|
“A headache is a condition of pain in the head; sometimes neck or upper back pain may also be interpreted as a headache.”
It ranks amongst the most common local pain complaints. The vast majority of headaches are benign and self-limiting. Common causes are tension, migraine, eyestrain, dehydration, low blood sugar, and sinusitis. Much rare are headaches due to life-threatening conditions such as meningitis, encephalitis, cerebral aneurysms, extremely high blood pressure, and brain tumors.
A large percentage of headaches among females are caused by ever-fluctuating estrogen during menstrual years. This can occur prior to, during or even mid-cycle menstruation. Treatment of uncomplicated headache is usually symptomatic with over-the-counter painkillers such as aspirin, paracetamol (acetaminophen), or ibuprofen, although some specific forms of headaches (e.g., migraines) may demand other, more suitable treatment.
Headaches are not a universal, one-size-fits-all kind of thing. There are kinds of different types of headaches. To find relief, it's best to understand them all and be able to identify the different types.
Kinds of Headaches:
Stress Headaches:
These are one of the most common types of headaches, though women usually experience them more often than men.
Tension headaches:
These headaches tend to occur most often at the back of the head or neck, and they're mild enough to not keep people from going about their everyday activities.
Sinus headaches:
These are caused by an infection or problem with the body's sinus system. Usually additional mucus is backed up, or extra germs or a virus is present which causes the swelling and inflammation of the sinus cavities.
Migraine headaches:
These kinds of headaches are a chronic headache that has many related symptoms. Often migraine headaches occur on just one side of the head at a time, and other symptoms such as seeing spots in front of the eyes, tingling sensations in the hands or feet, feeling nauseous, or becoming dizzy accompany migraine headaches.
Allergy headaches:
Caused by an allergy to environmental factor, most commonly various plant pollens in the air during certain times of the year.
These allergies cause the body to produce extra mucus, usually in the sinus cavity, and this mucus in turn creates a pressure, which causes pain.
Other types of common headaches are caused when the body is sick with a virus, cold or the flu, or with an infection. It's not uncommon to get a headache when you have an ear or tooth infection.
Me, I rarely get headaches, but sometimes if a day is overloaded, by the time I get home, there is one developing, and I'll head for the shower. Ten minutes later I'm as right as rain. |
