What causes headaches

Headache may spoil anyone’s life. Most of those who suffer from it seem adapted while taking painkillers and ignoring the symptoms. However, headaches can be caused by various pathologies that require the monitoring by experts, diagnosis and treatment.

Headaches are a symptom of a disease. There are more than 200 of them from heart dysfunctions to intoxications.

Types of headaches:

1. acute is sharp and local;
2. pain goes in continuous pulses of medium or low intensity;
3. dull ache is diffused;
4. distended is characterized by blood pressure inside the head and alerts on possible tumor growth or vascular malfunction;
5. pulsating alerts on vascular malfunction and blood pressure.

The most common causes of headaches:

• hormone dysfunction (puberty, pregnancy, menstruation, PMS, menopause);
• temporary stress;
• chronic and acute stress;
• fatigue, sleep disorders, insomnia, late sleep;
• blood pressure hikes (both a high and a low pressure cause pain);
• vegetative dystonia;
• inflammations and infections in the brain, its membranes, sinuses, jaw, eyeballs, face and neck muscles, nasal cavity and throat;
• thyroid gland degradation;
• eye infections such as ophthalmopathy, glaucoma;
• head and spine injuries;
• diabetes mellitus, glucose disorder;
• local and severe infections;
• the convalescence and recovery after diseases and surgeries;
• spine deformities such as osteochondrosis, hernias, protrusions;
• tumors;
• headache;
• cluster headaches.

Depending on the cause, headaches are divided into:

• primary – when the pain is not caused by a desease;
• secondary – when headache is a symptom of other disease.

Headache diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis for a headache, if it is cronic, is a complex and time-consuming process, given the amount of possible diagnoses.We advice to start from an appointment with a doctor, who can establish the cause of the pain and refer the patient to the narrow expert such as an ophthalmologist, an ENT doctor, a neurologist, an orthopedic traumatologist, and an endocrinologist.

The diagnostics implies:

• a consultation with a doctor to establish a diagnosis, medical tests and appointment of tests and matter inspection methods;
• blood and urine tests;
• biochemical blood tests for the level of hormones, glucose, and other indicators;
• blood pressure monitoring;
• vessel ultrasound with scanning;
• Electroencephalography;
• X-ray diagnostics: X-ray, CT head scan; 
• brain MRI;
• consultation of a narrow expert.

Headache is treated with different methods such as medications, psychotherapy, physiotherapy, and surgery. They all depend on the cause of the pain.

A headache can be derailing for a long time, so don't ignore this symptom and get checked out. Just know that chronic and long-lasting pain can be treated.