WHAT IS HEADACHE
What are the Different Types of Headache?
To say you have a headache does not begin to describe this phenomenon. There are tension-type headaches, migraine headaches, cluster headaches, organic headaches and rebound headaches. Headaches can plague young children, even babies, and headaches can stop the strongest and bravest in their tracks.
Today, despite the toll headaches still take on millions of people around the world, we have made enormous progress in treating them. New medications, combined with nondrug therapies, are preventing, stopping or managing some of the toughest headaches around.
Headache Types
- Tension-Type Headache
Nearly all of us have had a tension-type headache, but most of us believe we can handle it. We take an over-the-counter analgesic and before we know it, the headache has disappeared. Millions, however, encounter headaches that are so painful, debilitating or frequent that we seem to spend our days waiting for "it" to attack and then to retreat.
As universal as tension-type headaches are, their causes and symptoms are more complicated and unique than you might realize. The word "tension" can be misleading, too, because not all headaches are caused by tension. In fact, many people do not seek medical attention when they should because they assume the cause of their head pain must be tension. Physicians describe two tension-type headaches: episodic and chronic.
There are two goals when treating any type of headache: prevent future attacks; abort or relieve current pain. Prevention includes taking prescribed medications, avoiding or minimizing the causes, and learning self-help measures, such as biofeedback or relaxation exercises.
If your doctor suggests medications, you should realize that they may take several weeks to become effective and they can have side effects. Thus, you must be patient and cooperate with your doctor to find the optimal treatment.
- Migraine Headache
Migraines deserve the attention they receive; one headache can put your life "on hold" for a few hours or several days. Migraine is responsible for more job absenteeism and disrupted family life than any other headache type
According to estimates, approximately 29.5 million people in the United States suffer from migraines. Four out of five of them report a family history of migraine, but scientists are not sure if this is genetic or a family predisposition. Some experts consider migraine to be an inherited malfunction of the brainýs normal pain-generating system.
Women experience migraines at least three times more often than men do, and this may be due to hormonal influences. While migraines occur in childhood, they generally strike in the twenties or thirties. Is there a migraine personality?
Experts do not agree on this issue, and they can only draw conclusions based on the people who actually seek their help. Many migraine sufferers, however, have been described as perfectionists, high-strung, conscientious, orderly, analytical and critical.
Famous migraineurs include Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Cervantes, Pascal, Nietzsche, Tchaikovsky, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Karl Marx and George Bernard Shaw ý and, actor/director Lee Grant, Chicago Bulls basketball player Scottie Pippen, Denver Bronco football player Terrell Davis, golfer Fred Couples and New York Yankee baseball player Joe Girardi.
The term migraine is originally derived from the Greek word hemicrania, which means "half of the head." And, for 70 percent of migraine sufferers, the headache is unilateral or occurring on one side.
Migraine is considered a vascular headache because it is associated with changes in the size of the arteries in and outside of the brain. Prompted by biochemical changes in the brain, one of the larger nerve branches (the trigeminal nerve) in your head triggers a chain reaction: the changes in serotonin in the blood vessels and the brain lead to shifts of blood flow, bypassing the capillaries and going through shunts to the veins. The distention of these vessels contributes to the pain of migraine. The nerves around the blood vessels release chemicals which cause a sterile inflammation eliciting pain signals into the brain. There are two goals when treating migraine, or any other headache: to relieve the pain and prevent future attacks. Once migraine has been diagnosed by your physician, your treatment will begin by identifying those circumstances or factors that trigger it.
Keep a daily calendar of activities, foods, beverages, prescription and over-the-counter medications, physical and environmental factors, stressful situations, sleep patterns, and characteristics of the headache itself.
- Cluster Headache
They are called cluster headaches because the attacks come in groups. The pain arrives with little, if any, warning, and it has been described as the most severe and intense of any headache type. It generally lasts from 30 to 45 minutes, although it might persist for several hours before it disappears. Unfortunately, it can reoccur later in the day.
Most sufferers experience one to four headaches a day during a cluster period. Cluster headaches frequently surface during the morning or late at night; the cluster cycle can last weeks or months and then can disappear for months or years. Clusters often occur during spring or autumn and, thus, are often incorrectly associated with allergies.
Approximately 10 percent of the sufferers, however, experience chronic cluster headaches that occur all year long. It is estimated that less than one percent of the population are victims of cluster headaches, and they encounter the headache somewhere between the ages of 20 and 45. More men (about five to one) than women suffer from cluster headaches.
Frank Capra, the famous film director and producer, described a cluster headache he had while sitting in a hotel: "Suddenly a huge phantom bird sank three talons of its angry claws deeply into my head and face and tried to lift me. No warnings, no preliminary signs. Just wham! A massive, killing pain came over my right eye. I clutched my head, stumbled out to the broad lawns and over the hedges to the deserted tennis courts and then, there in the dark, I moaned, I panted. Ballooned my cheeks, blew out short bursts of air, licked my hot lips, wiped tears that poured out of my right eye, and clawed at my head trying to uproot the fiendish talons from their iron grip. One racking hour later the talons let go. The paroxysm eased as suddenly as it had convulsed. Euphoria set in. It’s gone! Whopping headache, but it’s gone!..."
Preventive Treatment/Cluster Headaches: As you review these, remember that all medications have side effects, and you should discuss them with your doctor.
- Hormone Headache
Although only women suffer from "hormone headache," both men's and women's headaches are prompted by hormones. You would not feel pain without them, because it is the hormones that induce the pain response. Actually, the headache may be protecting you or warning you of something more damaging in the same way that touching a hot stove alerts you to the heat and protects you from burning yourself.
The word hormone is derived from a Greek word that means to "set in motion. " Hormones initiate and regulate many of your body's functions. For example, metabolic hormones regulate the way your body turns food into energy. Growth hormones control childhood development and maintain certain tissue structure in adults. Regulating hormones determine your femininity, masculinity and sexuality. Hormones are manufactured and secreted by your endocrine glands, which include the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, adrenals, pancreas, gonads and other glandular tissues located in your intestines, kidneys, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. The endocrine system works with your nervous system to keep your body in balance within a constantly changing environment. As they interact, your endocrine and nervous systems are responsible for the thousands of automatic responses that regulate your bodily functions. They decide, for example, whether you will respond to a potential headache trigger with an actual sensation of pain.
- Other Types of Headache
If the symptoms described for chronic tension-type, migraine and cluster headaches do not seem to explain your pain, then you might be encountering another type of headache.
Rebound Headache
Medication-Induced Headache Are You Over-Medicating? Guidelines
Sinus
Sinuses are located in your forehead bone, the cheek bone on each side, and behind the bridge of your nose. When a sinus becomes inflamed, usually as the result of an allergic reaction, a tumor or an infection, the inflammation will cause a localized pain. Sinuses are filled with air, and their secretions must be able to drain freely into the nose. If your headache is truly caused by a sinus blockage, such as an infection, you will probably have a fever. An x-ray will confirm a sinus blockage. Your physician's treatment might include antibiotics for the infection, as well as antihistamines or decongestants. If you do not have a true sinus headache and take decongestants, for example, they could make your headache worse.
Organic
An organic headache is the result of an abnormality in the brain or skull. It can be caused by a benign or malignant brain tumor, a brain aneurysm, hematoma, meningitis, brain abscess, brain infection, cerebral hemorrhage, or encephalitis. Fortunately, very few headaches (less than 5 percent) are caused by tumors, and not all people with tumors experience headaches. A tumor will cause a headache if it intrudes on arterial space or increases intracranial pressure. If there is a brain tumor, the headache will probably come on suddenly and intensely. It may get progressively worse and can be aggravated by coughing or physical activity. Tune into symptoms that could be red flags: a sudden, sharp, intense or severe pain (particularly if you never or only occasionally have a headache); sudden lack of balance or falling; confusion; inappropriate behavior; seizures; difficulty speaking. If these symptoms are left undiagnosed, they can lead to serious consequences.
Sources: National Headache Foundation (http://www.headaches.org/)
To say you have a headache does not begin to describe this phenomenon. There are tension-type headaches, migraine headaches, cluster headaches, organic headaches and rebound headaches. Headaches can plague young children, even babies, and headaches can stop the strongest and bravest in their tracks.
Today, despite the toll headaches still take on millions of people around the world, we have made enormous progress in treating them. New medications, combined with nondrug therapies, are preventing, stopping or managing some of the toughest headaches around.
Headache Types
- Tension-Type Headache
Nearly all of us have had a tension-type headache, but most of us believe we can handle it. We take an over-the-counter analgesic and before we know it, the headache has disappeared. Millions, however, encounter headaches that are so painful, debilitating or frequent that we seem to spend our days waiting for "it" to attack and then to retreat.
As universal as tension-type headaches are, their causes and symptoms are more complicated and unique than you might realize. The word "tension" can be misleading, too, because not all headaches are caused by tension. In fact, many people do not seek medical attention when they should because they assume the cause of their head pain must be tension. Physicians describe two tension-type headaches: episodic and chronic.
There are two goals when treating any type of headache: prevent future attacks; abort or relieve current pain. Prevention includes taking prescribed medications, avoiding or minimizing the causes, and learning self-help measures, such as biofeedback or relaxation exercises.
If your doctor suggests medications, you should realize that they may take several weeks to become effective and they can have side effects. Thus, you must be patient and cooperate with your doctor to find the optimal treatment.
- Migraine Headache
Migraines deserve the attention they receive; one headache can put your life "on hold" for a few hours or several days. Migraine is responsible for more job absenteeism and disrupted family life than any other headache type
According to estimates, approximately 29.5 million people in the United States suffer from migraines. Four out of five of them report a family history of migraine, but scientists are not sure if this is genetic or a family predisposition. Some experts consider migraine to be an inherited malfunction of the brainýs normal pain-generating system.
Women experience migraines at least three times more often than men do, and this may be due to hormonal influences. While migraines occur in childhood, they generally strike in the twenties or thirties. Is there a migraine personality?
Experts do not agree on this issue, and they can only draw conclusions based on the people who actually seek their help. Many migraine sufferers, however, have been described as perfectionists, high-strung, conscientious, orderly, analytical and critical.
Famous migraineurs include Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Cervantes, Pascal, Nietzsche, Tchaikovsky, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Karl Marx and George Bernard Shaw ý and, actor/director Lee Grant, Chicago Bulls basketball player Scottie Pippen, Denver Bronco football player Terrell Davis, golfer Fred Couples and New York Yankee baseball player Joe Girardi.
The term migraine is originally derived from the Greek word hemicrania, which means "half of the head." And, for 70 percent of migraine sufferers, the headache is unilateral or occurring on one side.
Migraine is considered a vascular headache because it is associated with changes in the size of the arteries in and outside of the brain. Prompted by biochemical changes in the brain, one of the larger nerve branches (the trigeminal nerve) in your head triggers a chain reaction: the changes in serotonin in the blood vessels and the brain lead to shifts of blood flow, bypassing the capillaries and going through shunts to the veins. The distention of these vessels contributes to the pain of migraine. The nerves around the blood vessels release chemicals which cause a sterile inflammation eliciting pain signals into the brain. There are two goals when treating migraine, or any other headache: to relieve the pain and prevent future attacks. Once migraine has been diagnosed by your physician, your treatment will begin by identifying those circumstances or factors that trigger it.
Keep a daily calendar of activities, foods, beverages, prescription and over-the-counter medications, physical and environmental factors, stressful situations, sleep patterns, and characteristics of the headache itself.
- Cluster Headache
They are called cluster headaches because the attacks come in groups. The pain arrives with little, if any, warning, and it has been described as the most severe and intense of any headache type. It generally lasts from 30 to 45 minutes, although it might persist for several hours before it disappears. Unfortunately, it can reoccur later in the day.
Most sufferers experience one to four headaches a day during a cluster period. Cluster headaches frequently surface during the morning or late at night; the cluster cycle can last weeks or months and then can disappear for months or years. Clusters often occur during spring or autumn and, thus, are often incorrectly associated with allergies.
Approximately 10 percent of the sufferers, however, experience chronic cluster headaches that occur all year long. It is estimated that less than one percent of the population are victims of cluster headaches, and they encounter the headache somewhere between the ages of 20 and 45. More men (about five to one) than women suffer from cluster headaches.
Frank Capra, the famous film director and producer, described a cluster headache he had while sitting in a hotel: "Suddenly a huge phantom bird sank three talons of its angry claws deeply into my head and face and tried to lift me. No warnings, no preliminary signs. Just wham! A massive, killing pain came over my right eye. I clutched my head, stumbled out to the broad lawns and over the hedges to the deserted tennis courts and then, there in the dark, I moaned, I panted. Ballooned my cheeks, blew out short bursts of air, licked my hot lips, wiped tears that poured out of my right eye, and clawed at my head trying to uproot the fiendish talons from their iron grip. One racking hour later the talons let go. The paroxysm eased as suddenly as it had convulsed. Euphoria set in. It’s gone! Whopping headache, but it’s gone!..."
Preventive Treatment/Cluster Headaches: As you review these, remember that all medications have side effects, and you should discuss them with your doctor.
- Hormone Headache
Although only women suffer from "hormone headache," both men's and women's headaches are prompted by hormones. You would not feel pain without them, because it is the hormones that induce the pain response. Actually, the headache may be protecting you or warning you of something more damaging in the same way that touching a hot stove alerts you to the heat and protects you from burning yourself.
The word hormone is derived from a Greek word that means to "set in motion. " Hormones initiate and regulate many of your body's functions. For example, metabolic hormones regulate the way your body turns food into energy. Growth hormones control childhood development and maintain certain tissue structure in adults. Regulating hormones determine your femininity, masculinity and sexuality. Hormones are manufactured and secreted by your endocrine glands, which include the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, thymus, adrenals, pancreas, gonads and other glandular tissues located in your intestines, kidneys, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. The endocrine system works with your nervous system to keep your body in balance within a constantly changing environment. As they interact, your endocrine and nervous systems are responsible for the thousands of automatic responses that regulate your bodily functions. They decide, for example, whether you will respond to a potential headache trigger with an actual sensation of pain.
- Other Types of Headache
If the symptoms described for chronic tension-type, migraine and cluster headaches do not seem to explain your pain, then you might be encountering another type of headache.
Rebound Headache
Medication-Induced Headache Are You Over-Medicating? Guidelines
Sinus
Sinuses are located in your forehead bone, the cheek bone on each side, and behind the bridge of your nose. When a sinus becomes inflamed, usually as the result of an allergic reaction, a tumor or an infection, the inflammation will cause a localized pain. Sinuses are filled with air, and their secretions must be able to drain freely into the nose. If your headache is truly caused by a sinus blockage, such as an infection, you will probably have a fever. An x-ray will confirm a sinus blockage. Your physician's treatment might include antibiotics for the infection, as well as antihistamines or decongestants. If you do not have a true sinus headache and take decongestants, for example, they could make your headache worse.
Organic
An organic headache is the result of an abnormality in the brain or skull. It can be caused by a benign or malignant brain tumor, a brain aneurysm, hematoma, meningitis, brain abscess, brain infection, cerebral hemorrhage, or encephalitis. Fortunately, very few headaches (less than 5 percent) are caused by tumors, and not all people with tumors experience headaches. A tumor will cause a headache if it intrudes on arterial space or increases intracranial pressure. If there is a brain tumor, the headache will probably come on suddenly and intensely. It may get progressively worse and can be aggravated by coughing or physical activity. Tune into symptoms that could be red flags: a sudden, sharp, intense or severe pain (particularly if you never or only occasionally have a headache); sudden lack of balance or falling; confusion; inappropriate behavior; seizures; difficulty speaking. If these symptoms are left undiagnosed, they can lead to serious consequences.
Sources: National Headache Foundation (http://www.headaches.org/)
posted by Zumrowi Yunus at 7:36 PM
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