The Science That Explains the Headache You Have

One of the most medical concern for people is headache. It can be very disturbing, and very annoying but then, it is no doubt that we feel these head aches in different parts of the head, and this shows that there are different types of headache, as well as different potential causes. I will take my time in this post to discuss these as well as potential treatment. So let's understand what is happening in our head.

To understand headache, let's pick the very two types that you know which are primary and secondary headache with primary headaches being when the headache is the main problem while secondary headache is when there is an underlying disease causing the disease such as flu, sinus infection, or other diseases or conditions such as bacterial meningitis, traumatic head injury, brain tumor, and ruptured aneurysm can lead to head ache.

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While primary headache can be very disturbing, causing a person to be very much miserable, it isn't life-threatening. Primary headaches can be Tension headaches, migraine headache and cluster headaches. With tension headache, the both sides of the head aches, and the pain is a non-pulsatile, dull, band-like pain in the head. This headache is referred to as a featureless headache because they are not associated with other symptoms such as nausea, and vomiting. This headache is not associated with photophobia or phonophobia, and is not aggravated by physical activities.

As you would have thought that there are certain factors that can lead to this type of headache, and you might have expected that it would be caused by tension but that's not true. It was the initial believe with the idea that the muscles that attaches to the skull such as the trapezius, the splenius capitis muscle, the masseter and so on can lead to tension headache but this theory isn't accepted again, with other research showing that nociceptor sensitization are responsible for this type of headache as they are found in the connective tissues of the head. The cause of this sensitization isn't well known but useful information show that stress have a big role to play in tension type headache. Using Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen do help to reduce the pain of tension headache compared to placebo. It is important to know that you should seek help from your medical practitioner so as to prevent medication overuse headache.

Have you been with a person who suffers from Migraine, you would realize that a day or two days before the migraine, the patient starts to feel like down after which they will complain of a migraine the following day. You want to understand what a migraine truly is, let me explain to you.

Migraines are another type of primary headache, characterized by a pulsatile, throbbing pain that is usually unilateral but can sometimes be bilateral. Unlike tension headaches, migraines are often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, light and sound sensitivity, and are aggravated by physical activity. Migraines typically undergo four phases: the premonitory phase (marked by symptoms like food cravings and irritability), the aura phase (with reversible neurological symptoms like blurred vision or tingling), the headache phase, and the postdromal phase, where residual effects linger after the headache subsides.

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The premonitory phase usually occur about 1 day before the headache begins and people do not often know about it before it begins. The phase is associated with food cravings, irritability, and frequent yawning. The Aura phase is when there are fully reversible neurological symptoms such as the visual aura where vision becomes blur, then the sensory aura where there is tingling. Other types of aura that can be experienced are language aura, and motor aura. In the headache phase, the patient experiences the headache but after this is the postromal phase where the patient experiences the residual effect of the headache.

The other type of primary headache is the cluster headache. This is the least common type of primary headache and its cause is not known yet but it believed to be associated with the hypothalamus which then activated certain autonomic pathway which then causes pain that is stabbing and severe unilaterally around the eyes and around the temporal region. It is associated with autonomic symptoms such as the drooping of the eyes, Miosis, Conjunctival injection, Lacrimation, Rhinorrhea, and Facial swelling. This attack can last for about 15 minutes but it can occur in intervals which can last up to weeks, months which is the cluster period after it comes with the remission period.

Understanding the various types of headaches and their potential causes is vital for appropriate treatment. Whether dealing with tension headaches, migraines, or cluster headaches, it's important to recognize the signs and seek medical advice for effective management and relief.

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