Why does a dull pain occur in the head? Do you have a headache every day? How to get rid of it forever! My head always hurts what to do

A headache is sometimes a sign of an illness. But most often it is an independent disease that arises from many factors. What to do if you have a headache? First of all, it is necessary to understand the reasons for its appearance.

These are the most common causes of pain symptoms that lead to attacks in the head in 95% of cases . The remaining 5% of cases are serious brain diseases, such as:

  • brain tumors;
  • meningitis;
  • encephalitis;
  • neuralgia.

Treatment

Every person is interested in the question: if you have a severe headache, what to do, what measures to take to relieve the symptoms? Depending on the reasons that caused the attacks and the nature of the pain, medications may be prescribed:

Important! Any medication must be taken under the supervision of a physician.

It is possible to cope with painful syndromes in the head at home by following some recommendations:

  • when the first signs appear, change position, lie down, raising your legs above head level;
  • ventilate the room;
  • give a head massage;
  • stop smoking;
  • drink strong sweet tea;
  • tie your head tightly with a scarf;
  • eliminate all irritating factors: turn off loud music, dim the bright lights.

Folk remedies

Traditional healers know many ways to know what to do if you have a headache.

Prevention

Necessary measures to prevent pain syndromes in the head are a healthy lifestyle and stopping the abuse of alcohol and smoking. Intoxication with toxic substances contained in nicotine and alcoholic beverages can also trigger spasms. This also applies to hangover syndrome that occurs the morning after a stormy party.

Conclusion

When a headache occurs, first of all you need to calm down - excessive emotions can only do harm. It is also necessary to pay attention to other symptoms: whether there is dizziness, nausea, coordination is impaired, or there is deterioration in vision or hearing. Such signs may indicate serious disorders in the functioning of the brain.

Modern human life consists of constant tension. Among the common reasons, we highlight why the head hurts during the day but not at night:

  • Full time job;
  • lack of sleep;
  • improper diet;
  • rare trips to nature;
  • smog;
  • car exhaust gases, etc.

It is not surprising that in such conditions people constantly get headaches. Any disruption in the functioning of the human body is dangerous.


If you do not pay attention to the fact that your head hurts from time to time, this will lead, at best, to problems with blood vessels, and at worst, to death.

You cannot endure pain every day; consult a doctor immediately.

What causes chronic pain?

There are many reasons why headaches occur all the time, and it is impossible to diagnose them on your own. A doctor will be able to make a correct diagnosis, and he can name the following reasons why this disease appeared:

  • diseases of the vascular system of the brain;
  • poisoning;
  • infectious diseases;
  • formations in the brain;
  • psychological problems;
  • an excess in the body of microelements obtained by a person through food.

Throbbing pain in the head is caused by inflammation of the nerve endings in the blood vessels. These inflammations are caused by various reasons. This fact will help you in the first minutes to relieve the disease with special medications, which we will talk about later.

Why during pregnancy

Sometimes pregnant women have headaches for a long time. If you did not have injuries or diseases of the circulatory system before conception, do not rush to panic.

In most cases, mild headaches anywhere during pregnancy are caused by hormonal changes in the body. The most common cause is high blood pressure. Measure your blood pressure regularly during such attacks - write down the results and show them to your doctor during a routine examination.

Contact your primary care gynecologist immediately if you have suffered any injury to the skull, neck, or spine before or during pregnancy. In this case, frequent pain could arise due to increased stress on the body and the site of injury. Such a case threatens not only the health of the expectant mother, but also the health of the baby.

Types of intense pain

There are several types of intensity. Doctors distinguish 4 common types:

  1. Migraine. This is a constantly throbbing pain at the base of the forehead and temples. It is localized in one of the temples. Sensations on both sides of the head at once are very rare and occur in less than 1% of the world's population.
  2. Voltage. An attack that compresses the entire head like a hoop. It’s easy to imagine: it’s as if they put a hoop on top of your head and are constantly squeezing it.
  3. Bunch pain. Severe and unpleasant, affecting half of the face on the left or right, including the eye socket, eyebrows, jaw and throat.
  4. Mixed character. A difficult species to diagnose because it mixes several species together at the same time.

If it is possible to describe the pain that is bothering you to the doctor, this will facilitate diagnosis and help find out the correct cause of its occurrence.

Symptoms of circulatory disorders in the brain

Often, headaches are accompanied by other symptoms that indicate the presence of certain diseases and will help the doctor diagnose the cause of their occurrence.

It can be:

  • dizziness;
  • nausea;
  • pallor;
  • pain in the back or limbs;
  • noise in ears;
  • epilepsy;
  • heartache;
  • general weakness and constant fatigue;
  • constantly makes you sleepy, drowsiness;
  • blurred or darkened vision;
  • toothache.

Location of periodic discomfort

Localization of the striking pain will also help the doctor make the correct diagnosis. Let's look at all the common places where it occurs.

In the back of my head

One of the most common types of headaches. It is constant, pulsating, dull in nature. Aching headaches in the back of the head occur in hypertensive patients and people with problems with the circulatory system.


This type indicates pathologies in the neck and spine. Very often people with eating and sleeping disorders have headaches in the back of their heads.

In the forehead

Frontal pain is a sign of migraine or vegetative-vascular dystonia. Most often, unpleasant sensations in and near the forehead are a signal of problems with blood vessels. It occurs in people who smoke.

At the temples

The first sign of migraine and serious cerebral vascular disorders. It signals that the body is seriously ill and requires medical attention. Also indicates problems with sleep.

What does it indicate: possible diseases

Always a periodic headache is a symptom of a disease, sometimes not directly related to the brain. The main causes of permanent enhancement are the following diseases:

Injuries

The head hurts with injuries to the skull, brain, neck and spine. In the first two cases, the disease is directly related to disorders of the brain and signals the appearance of a concussion. In the last two cases, pain occurs due to damage to the nerve endings in the vertebrae.

Such pain may not go away, as it is a signal of serious damage to the body. If the illness appears after a blow, accident, fight, or any damage, consult a doctor immediately.

Osteochondrosis

One of the common causes of constant headaches. Attacks of osteochondrosis occur in the afternoon after work - the busiest time for the spine.

Osteochondrosis affects parts of the spine that are vulnerable to stress: the cervical and lumbar. These sections contain nerve endings that signal diseased areas directly to the brain, causing headaches.

Osteochondrosis begins to be treated immediately, since the advanced stage promises difficulties for the whole organism and causes the occurrence of other dangerous diseases.

High or low blood pressure

Blood pressure problems are the most common cause of daily headaches. Hypertensive and hypotensive patients are dependent on changes in atmospheric pressure, which means that attacks can overtake such people at any time, especially during periods of constant weather changes: autumn and spring.

Such people not only suffer from headaches, but also constantly want to sleep.

In this case, people suffering from such diseases should only wait until the atmospheric pressure calms down and use painkillers and folk remedies.

Problems in the endocrine system

The human body reacts sensitively to negative changes in the endocrine system. After all, hormones practically control a person, and their excess or deficiency immediately affects health.

If you have a headache all day, and problems with the spine and blood pressure are excluded, you should immediately consult an endocrinologist. After all, problems with hormones can cause serious illnesses in the future.

Benign or malignant tumors

When a tumor appears in the brain tissue, regardless of its properties, headaches will certainly occur. One of the signs of a tumor is daily attacks of severe pain. They may appear in the morning, during the day or at night, accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

A person begins to see poorly, confuse tastes and smell non-existent smells.

Remember that modern medicine can cure brain cancer when diagnosed at the onset of the tumor. Write down your symptoms. If present, consult a doctor immediately. In the best case, a benign tumor is diagnosed, and in the worst case, a malignant tumor is eliminated at the stage of its inception.

What to do if you experience very frequent pain

When attacks occur every week day and night, and are not going to go away, then the best solution would be to contact your local doctor. It will help to identify the nature of the pain, its location and, based on this, make an approximate diagnosis. He will also refer you to highly specialized doctors who will confirm or rule out a particular diagnosis.

Diagnostic methods

When headaches occur, doctors examine not only the brain center. It cannot be ruled out that attacks are often a consequence of more serious diseases not related to the vessels of the head. Therefore, doctors often examine the entire body if the cause is unclear.

You need to go to your local therapist. Using the symptoms you describe and some simple diagnostic tools, he will confirm or refute this or that diagnosis, and refer you to a highly specialized doctor.

The therapist may not make a diagnosis. He should refer you to other specialists who will conduct a deeper examination of the body and identify the problem.

There are the following ways to diagnose the cause of a headache:

  • radiography. The very first diagnostic method you will be directed to. It is necessary to determine the absence of serious damage to the bones of the skull and spine. If the x-ray does not reveal any visible abnormalities, proceed to other diagnostic tools;
  • MRI. Detects vascular pathologies or the presence of tumors. An MRI of the whole body will show the presence of disorders in your body related to blood vessels and the nervous system.

This means that in most cases, MRI helps to make the correct diagnosis;

  • Doppler ultrasound. This diagnostic method is used when MRI did not help, and there is a suspicion of serious vascular diseases of the head. Doppler sonography sees obstruction in blood vessels, vascular activity, and also where exactly in the vessels high or low pressure occurs, blood clots are a dangerous formation in the vessels that can lead to hemorrhage in the brain;
  • Audiographic and ophthalmological examinations also reveal any disorders through the organs of vision and hearing. In this case, such diagnostic methods will help to identify very rare diseases of the ears and eyes that are not diagnosed by MRI and Doppler sonography.

Doctors highly recommend undergoing all these types of diagnostics, especially for daily migraines. It is a complete examination of the whole body that will be able to show the most clear picture of what is happening and make the most accurate diagnosis.


Why don't pills help anymore?

The first thing a person who has a headache every other day will do is drink a painkiller. Few people resort to folk remedies. But if the cephalalgia is continuous and occurs every day, sooner or later the painkillers will stop working.

The reason for this is the addiction of nerve cells and the entire body to the substances that are the active basis of such tablets.

Remember that painkillers are taken no more than indicated in the instructions for the drug, and no longer than 15 days. Otherwise, painkillers will have the opposite effect, and in the worst case, they will become dangerous.

Below you can watch a video about the correct use of pain medications.

First aid is needed for frequent attacks. The following drugs will help:

A drug Description
Nurofen An effective drug that reduces pain and fever. Contains the active substance – ibuprofen. It is safe even for children, so it is recommended for almost all types of cephalalgia. It is not recommended to take on an empty stomach and no more than 3 times a day.
Pentalgin A drug based on analgin. It relieves dull pain well, but does little to help with acute pain. Its popularity declined after the discovery of a new generation of painkillers. Not recommended for use by children.
Citramon The active ingredient is aspirin. It helps more in reducing temperature, but also tends to reduce throbbing pain.
Ketanov Contains paracetamol as a base. It relieves dull, aching and throbbing pain well. Weakly cope with acute, unbearable pain.
Ibuklin Contains paracetamol and ibuprofen. An effective remedy for any situation, it also relieves fever.

Prognosis and prevention

Adults over the age of 30, especially men with an inconsistent daily routine, are at risk of developing cephalalgia. These are people experiencing lack of sleep, eating exclusively fatty foods without vegetables. People with bad habits: smoking and alcohol addiction are also susceptible to attacks.

People with old injuries to the skull, spine and brain center experience severe headaches. Teenagers who spend a lot of time in front of textbooks and the computer are especially at risk.

The best prevention of such diseases is a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition. By following a routine and proper diet, giving up bad habits, you reduce the likelihood of developing the disease to a minimum.

The crazy pace of life, environmental problems, systematic stress - all this cannot but affect our health. The vast majority of men and women aged thirty to forty experience constant discomfort in the head area caused by pain.

Most often, people don’t even think about why they have headaches every day, limiting themselves to taking painkillers. But an absolutely healthy person does not experience such problems. Such carelessness can lead to quite serious consequences, and in some cases cost you your life.

If your head hurts every day, this is a reason to worry and go to the doctor. Before prescribing treatment, the root cause of the disease should be identified.

So, aching pain in a certain part of the head can be caused by stress, general fatigue, or failure to adhere to the daily routine. In this case, to get back to normal, you just need to rest and get a good night's sleep.

In 70% of cases, the head may hurt from muscle strain. The best recipe in this case would be a light massage and a hot shower. Exercises aimed at relaxing the muscles of the neck and head also help well.

Malfunctions in the functioning of the cardiovascular system are indicated. If you notice such symptoms, you should not hesitate to seek help from a doctor.

When sudden severe pain occurs at night, during sleep, this may be caused by increased intracranial pressure. The malaise is accompanied by nausea, dizziness, and a sharp decrease in visual acuity.

If you have a headache every day, your head bothers you immediately after waking up, then this is the first sign of hypertension. Characteristic pain is bursting from the inside throughout the head, mainly in the occipital part. In this case, monitoring of blood pressure indicators is necessary. With high blood pressure, taking antihypertensive drugs will bring relief.

There are other causes of regular headaches (cephalgia) caused by deterioration of cerebral circulation as a result of vascular malfunction:

  • various types of injuries;
  • blood pressure problems;
  • disruption of the endocrine system;
  • diabetes;
  • osteochondrosis;
  • tumors;
  • infectious diseases;
  • consequences of taking medications;
  • migraine;
  • vegetative-vascular dystonia;
  • stroke;
  • nervous overstrain.

The onset of attacks in the afternoon often indicates overwork or insufficient oxygen supply to parts of the brain.

Pain when waking up may be caused by an uncomfortable pillow or poor sleeping position.

The reasons listed are the most common, but the list given is far from complete. One way or another, a qualified answer to the question of why you have a headache every day, what to do and how to treat it, can only be given by a specialist after conducting a full examination of the body and passing the necessary tests.

Painful sensations: types

So, what causes daily headaches is now clear. Next, you need to understand the types of pain.

When contacting a doctor, it is very important to be able to correctly describe the nature and intensity of discomfort.

This will help the doctor establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe effective therapy.

Discomfort in the head area can be of several types:

  1. Tension headache.
  2. Throbbing pain.
  3. Pain syndrome accompanied by nausea and sometimes vomiting.
  4. Acute pain, mainly on one side, or affecting the temples and forehead.
  5. Pain during which the patient feels dizzy.

More detailed information is presented in table form:

Location of painType of pain and its characteristics
Over the entire surface of the headMost often this is the so-called tension pain - ordinary, moderate pain. She is characterized by a feeling of compression of the head over the entire area (“as if wearing a helmet”). The attack can last all day.
One-sidedMigraine. Accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The pain is sharp, throbbing.
Temple and area around the eyeCluster (serial) pain can last only a few days, and sometimes for a whole month. Exhausting, severe pain. The duration of the attack is from fifteen minutes to three hours. Discomfort is felt only on one side.
Occipital regionHypertensive crisis, excess of normal blood pressure. The patient experiences a feeling of heaviness or pressing pain. The discomfort may not stop for almost the whole day.
Pain can occur anywhereThis is a sign of rebound mild pain. The main reason is stopping taking painkillers.
Temple areaDiscomfort is caused by inflammatory processes occurring in the temporal artery. The pain is aching, very strong.
The entire head area, or one part of itSharp, very severe pain. Possible disturbance of consciousness. These signs indicate hemorrhage.

In case of systematic, pronounced pain syndrome that occurs at the same time, self-medication should not be done under any circumstances. To understand what causes your headache, you simply need to consult your doctor, as well as conduct diagnostic tests, such as ECG, MRI, ultrasound examination of the vessels of the head and neck, etc.

How to treat a headache

The first thing any person does when suffering from a headache attack is to start taking pills. At the same time, without even understanding why my head hurts so much.

Uncontrolled use of painkillers can lead to intoxication of the entire body, which will only worsen the situation.

Before taking analgesics, try the following tips:

  • A cool compress with the addition of chamomile or mint aromatic oils will help relieve nervous tension;
  • A warm bath helps eliminate muscle spasms;
  • A light massage of the temples, neck, and shoulders will help reduce the intensity of pain;
  • if you drink boiled milk with a little honey, the discomfort will gradually go away;
  • it becomes much easier after warm tea brewed with lemon balm, chamomile or mint;
  • A walk in the fresh air or a nap during the day will help relieve an attack.

Prevention

Many people ask the question: “Why have I been having headaches so often in recent days?” As mentioned above, the reasons can be very different.

Not only chronic diseases can cause poor health. Headaches may also arise from distorted posture, poor nutrition, or disruption of the daily routine.

Following simple preventive measures can help you avoid daily headaches:

  1. Avoid prolonged exposure to the cold; dress appropriately for the weather.
  2. Try to avoid sudden changes in temperature.
  3. Avoid alcohol and tobacco. Nicotine leads to spasms in blood vessels, which can be the root cause of the disease.
  4. Do not take medications longer than indicated in the instructions.
  5. It is important to maintain a daily sleep and rest schedule.
  6. Try to avoid situations with high levels of stress.
  7. Exercise regularly and strengthen your body. Be sure to take your age and general health into account. It is better to consult a doctor.
  8. Use “healthy” foods in your diet.

Proper nutrition should be noted as a separate item.

Limit your consumption of the following types of foods:

  • spicy and salty foods;
  • spices;
  • products containing flavor enhancers and dyes;
  • soy products;
  • red wine;
  • nuts;
  • cheeses;
  • sweeteners;
  • smoked herring;
  • chocolate.

Watch your posture:

  • try not to press your chin to your chest for a long time;
  • to relieve tension from the shoulder region, do not lean on the armrests of the chair when sitting for a long time;
  • when you frown, your facial muscles become tense, which will definitely have a negative impact on your overall well-being;
  • Long-term work at the computer with a bowed head is unacceptable, the same goes for reading books;
  • It is very important to choose the right pillow so that your head lies flat on it and your neck does not bend.

This list of simple recommendations will help reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, and timely treatment will make it possible to get rid of regular headaches forever. The main thing is not to forget that only comprehensive measures can save you from this painful condition forever. Therefore, if you have a headache every day for a whole month, you need to immediately visit a specialist and completely examine your body.

Under no circumstances should you self-medicate. Remember: behind a seemingly simple headache there may be a dangerous disease hidden, which only an experienced doctor can diagnose.

Navigation

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

Causes of constant headaches

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

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

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

Head injury

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

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

Taking medications

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

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

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

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

Hormonal disbalance

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brain hematoma

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

Meningitis

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

Stressful situations

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

Alcohol consumption

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

Vertebrogenic pain

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

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

Pain due to infections

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

Constant migraine pain

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

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

Vegetovascular dystonia

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

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

Treatment of persistent headaches

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

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

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

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

Prevention of headaches

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

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

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 circulatory disorders;
  • 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 brain vessels.

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.

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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.

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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.