Headache

Headache is a common symptom that can cause pain in the head and the upper part of the neck with various underlying medical conditions. Headache is classified into three main categories that include primary, secondary and other headaches such as facial pain, cranial neuralgias. The tension headache, migraine and cluster headaches are classified as the primary type headache in which the cluster headache is a rare medical symptom. Some of the secondary headaches can be caused by hemorrhagic brain, infections such as encephalitis and/or meningitis, benign and metastatic cancers of the brain. The other forms of headaches such as the cranial neuralgia and facial pains are often associated with the inflammatory reactions in the brain neurons by a variety of causes.

Causes 

Headache is not a disease or a disorder but a symptom of a medical problem. Some of the causes of primary forms are tension, stress, hypoglycemia due to starvation, alterations in sleep pattern, alcoholic beverages, caffeine, medicines such as ondansetron, hormonal birth control pills, tooth pain and temporo-mandibular joint jaw pain. These are often curable with simple medications and may last for some hours. The common causes for secondary headache are infection, cancer, alterations in blood circulations, injury of the head with hemorrhage and alteration in the blood circulation, etc.

Symptoms

The symptoms of the primary headaches are:

• Photosensitivity with Aura

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Neck pain

• Pain in-between the eyebrows

The symptoms of the secondary headache are:

• Elevated blood pressure

• Water loss

• Metabolic dysfunctions

Diagnosis

In a medical evaluation, the clinician initially try to diagnose the type of the pain to treat or cure the problem. If the patient complains stress, strain, photosensitivity, migraine-like headache or jaw pain, the physician can diagnose the patient’s problem as primary. The secondary headache diagnosis comprises of lumbar puncture for CSF biochemical and microbial culture analysis, CT and/or MRI of the brain and renal function tests.

Treatment options

The treatment for the primary headache is simple and usually the physician may prescribe analgesics or NSAIDS with sedatives for sleep or rest. Most of the physicians suggest only rest. For the secondary, the treatment depends on the cause of the disease and if it is by infections, the physician may prescribe antibiotics/antiviral or chemotherapy depending on the illness that causes the headache.

Prognosis

If it is primary headache, it can be easily treatable and sometimes will reduce on its own or by rest. However, the secondary with some other underlying problems, it should be treated accordingly to get rid of the problem. In most of the cases, the prognosis is good in support of medications and rest.

Prevention

In case of primary headaches, you need to get rid of the tension and stress in work and family environment, avoid stimulants such as coffee and tea to get good sleep; self-healing practices such as Yoga and ayurvedic massages are helpful in many instances. If you have tooth pain, you need to visit a dentist to correct the symptoms. These simple forms can be prevented but some of the problems with unknown and complex etiology cannot be prevented and it needs medical interventions.

When to see a doctor

If you experience throbbing and persistent pain in the head with or without flashings, one-sided headache, nausea, vomiting and painful episodes in the morning or if you experience these symptoms even after you took the medications, you need to consult a physician.