Causes Of Headache

Headaches are a very common type of condition where pain occurs in areas of the head such as above the eyes or the ears and behind the head or upper neck. In addition, headaches are not generally considered a disease, but rather a symptom of another disease. There are many causes of headaches and these may also differ from one individual to another. Furthermore, as sometimes the treatment is quite tough, it is vital to correctly diagnose the cause of headache.

Before any treatment, the headache should be first categorized. There are there are numerous ways to categorize headaches although the most renowned method was introduced by the International Headache Society. There are three main types of headaches according to this categorization and each specific type tends to have a separate cause.

Primary causes of headache are one of the main types of headaches and could be further categorized as tension headaches, migraine headaches and cluster headaches. In tension headaches, the major cause of headache is physical or mental stress. It is stated that nearly 90% of all adults would experience tension headaches in their lifetimes. Compared to men women appear to be more prone to experience tension headaches. Migraine headaches are also a common type of headache with almost 12% of the US population (around 28 million people) experiences this kind of headache. Although both of these headaches are very common, cluster headaches are rather rare with affecting only 0.1% of the population. The precise reason of headache in both migraine related and cluster headaches are not presently known. However, none of the above three headaches are life threatening.

Although the cause of headache in primary headaches might not be life threatening, secondary headaches may signal a far more dangerous situation. Due to conditions like meningitis, brain tumors, strokes and encephalitis secondary headaches could come about. Therefore, it is imperative that one seeks medical attention when one shows headache associated symptoms such as seizures, continuing nausea and vomiting, and vision, speech and behavior changes. There is also another type of headaches called Cranial neuralgia where the cause of headache is inflamed nerves in the head and the neck. In addition to this, facial pains and other various headaches are also incorporated into this category.

It’s very important that the you visit your physician if the headache persists in a severe manner though you might be able to get some relief in the short term through painkilling drugs like asprin or paracetamol. In addition, the painkilling drugs including paracetamol should be used in the recommended doses as an overdose might have adverse consequences such as heavy liver damage which would sometimes prove to be fatal.