which the patient takes the drugs again and again. His condition worsens, due to depression of the central nervous system, the activity of serotonin cells and reflexes responsible for pain decreases, interest in everything that happens is lost, the person is constantly in a depressed mood.

If you begin to take painkillers every day and there is no relief from the condition, you must urgently consult a doctor who will prescribe a course of treatment that involves not only neutralizing the true cause of the headache, but also removing accumulated toxins.

If the headache becomes permanent and there is a tendency to worsen it, you should consult a doctor. The primary examination is carried out by a therapist, determines the nature of the pain, and also prescribes laboratory tests, ultrasound and MRI of the brain if necessary. It is extremely important to provide him with information about chronic diseases that can cause persistent cephalalgia, as well as a calendar with marks of the frequency and duration of attacks. Based on the results obtained, the therapist makes a conclusion about the causes of constant pain and, depending on the diagnosis, refers to a specialist, for example, a neurologist, cardiologist, immunologist or oncologist.

Pain caused by pathological changes in the cerebral cortex must be treated with medication or surgery. In the absence of indications for surgical intervention, the patient is selected a course of treatment and physiological procedures, the duration of which depends on the nature of the disease.

If the headache does not go away, and there is no way to see a doctor, you can relieve the attack in one of the simple but effective ways:

• prepare a decoction of chamomile or lavender, drink it and try to fall asleep in complete silence;
• make a compress by diluting a drop of lavender or mint essential oil in water at room temperature, moisten a towel in the resulting liquid and apply it to your temples and forehead;
• make movements from the crown to the ears, forehead to the back of the head, temporal zone, while the head should be slightly tilted forward;
• ensure free access of oxygen to the room, constantly ventilating the rooms, and, if possible, go out into fresh air more often.

If the cause of persistent cephalgia is known, then medications can be used to relieve the attack. This should be done with caution, strictly observing the dosage of the medicine. For example, with increased intracranial or blood pressure, diuretics are prescribed; for vertebral artery syndrome and vegetative-vascular dystonia, vasodilators can be taken.

The use of traditional anesthetics (analgin, aspirin or ibuprofen) can temporarily relieve pain, but their constant use or exceeding recommended doses can lead to addiction and significantly aggravate the condition. It is not recommended to take these drugs for pregnant women and children. For minor pain, it is better for them to resort to natural antioxidants: natural juices, fresh fruits and vegetables.

In addition to the methods described, it is necessary to limit the consumption of foods that provoke vascular spasms - spicy, fried and smoked foods, chocolate, sausages, nuts and spices. You should also avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.

Headache prevention

Drug treatment of diseases accompanied by cephalgia significantly alleviates the patient’s condition, but we must not forget about preventive measures that prevent the development of pain. To do this, you should perform the following activities:

1. Correct daily routine with full daytime rest and walks in the fresh air. Night sleep should last at least 8 hours in a well-ventilated room.
2. Take breaks more often during the work day if you have to be at the computer for a long time.
3. Create a balanced menu in which foods that cause vascular spasms are replaced with wholesome and healthy foods.
4. Engage in recreational activities and sports that have a positive effect on your mood (such as roller skating or ice skating) if symptoms of depression occur.
5. When using essential oils, you need to be careful with the choice of aroma and dosage so as not to have the opposite effect.
6. Avoid drinking alcohol and smoking.
7. If the result of constant pain is osteochondrosis, then you need to purchase an orthopedic pillow and mattress.
8. Periodically take warm baths with a decoction of medicinal herbs.

Is something bothering you? Illness or life situation?

Each of the described measures has a beneficial effect on the blood vessels of the head and the functioning of the body as a whole, but their comprehensive, constant implementation greatly increases the effectiveness of prevention and allows you to forget about headaches for a long time.

There are many reasons why you often have a headache. But doctors themselves divide headaches into two types - primary and secondary.

Most modern people have suffered from this problem at least once in their lives. For some, this is a fairly common occurrence, but people don’t even think about what it might be connected with. But this can be a symptom of many diseases. Therefore, when you have a headache, what to do depends on the reasons themselves.

This type includes pain, which is the main sign of a poor state of the body, and it does not occur all the time.

1. Tension pain. This type occurs as a result of the body’s reaction to any negative conditions. In this case, a person’s entire head and forehead ache. The pain can also spread to the temples. A person may feel as if their head is being squeezed in a vice. This feeling can last for quite a long time. The causes may be:
   • long stay in a stuffy room;
   • too strong smells of flowers or, for example, perfume;
   • heat;
   • loud sounds;
   • stress and depression;
   • physical activity unusual for the body;
   • staying in one position for a long time;
   • improper sleep patterns;
   • lack of fluid in the body.

To get rid of this problem, you should take painkillers. But, unfortunately, pills will only help if this pain did not appear as a result of depression and stress. Otherwise, it is better to turn to psychologists. If a person often experiences tension pain, then first of all he should pay attention to what exactly contributes to it and try to get rid of these factors. It is worth spending more time in the fresh air and drinking a lot of fluids, but on the contrary, you need to be less nervous.

1. Often headaches can occur from excessive consumption of caffeine-containing products, such as coffee, dark chocolate with a high amount of cocoa, and strong tea. The fact is that these products contribute to increased pressure in the blood vessels. As a result, an avid coffee drinker may be plagued by frequent headaches, and he will not know the cause. If a person is overly keen on such products, then he should still slightly limit himself to them. Perhaps the problems will subside.
2. Migraine. If your head hurts frequently, it could be a migraine. At the same time, one side of the head aches. The intensity of the pain can be moderate or such that it is very difficult to endure. In bright light, loud sounds, and physical activity, it can intensify. Sometimes it even causes nausea or vomiting. Attacks can last up to several days. The reasons may be stress, depression, poor sleep, overheating in the sun and many other unfavorable factors. What to do if such pain occurs? To get rid of the problem, it is best for a person to be alone in a darkened and airless room. Don't forget about analgesics. Currently, many drugs have been created that relieve even very severe headaches, for example, solpadeine, migrenol.
3. Horton's headache. These are fairly severe headaches that last from about 15 minutes to two hours and are localized in the eye area. The period during which a person can suffer from such a problem is quite long - from 3 weeks to 3 months; attacks occur frequently, sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning. The causes may be vascular disorders, but this disease is still being studied. Analgesics can help relieve this pain, but it is best to see a doctor because stronger medications may be needed.

Why do you often get headaches? What could it be - what could be the cause of this problem? Often the head may hurt with neuralgia of the facial nerve. The reasons are hypothermia, stress, facial injuries, poor immunity. Even chewing hard food can cause this problem. In addition, this is the main sign of poor-quality treatment or tooth extraction or some kind of nerve disease. To prevent such pain from constantly haunting you, you need to limit the factors that cause it. If it appears after dental treatment, then you need to contact the dentist who performed the treatment. If the cause was hypothermia, then you should dress warmer. And it is best to chew solid food very carefully.

There is another type of primary variation - atypical headache. It can be similar to both migraine and neuralgia. However, more precise reasons have not yet been clarified.

If a person wears tight hats, then headaches can also be a frequent visitor. It’s worth reviewing your hats and choosing one that won’t put too much pressure on you.

I often get headaches when working at the computer all the time. And the cause will be eye strain.

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These are types of headaches that are a disease in themselves. But there are other reasons.

Often a person has a headache, but he cannot determine the reason for it. Most likely, this is one of the symptoms of some disease. In this case, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible to find out the reasons.

First of all, these are, of course, head injuries and spinal diseases. Often, even after hitting the head, a person does not see a doctor. And everything seems to be fine. But a little time passes, and he begins to suffer from headaches. At first they can be removed with analgesics, but gradually even they stop helping. Only a doctor can say what violations occur. Therefore, there is no need to delay. It is better to consult a doctor immediately after any injury.

As for the spine, it’s a little different. The fact is that in the cervical spine there are many nerve fibers and blood vessels. When they are squeezed or spasmed, pain occurs that spreads to the head. The same goes for the entire back. Any muscle spasms or compression of nerve endings cause tension in both the body and head. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to treat first of all the spine. An experienced doctor will determine the cause of the problem and suggest the necessary treatment.

Headaches can often occur with cerebrovascular diseases. This could be atherosclerosis, aneurysm, transient ischemic attack or stroke. The fact is that nerve endings are located in the walls of blood vessels. Hence the headaches. The reason for this is impaired blood circulation in the vessels of the brain. This leads to such pathologies. If a person, in addition to frequent headaches, is bothered by symptoms such as dizziness, numbness of the limbs, high or low blood pressure, then you should definitely consult a doctor. It is impossible to cure such disorders of the body on your own. Only a doctor can prescribe the correct treatment that will help alleviate a person’s condition.

Frequent headaches may be a sign of head pathologies that do not depend on the condition of the blood vessels. These primarily include tumors, both malignant and benign. The fact is that, gradually increasing in size, the tumor begins to put pressure on the brain and nerve endings, which leads to pain in the head. This also includes infectious diseases of the brain and its membranes. These are meningitis, encephalitis, AIDS. The pain is very severe, especially with meningitis. It's almost impossible to tolerate. No analgesic can completely cope with it.

If a headache is accompanied by high fever, nausea, vomiting, or muscle pain, then there is no need to waste time. It is necessary to urgently consult a doctor. There are various possible reasons: it can be either a regular flu or a meningococcal infection, which is very dangerous for humans.

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By the way, frequent headaches can also be a sign of simple infections. After all, the disease progresses differently in each person. One may get over it in a couple of days, while another will suffer for weeks. Therefore, if, in addition to pain in the head, there are signs such as cough, stuffy nose, then most likely this is a sluggish infectious disease. A more accurate diagnosis must be made by a doctor. He will prescribe the correct treatment. But you shouldn’t ask yourself what to do if you are worried about pain, since self-medication does not always help.

Often a similar problem accompanies people who use any chemical substances, or, conversely, those who have stopped taking them. These are alcohol lovers and those who use drugs. Moreover, if a person stops taking such substances, then the headache is also present. This happens because the blood vessels in the brain gradually begin to return to normal, and this may well be accompanied by spasms.

Headaches also occur in people with metabolic disorders.

So, often similar problems accompany those who go on diets. This happens because when a person is fasting, he often reduces the amount of sugar he absorbs. And when there is a lack of it in the blood, the blood vessels of the brain dilate. Hence the headache. If you really want to lose weight, it is better to consult a nutritionist so as not to harm the body. In women, headaches often occur as premenstrual syndrome. The reason for this is an increase in hormones in the body. Usually this pain goes away fairly quickly.

The frequent occurrence of such pain may be a sign of diseases of the eyes, nose, and teeth. So, with untreated caries, pain can spread to both the ears and eyes. Moreover, an experienced dentist can determine which tooth is affected by the area of ​​the head in which the symptom spreads. Even an incorrect bite can cause frequent spasms. Pathologies of the nose, such as sinusitis or sinusitis, are also accompanied by headaches. It has an aching, protracted nature and intensifies when bending over.

Eye problems are often accompanied by eye strain, which causes headaches. This pain is dull, there is a feeling of aching in the head. It starts from the temporal region and gradually moves to the entire head. With ear pathologies, for example, otitis media, pain occurs in the temporal part of the head and gradually intensifies. Pain in the ear, spreading over the entire surface of the head, can occur with tumors and meningitis.

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Therefore, if you have frequent headaches, it is worth thinking about what other pathologies of the head organs may be present in the body.

Conclusion

Frequent headaches are a very unpleasant phenomenon that can greatly complicate a person’s life. If it can be dealt with with a pill, then that’s very good. But if she constantly pursues you, then you should not self-medicate. It is best to consult a doctor. He will prescribe tests, and based on their results, an acceptable treatment. This cannot be tolerated, because such problems often accompany many diseases. And if they are not treated, they will gradually become chronic. And the treatment will be much more difficult later. So identifying the cause of pain is the primary task of the doctor.

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 have a constant 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.