What is a headache?
A headache (or headache), as the word itself says, is pain in the head. Of course, not all headaches are the same. Some go away with an aspirin and others don't go away completely, even with the strongest painkillers. This is because the causes that cause them are many and completely different from one another. It may be that the headache is caused by stress, so it is possible that just this information from the doctor to the patient and the assurance that there is no risk to his health will solve the problem.
Is the headache frequent?
Most of us suffer from a headache at some point, at any age. Some suffer less often and others more often. Some more mildly and others much more severely. Some always suffer from the same type of headache and others from two or three different types. But only 10% of sufferers, whose quality of life and professional performance is significantly affected, have to go to a doctor.
The truth is that those who have never suffered from a headache or migraine (pain usually in half of the head) cannot understand how much they are suffering. They even go so far as to tell them that they are "fictitiously ill" and this makes their situation even worse. They often feel isolated from their friends or even their family. All these events create insecurity and psychological strain, which makes the headache worse.
What are the most common types of headache?
Migraine
Migraine (usually) affects only half of the head. Migraine affects about 8% of the population (women suffer much more often). Migraine occurs in painful attacks, sometimes on the right and sometimes on the left, from a young age and usually at least one of the parents has the same condition. It often warns the patient, who feels weak, has no appetite for anything and wants to go to a quiet and dark room to lie down. If he does so and manages to fall asleep, he has a good chance when he wakes up that he will have avoided a migraine attack. If he doesn't make it, then he realizes that he is not seeing well. That is, he sees black circles that prevent him from reading or seeing what is behind them, or he sees zigzag lines that go off to the side but come back again and again.
Headache from muscle spasm
Muscle spasm (or muscle tension) headache is the most common form of headache. It is estimated that 30 to 78% of the population suffer from it for some period of their lives. It is most likely caused by a muscle contraction in the neck that lasts for a long time due to mental tension and overwork. Pain:
- It's always all over the head
- Lasts from half an hour to seven days
- It is stable, but not very intense
- It often looks like the head is being squeezed by a crown or pressed by the weight of a helmet
Head lice in the elderly
In relatively elderly patients, common is:
- The headache of arteriosclerosis
- The cephalopod of arterial hypertension
- The headache of arterial hypotension
- The headache from glaucoma
Headache from a tumour, haematoma or abscess
Headache from a tumour, haematoma or abscess inside the skull is morning with nausea or vomiting, often with confusion or seizures. The diagnosis is made by CT or MRI scan.
Tumour (astrocytoma I before (a) and after shading (b), abscess (c) and subdural haematoma (d), as seen on CT scan).
Headache from pseudotumor of the brain or idiopathic or benign intracranial hypertension
Similar is the headache from pseudotumor of the brain or idiopathic or benign intracranial hypertension that:
- is usually caused in young obese women
- it's getting worse, day by day.
- is stronger in the morning
- with fatigue the patient sees dull or double vision
Headache due to neck conditions
Headache due to neck conditions is always unilateral, does not change side and starts at the back of the head. It extends to the temple and then behind the eye.
There is often dizziness and vomiting, and the eye on the side that hurts cannot see well. Very often, the pain extends to the shoulder and arm of the same side. Almost all patients are affected and suffer from depression.
Headache of sinusitis (sinusitis)
The headache of sinusitis may be intermittent (in the acute phase) or have the same intensity all the time (in the chronic phase). The pain is aggravated by coughing and sneezing.
Psychogenic cephalopods
Another common form of headache is psychogenic headache, which manifests as light to moderate pain in the frontotemporal region, either on one or both sides of the skull. It lasts from days to several weeks in patients with melancholia, panic attacks, severe anxiety or hysteria. Patients often say, in addition to the headache, that there is something in their head or that their head feels empty.
Headache of the students
Headache in students is caused by the forced long-term head tilt, which strains the neck and irritates the meninges. The pain is usually located in the forehead, as is the case with headache from as yet undiagnosed myopia in pupils. In these cases, a myopic and indifferent pupil in the last desks who cannot follow what is written on the blackboard, changes to diligent to excellent as soon as he is moved to a desk in the first row. Thus, his undiagnosed myopia no longer gives him a headache because of the constant contraction of muscles in his attempt to see more clearly.
Cephaloponeum of subarachnoid hemorrhage
The headache of subarachnoid hemorrhage is usually unbearable. It starts at the back of the head like an axe and quickly acquires the rhythm of a pulse as it shifts (usually) towards the forehead. At the same time, the patient sees blurred, cannot bend over and vomits. Complete immobility is then imposed until the artery defect is found and corrected by CT, MRI and angiography.
Hyperarachnoid hemorrhage
Cumulative headache
Cumulative headache, which is most often suffered by men, mainly aged 20 to 50 years, is always one-sided, with unbearable pain that stings the eye. Soon tears run, the nose closes and the face on the same side turns red. The pain begins suddenly, without warning, often one to two hours after the beginning of sleep. The pain lasts for half an hour to two hours and comes back, usually up to three times, always at exactly the same time, usually for several weeks. A free interval follows, usually from three months to five years, and recurs without warning, always on the same side. From this condition there have been patients who have committed suicide to get rid of the pain.
Giant cell arteritis
Giant cell arteritis usually causes a one-sided headache, usually located in the temple, where the artery is swollen like a snake and hurts when pressed (temporal arteritis). Cortisone is effectively administered therapeutically.
Text:
Dimitrios Vlaikidis, Dimitrios Dimitrios Viktoriakidis, Neurologist
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