People have headaches for many reasons. Most headaches are not serious but some headaches are to serious disease.
How to find out whether the headache is serious or not?
Let’s discuss everything about Headache in short.
What is a headache?
Headache is defined as a pain arising from the head or upper neck of the body. The pain originates from the tissues and structures that surround the skull not from the brain because the brain itself has no nerves that give rise to the sensation of pain.
Types of Headaches:-
- Migraine headache.
- Tension headache.
- Hypnic headache.
- Cluster headache.
Causes of headaches:-
- Stress.
- Lack of sleep.
- Fatigue.
- Hunger.
- Caffeine withdrawal.
- Abrupt cessation of medications that contain caffeine, such as some pain-relieving medications like ibuprofen (Advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- Weather changes.
Ask the Patients
- How long has he or she had a headache?
- How often does it come?
- How long does it last?
- Has the patient any other complaint or sign of diseases?
- If the patient is a woman] is she pregnant?
Headaches that are not serious:-
- If the patient does not have a fever or a stiff neck (see below) and is not behaving strangely- tie headache is most probably not serious.
- It may be one of two types of headache described below-
Some headaches often come and go for weeks or months:-
They may come on most days and last most of the day. Often the patient does not sleep well cannot pay attention to anyone thing, and is tired or dizzy or frightened, or feels very sad.
Some other headaches, called migraine, last usually only 1-2 days:-
They can be very painful and they usually come back every few weeks or months.
They often start on one side only, During the headache, the patient may feel sick, may vomit, does not like to look at a bright light, and may have trouble in seeing.
Often, the patient knows that the headache is coming in a short time.
Treatment of Headache:-
- First, explain to the patient that there may not be any serious disease in the head.
- Tablet for Headache:- If the patient has not tried treatment with aspirin or paracetamol before, give aspirin/paracetamol, before or at the beginning of the headache.
- If it helps, the patient should take aspirin/paracetamol each time to prevent or reduce the headache.
- Sometimes you and the patient can find out whether this headache seems to come after the patient has taken certain foods or drinks. It would be helpful to rule out errors of refraction in the eyes. Defects in eye-sights can cause chronic headaches.
- Often, the only useful treatment is rest and sleep.
- Headaches that may be a sign of a serious disease
The patient has a headache for the first time and it began last week Find out:-
- If the patient has a fever.
- If his neck is stiff (If the neck bends forward the neck is not stiff.)
- To find out if the neck is stiff;
- Lay the patient on his back
- Put your hand under his neck
- Trying to lift his head