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
