Overview
- A condition where pain occurs in the head
- Most common of pain complaints
- Majority of headaches harmless, require no treatment
- Some are indications of an underlying disorder
Causes
- Tension
- Stress
- Straining the eye
- Sinus infection
- Dehydration
- Ice cream
- Sex
- Thunder
- Withdrawal from caffeine/drugs
- Brain related
- Aneurysms
- Tumours
- Meningitis
- Encephalitis
- Head injury
Types
- Vascular headache
- e.g. - Migraine, fever headaches, high blood pressure
- Pain on one/both side of head
- Stomach upset
- Difficulty in seeing
- Common in women
- Muscular headache
- e.g. Tension headache
- Tightening of facial/neck muscles
- Radiate to forehead
- Cervicogenic headache
- e.g Spondylitis
- Inflammatory headaches
- e.g Sinusitis
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Treatment
- Most headaches treated with pain killer
- Common medications- actaminophen/parasitamol/aspirin
- Tension headache treated by lowering body temperature - This is achieved by taking a cool shower
- If recurrent, keep a headache diary - This helps to identify the cause
- Chronic use of painkillers causes 'rebound headaches'
- Complementary treatments like chiropractic care, effective
Consult a doctor
- If headache is recurrent and persistent
- If headache occurs with
- Fever/convulsions
- Memory loss/confusion
- Loss of consciousness
- Stiff Neck
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