Feeling, when the head hurts, is familiar to each person. Some people are accustomed to perceive this as something insignificant, and without thinking about the cause of the appearance of pain, eliminate it with a pill. Meanwhile, this symptom often indicates serious pathologies requiring special treatment.
Types of headaches
If the head hurts, this does not mean that the sensations emanate from the brain tissue, since there are no pain receptors in them. Soreness appears and comes from irritation or tension of one of the areas in the head or neck where there are pain receptors: periosteum of the skull bones, cranial and spinal nerves, neck and head muscle, arteries, veins, nasal sinuses, eyes, subcutaneous tissue, mucous membrane . When the pain receptor receives an exciting stimulus, it sends a signal to the nerve cells of the brain, reporting pain in a certain area.
Depending on the location, nature and causes of origin, there are different types of headaches, but it may be difficult to identify a particular species that requires long follow-up of the patient and a series of studies. The headaches are divided into two groups:
- Primary - those that are not associated with organic diseases and structural disorders in the body, often occur sporadically and are independent nosological forms. This includes: migraine, tension pain, cluster pain, chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (it is rare).
- Secondary - are caused by these or other pathologies and arise against their background, acting as one of the symptoms, and also can be a consequence of traumatic factors. This group includes numerous types of pain: intoxication, post-traumatic, sinus, hypertensive, myogenic, neuralgic, vascular and so on.
Headache of tension
Another medical name for this type of pain is the headache of the tensile type. According to statistics, about 90% of patients suffering from headache suffer with this symptom. Often this discomfort of mild or moderate intensity is described as pressing, constricting, with a feeling of tension in the muscles of the neck and head. In most cases, the sensations are localized symmetrically, the head hurts in the forehead, the eye, pain in the occiput, parietal region.
The appearance of soreness is typical for the second half of the day, evening time. A typical attack lasts 4-6 hours, but sometimes a symptom is present for several days, weeks and even years. If the head is constantly hurting, a "chronic headache of the tensile type" is diagnosed. In parallel with pain, often such manifestations are noted: fatigue, decreased concentration, lack of appetite, sleep disturbance. In this case, the intensity of pain is not affected by physical activity, light and noise are insignificant.
Cluster pain
Irregularly and spontaneously arising attacks of acute painful sensations, which initially lays the ear, and then the head and eyes strongly hurt (often on the one hand), sometimes soreness is noted in the temple area, forehead, cheeks. Pain attacks are short-lived, but follow series one by one for several days, weeks, months. During the day there are often about three episodes, in many patients the pain is noted at the same time, with the accuracy of the clockwork mechanism.
In addition to intense piercing, tearing, pulsating pain, patients note the presence of the following pathological manifestations:
- redness and swelling of the eyes;
- lacrimation;
- increased sweating;
- redness of the face;
- nasal congestion;
- difficulty breathing;
- blurred vision;
- accelerated heart rate;
- strong arousal.
The patient during an attack of cluster headache can not remain in a calm state, constantly looking for a position where the pain would not be felt so much.
Headache - migraines
Another primary type of headache is migraine, which is often chronic with regular attacks. Painful sensations in some cases are preceded by an aura - a set of specific symptoms, among which:
- hallucinations (auditory, visual, taste, olfactory or tactile);
- impaired vision;
- slurred speech;
- dizziness and others.
In a number of patients, the aura appears simultaneously with pain in the head. In the other part of the patients there is no aura, but during the attack, the head always hurts and vomits or there is light, phobia.
When migraine headache in one half with different intensity, concentrates pain in the temples, frontal, ocular and maxillary zones, less often in the occipital region. Patients describe sensations as pulsating, continuous, amplifying at any irritations. Episodes are often observed 2-8 times a month, appearing at any time of the day, including at night. Often, migraine attacks are associated with previous stress, physical overstrain, the use of certain drinks and dishes, medication, weather changes.
Sinus headache
One of the most common types of headache of secondary origin, when the head and nose hurts, is sinus pain. Its appearance is caused by inflammation of the mucosa of one or more sinuses - air paranasal sinuses located in the bones of the facial zone of the skull. Often soreness is due to the occlusion of the hole connecting the sinus with the nasal cavity, resulting in the mucus accumulates in the sinus and increases the pressure.
Along with pain, which has a pressing, compressive character and is centered in the eyes, forehead, cheeks, upper jaw, inflammation of the sinuses ( sinusitis ) has a number of other manifestations:
- discharge from the nose;
- increased body temperature;
- impaired sense of smell;
- weakness.
Discomfortable sensations are enhanced by tilting the head and pressing in the projection of the affected cavity.
Headache - Causes
If the causes of headache of secondary origin can be explained by a particular disease, when the symptomatology disappears, the primary pain is more difficult to diagnose and to find the factors provoking them. All varieties of primary pains are not fully understood, and there are many theories of their origin. One of the main reasons for these sensations are called:
- heredity;
- emotional shocks;
- physical exercise;
- bad habits;
- a change in the hormonal background;
- stay in an uncomfortable position;
- stay in a stuffy room;
- mental overwork;
- violation of sleep;
- change of time zone.
We list the common diseases that provoke a secondary headache:
- atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels ;
- arterial hypertension;
- brain tumors;
- glaucoma;
- meningitis ;
- encephalitis;
- cervical osteochondrosis and others.
Periodic headache
If the head is occasionally very painful, and the sensations are similar in nature, they are localized in the same area, first of all, it is necessary to suspect echoes of craniocerebral injuries, osteochondrosis of the cervical region, migraine. To understand the cause, it is necessary to analyze the conditions under which soreness appears, what strengthens it, what manifestations occur in parallel.
Constant headache causes
The constant headache, which exhausts, causes weakness, reduces efficiency and affects the general way of life, is often a manifestation of a serious pathological process. Sometimes this is due to the appearance of various neoplasms in the brain tissues: benign and malignant tumors, cysts, aneurysms and so on. In addition, the head can constantly be ill under the influence of occupational hazards, medicines.
What if my head hurts?
Feeling a painful symptom, everyone thinks how to get rid of a headache faster. Experts recommend not to engage in self-medication, but to seek medical help in order to diagnose, determine the causative factor and determine the correct course of treatment. Urgent treatment to a doctor is necessary in such cases:
- a strong headache appeared suddenly and for the first time;
- pain is accompanied by loss of consciousness, violation of breathing, vomiting, urinary incontinence, speech impairment, paralysis;
- intense pain in the head during pregnancy;
- each painful attack is more intense than the previous one.
Preparations for headache
Medical treatment of headache should be conducted in accordance with the causes of manifestation and recommended by a doctor. Often, to eliminate the symptom, the following drugs are recommended that are dispensed in pharmacies without a prescription:
- Ibuprofen;
- Paracetamol;
- Citramon;
- But-shpa;
- Analgin;
- Aspirin;
- Spazmolgon;
- Tempalgin;
- Pentalgin;
- Baralgin.
Massage from headache
A simple but effective technique is massage from a headache at home. First of all, after taking a comfortable position in the sitting position, you can massage the entire scalp with the tips of your fingers, massage comb or a head massage machine, stretch the muscles of the neck and shoulders. If relief does not come, you can affect acupuncture points located in the following zones:
- in the temporal pits closer to the border of the hairy part;
- in the center of the occipital cavity;
- at the highest points of the eyebrows;
- between the angle of the lower jaw and the mastoid process of the temporal bone;
- at a distance of 2-3 mm from the inner corner of the eye in the direction of the nose.
- between the thumb and forefinger.
Folk remedies for headaches
To ease the condition, if every day the head hurts, the following simple folk remedies will help:
- Make a hot foot bath (for 5-10 minutes).
- Apply for a few minutes to the temples a mashed leaf of cabbage, a grape leaf or mint.
- Cut a clove of garlic in half and rub the forehead, temples and the back of the head.
- Inhale the aroma of lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary or mint.
- Drink tea from sage, linden, mint, primrose.