Everyone has experienced headaches, yet do you know what causes them? Headaches have a diverse suit of causes, including things like:
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Sinus issues
- Lack of sleep
- Caffeine withdrawal
- Hunger
The symptoms of a headache can be defined in the most general sense as pain in some region of the head — varying in duration, localization, and intensity. A headache can be a minor irritation or it can be wholly debilitating. In many cases, a headache is an acute phenomena that requires nothing more than home remedies like rest and over-the-counter headache medicine, yet some headaches persevere in obstinate torment, causing chronic, debilitating suffering. If you are suffering from chronic or debilitating, acute headaches, the headache management specialists at Texas Institute for Neurological Disorders are here for you. Our headache management specialized neurologists, led by Dr. Sundaram, offer highly-personalized headache care, and will work with you to treat headache pain as well as mitigate the base causes of your symptoms. If you are in North Texas or South Oklahoma, schedule an appointment with us today.
Types of Headaches
The International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) identifies more than 150 different types of headaches. The first distinction the make is between primary and secondary headaches.
- A primary headache is a symptom in-and-of itself, not caused by another condition.
A secondary headache is a symptom of something else, like caffeine withdrawal or a head injury.
The Most Common Types of Primary Headaches
#1: Migraines
Approximately 12% of Americans are afflicted with regular migraines. The ultimate cause of migraines is unknown, but they are suspected to be the result of abnormal brian activity, affecting how nerves communicate and how chemicals and blood vessels in the brain are functioning. It appears there is genetically-based susceptibility to migraines, causing one person to be more sensitive to triggers than another. The following triggers are known to often set off migraines:
- Emotional triggers — Things like stress, anxiety, shock, and depression can all trigger a migraine.
- Hormonal changes — When women are menstruating they may experience migraines associated with hormonal changes.
- Medications — Sleeping pills, contraceptive pills, and hormone replacement therapy drugs all can trigger migraines.
- Diet triggers — Certain foods like chocolate, citrus fruit, and cheese can trigger migraines. Things like alcohol and caffeine are also often associated with migraines.
- Dehydration — Being dehydrated can easily set off a migraine reaction.
- Environmental triggers — Strong smells, loud noises, bright screens, stuffy rooms, etc. can all trigger a migraine.
The difference between a migraine headache and other types of headaches is that migraines:
- Occur with moderate-to-severe headache on one side of the head
- Often occur with symptoms of nausea and vomiting accompanying them
- They are regular, occurring repeatedly over the course of a few hours to a few days.
Did you know that migraines can occur with an aura? This is where one’s sense of vision is disturbed leading up to the migraine, with the perception of peculiar flashing lights, zig-zagging lines in the visual field, and other symptoms. However, usually migraines occur without any sensory disturbances in the lead-up to an attack.
#2: Tension Headache
The most common type of headache is the tension headache. These types of headaches are caused by muscle contractions around the head and neck resulting from foods, activities, and other stressors. Some people say that tension headaches feel like they have a tight band around their foreheads; it is characterized by mild to intense pain behind your eyes and in your neck and head. It is more of a dull pain, usually, with the experience of pressure and tenderness around the forehead. Usually the pain is mild, but occasionally it can be intense, in which cases it can easily be confused with a migraine. An easy way to tell between a tension headache and a migraine is that a tension headache is characterized by a more steady pain, while migraines have more of a throbbing quality. Tension headaches also lack the secondary symptoms that come with migraines, like nausea and vomiting.
Over-the-counter (OTC) medication may be used to help reduce the pain of occasional tension headaches — for example, drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and naproxen. However, for chronic tension headaches, a different course of action may be suitable. If you experience chronic tension headaches, schedule an appointment with the headache management specialists at Texas Institute for Neurological Disorders in North Texas or South Oklahoma. We will work to uncover the underlying cause of your headaches and work to alleviate them.
#3: Cluster Headaches
Unlike tension headaches, which are characterized by steady pain in the forehead, primarily, cluster headaches are characterized by severe piercing, burning pain behind the eyes or on one side of the face. It is common for cluster headaches to be accompanied by nasal congestion or eye tearing on the side of the face that is affected.
The reason they are called “cluster” headaches is because they occur in series, with each headache lasting for as little as 15 minutes up to three hours. As soon as one headache is resolved, another one starts ramping up.
Cluster headaches are three times as common in men as they are in women. Doctors don’t know exactly what the cause of cluster headaches are, but we do know some effective ways to treat the symptoms. Things like oxygen therapy and local anesthetics may help provide you some pain relief for your cluster headache. Whatever the frequency of your headache symptoms, we will be able to develop a customized plan to help alleviate pain and reduce the frequency of occurrence.
Treating Primary Headaches
There is no one cure for primary headaches. To start with though, treating migraines, tension headaches, and cluster headaches can be done through lifestyle alterations. The following lifestyle changes can help reduce the severity and frequency of primary headaches:
- Reducing stress
- Sleeping more
- Staying hydrated
- Regular exercise
- Avoiding foods and drinks that trigger symptoms
For more customized treatment strategies, schedule an appointment with one of our headache management specialists at Texas Institute for Neurological Disorders in North Texas or South Oklahoma. If you have severe headaches, recent medical developments and approaches have been made that can help reduce your headaches. For example, a neurologist can use botulinum injections for chronic headache management. You don’t have to go about suffering from regular headaches; speak with a professional neurologist and start getting your headaches (and the associated pain) under control. Don’t let your life be slowed down or defined by your headache pain. It’s time to get your life back. Contact us today and start managing and treating your headache!