Headache: origins and ways of fight

Statistically, at the address to doctors seven of each ten patients complain of a headache. Actually it is much more people who are periodically feeling unpleasant feelings such.

Many people, apart from a headache the reason for serious fears, prefer to muffle independently the next attack medicines. Such behavior is extremely careless, especially if this symptom appears regularly and is followed by other signs of an indisposition. Constant headaches practically always demonstrate existence of the serious problems demanding intervention of specialists.

Temple pain

When determining the reasons of a headache for one of the main diagnostic characters localization of unpleasant feelings is. Pain in temporal areas can be a consequence:

• Disturbances of a tone of vessels (cerebral angiodystonia). Pain aching, stupid. It begins in temples, but can extend to other areas of the head, a neck and an upper back. Attacks happen at any time. Patients complain of weakness in extremities, numbness of fingers, a sonitus, dizziness, decrease in sense of smell and memory, sleeplessness;
• Vegetative dysfunctions. Pain in temporal areas is followed by a sonitus, dizzinesses, faints;
• Increases in intracranial pressure. Nausea, vomiting, vision disorders are accompanying symptoms. The illness is very dangerous. In the absence of the qualified help there can be disorders of consciousness, a spasm and other heavy complications;
• Arterial hypertension. If pain (especially at the elderly person) is connected with a stress, change of meteoconditions, overfatigue, there is a probability that it is caused by high pressure. In such cases the heartache, short wind, weakness, weight and noise in the head quite often develop;
• Atherosclerosis. Persuasive headaches often arise against the background of pathological narrowing of blood vessels of a brain. At the same time memory gradually weakens, the person tests constant fatigue, is unjustly irritated;
• Temporal arteritis (inflammatory process on covers of sleepy and temporal arteries) which quite often turns out to be consequence of flu or SARS. Temple pain strong, pulsing. Intensity increases in the second half of day and at night, at a touch to skin of temples, a conversation, chewing. Fervescence is characteristic;
• Migraines. The sharp, throbbing pain is often localized only on the one hand. It is followed sacred and an accousticophobia, nausea, painful reaction to smells, drowsiness, irritability, a depression or overexcitation. Attacks arise periodically and can proceed till several hours. In many cases genetic predisposition to a disease is noted;
• Cluster pains. Unpleasant feelings begin with a congestion of one ear, then there is sharp temple pain and in an eye which are followed by dacryagogue. Attacks arise repeatedly during the day, such state proceeds several weeks, and then completely disappears. The illness is usually shown during the spring and summer period;
• Epileptiform neuralgias. A chronic disease of which the severe, shooting pain extending on one party to a cheek, lips, teeth, an ear, an eye is characteristic. The attack can be provoked by chewing, washing, toothbrushing and just a touch to skin. Often is followed by a unilateral spasm of face muscles.

Besides, temporal headaches can arise at periods or in a climacteric at women, at fatigue and an overstrain, or to be a remote consequence of injuries of the head.

Pain in occipital area

Considerable part of the patients complaining of nape pain has various diseases of cervical department of a backbone (a spondylosis, osteochondrosis) or inflammatory processes in neck muscles (for example, a miositis). At all these illnesses considerable restriction of mobility of a neck is observed, pain extends to area behind ears and an upper back. As a rule, patients test constraint, they interrupt a sleep. At osteochondrosis pain can be followed by a sonitus, nausea and disturbances of balance.

Pain in a nape quite often is a sign of increase in arterial or intracranial pressure. Sometimes such feelings are connected with vascular problems (for example, delay of outflow from the head of a venous blood). Strengthening of pain during the lying and cough, and also morning puffiness of lower eyelids is characteristic of these cases.

Dull aches in a nape often arise at the people forced to be long at work in the situation connected with a neck muscle tension (drivers, seamstresses, watchmakers, programmers, jewelers etc.). Unpleasant feelings of this kind arise also as a result of stresses.

Pain in a frontal part of the head

When pain is localized in a forehead, can be the cause:

• Household poisonings. It is not only about intoxications connected with the excessive use of alcohol. Poisonings with substances which emit in air construction and finishing materials, furniture, plastic objects, the clothes processed by low-quality paints are widespread in not smaller degree. Also nutritional supplements with which products and drinks of industrial production abound can exert similar impact on an organism;
• Inflammatory diseases of ENT organs (frontal sinusitis, antritises etc.);
• Infectious and viral diseases (flu, SARS, meningitis, various fevers);
• Neurosises;
• Pathologies of cardiovascular system. At the same time the headache can be provoked by the intracranial pressure both increased, and lowered;
• Diseases of eyes (including connected with existence of high intraocular pressure);
• Malignant new growths.

Treatment of a headache

In most cases the headache is not an independent disease. It is a symptom of some illness, and the main role in disposal of unpleasant feelings is played by its correct diagnosis allowing to appoint optimum treatment.

To try to remove attacks by means of independently picked up anesthetics it is admissible only when the headache arises very seldom and is not followed by other signs of an indisposition. It is worth mentioning also that frequent an origin and strengthenings of pain become medicines which accept without control of the doctor. Therefore if unpleasant feelings appear infrequently, it is worth trying to solve a problem, without using medicines (for example, to make soft massage, to take an alternating douche, to drink the calming tea with mint).

The situation when the headache is accompanied by vomiting, vision disorders or hearing, dizziness, temperature increase, an alalia or coordination of movements, weakness has to become a reason for the address to the specialist. Consultation of the specialist is required if the unpleasant symptom arises with a certain frequency or attacks proceed, despite drug intake. Remember that the relation to a headache as to small trouble, can be hazardous to health.