Many of my patients suffer from a headache. This week I am going to focus on what we now know about headaches. Today's Daily Dose will be an overview of the most common types.  Going forward, I am going to discuss each type of headache on the subsequent days this week.

For many of my patients, it seems impossible to escape the intense pain of chronic headaches.  It can be described as a pain that is dull and throbbing, to an intense pain that is more like a vice that is gripping your head.   Many have said that it is like a red hot searing type of pain as if their head was on fire. Most people can describe it by comparing the pain to something that they can imagine.  For instance, I have heard it described as similar to being hit in the head with a baseball bat to a throbbing that is more like a jackhammer drilling through stone.  Many sufferers have gone from doctor to doctor with no relief. They will eventually just tough it out, withdrawing from everyone when the headache is present. 

Headaches are not completely understood at this point. However, we do know that the pain is caused from the nerves in the head, the muscles of the head, and the blood vessels that feed the muscles.  Headaches are actually more prevalent than colds. There are over 100 types of headaches according to The International Headache Society. For practical purposes, headaches are really organized into a few main categories.

• Migraine Headaches
• Rebound Headache
• Cluster Headache
• Tension Headache
• Sinus Headache

These are the basic types of headache.  Tomorrow, I will go over headaches in a lot more detail.  One of the most important things to know about a headache is when to seek medical attention.  It goes without saying that if the pain is so severe and intolerable, you should seek medical attention.  At times, the headache may be so severe that it falls outside of one of these categories and may represent a very urgent medical problem such as a stroke or bleeding inside the head.  Listed below are the warnings signs to seek medical attention immediately.

• "The worst headache of your life" -- Severe, intense, and sudden onset of pain
• Severe pain in the eye itself
• Vomiting for greater than 2 hours
• Recent loss of consciousness with or without trauma
• Loss or change in vision
• Associated high blood pressure
• Loss of balance
• Loss of speech or slurred speech
• Stiff neck, high fever, unusual sensitivity to light
• Weakness or tingling of the extremities
• Pressure around the eyes with clear nasal drainage
• Unwanted or unexplained weight loss that is associated with a headache
• Change in personality
• Amnesia or loss of memory
• Any headache that is unusual for you

When any of the above symptoms appear, infections, stroke, tumors, bleeding, TB, cancer, glaucoma, or ruptured aneurysm must be ruled out.

Over the next few days, I will talk about migraine, tension, sinus, cluster, and rebound headaches as well as treatment options. 

To your Health,

Dr. Michelle Haendiges