Cause Of Headache
Headaches are a very common type of condition where pain occurs in areas of the head such as above the eyes or the ears and behind the head or upper neck. In addition, headaches are usually not taken as a disease, but rather a an indication of another disease. Causes for headaches are many and these causes could vary from one person to the other. Furthermore, as sometimes the treatment is quite tough, it is important to rightly diagnose the reason for the headache.
Before any treatment, the headache should be first categorized. There are several methods to classify headaches although the most well known method was put forward by the International Headache Society. There are three main types of headaches according to this categorization and each specific type tends to have a separate cause.
Primary causes of headache are one of the main kinds of headaches and can be further categorized as tension headaches, migraine headaches and cluster headaches. In tension headaches, the major cause of headache is physical or mental stress. It is believed that almost 90% of all adults would experience tension headaches during their lifetimes. Furthermore, women are more prone to tension headaches than men. Migraine headaches are also a common type of headache with almost 12% of the US population (around 28 million people) experiences this form of headache. Cluster headaches which affects only 0.1% of the people are somewhat uncommon though both these types tend to be experienced fairly frequently by most people. The exact cause of headache in both migraine related and cluster headaches has not yet been identified. None of those mentioned above however are fatal.
Although the cause of headache in primary headaches might not be life threatening, secondary headaches might indicate a far more dangerous condition. Secondary headaches normally occur due to underlying diseases such as brain tumors, meningitis, encephalitis and stroke. Therefore, it’s vital that you seek medical attention when your headaches are accompanied with symptoms such as seizures, continuing nausea and vomiting, and vision, speech and behavior changes. Another serious type of a headache is referred to as cranial neuralgia where swollen nerves in the head and neck tends to the reason for the headache. In addition to this, facial pains and other various headaches are also included.
It’s very important that the you visit your physician if the headache persists in a severe manner though you might be able to get some relief in the short term through painkilling drugs like asprin or paracetamol. In addition, the painkilling drugs including paracetamol should be used in the recommended quantities as an overdose might have negative effects such as heavy liver damage which would at times prove to be life threatening.
Tags: cause of headache, cause of headaches, causes of headache, causes of headaches