Everyday headache causes and treatment. Is a constant headache dangerous? Headache is a possible symptom

Cephalgia is a syndrome of chronic headache, a common phenomenon, especially among residents of megacities. Constant noise, conflict situations in the workplace, difficulties in the family and many other factors cause a severe headache. This problem prevents a person from living a full life.

The sleep pattern is disturbed, there is no desire and strength to do your favorite hobby or sport. In addition, pain in the head can negatively affect the visual apparatus and human memory. Over time, during the transition to a chronic form, headaches provoke health problems, malaise, weakness in a certain part of the body appear.

In order to prejudice the further development of the disease and stop the consequences of migraines in a timely manner, it is necessary to establish why the head constantly hurts, as well as undergo appropriate treatment and prevention.

Possible reasons

There are many reasons why a headache can constantly hurt. Not all are associated with specific deviations in a person's well-being. Migraines can be triggered by internal and external factors. Internal factors relate to human health problems, the presence of congenital pathologies, etc. External factors are the causes leading to migraines. These can be conflict situations, stress, depression, etc.

Consider the reasons why the head constantly hurts:

Jumps in blood pressure. The pain in the head is aggravated by hypertension.
In weather-dependent people, migraines can appear during weather changes.
Stretching of the blood vessels.
Osteochondrosis in a developed form.
Psycho-emotional factors (depression, stress, disorder).
Giant cell arteritis.
Pathological deviations in metabolism.
Congenital pathologies of the facial structure.
Diseases of the kidneys.

Pain in the head can appear even with a common cold, as a side effect. If migraines occur sporadically, in an uncontrolled manner and no more than once every two weeks, there is no cause for concern. If your head constantly hurts, and the pain becomes regular, and also appears more than once a week, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Why Pills Don't Help

Everyone has experienced a situation where painkillers do not help with a headache. Why is this happening?

Standard painkillers relax the blood vessels in the head, which leads to the elimination of pain. Medicines that stabilize blood pressure work in a similar way. But, with prolonged use of the same drug, the human body develops immunity, and you have to buy stronger drugs.

If stress is the cause of the pain, then the problem is not in the arteries or blood vessels, but in the central nervous system. Painkillers cannot affect the central nervous system, so the discomfort remains the same.

Depending on the cause of the pain, headache pills may or may not help. It should be established what is the cause of migraine and only then take the appropriate medicine. Prolonged use of painkillers will only harm a person.

How to behave

If headaches become chronic, you need to know the standard algorithm of actions to muffle discomfort.

You can eliminate the unpleasant state in the following ways:

Go to bed is the best solution to this problem. Sleep helps with mild to moderate pain. Unfortunately, if your head hurts all the time and there is a pulsation, sleep will not help.
Mute all devices, turn off your TV or laptop, put your phone away. The tension of sensory systems often becomes a provoking factor, as a result of which, acute pain sensations in the head increase.
Provoke vomiting. Provided that a person has high blood pressure or food poisoning, with the help of vomiting, you can get rid of uncomfortable sensations at least partially.
Drink sweet hot tea. When glucose enters the body, the central nervous system calms down, and a person can fall asleep peacefully. It is recommended to drink chamomile tea as it has strong sedative properties.

It is recommended to keep strong painkillers in the home first aid kit, but due to mild pain in the head, you should not take them. It is enough to drink 2 tablets of analgin to muffle the pain. To eliminate spasms and alleviate the current condition, you can do cold compresses on the forehead. Wet a washcloth with cold water, lie down and place it on your forehead.

Headaches every day: diagnosis and first aid

Headache differs not only in the cause of occurrence, but also in the nature of impulsivity, as well as concomitant symptoms.

Throbbing pain. Over time, the pressure in the temples increases, the pulsation is accompanied by high blood pressure. Due to massive cerebral hemorrhage, nosebleeds may begin. If your head hurts every day, it may be the throbbing type.

muscle tension. Increasing sensations, a feeling is created, as if the head is “in a vice”. It occurs in people whose field of activity forces them to spend a lot of time near the computer screen.
Liquorodynamic. This type is a side effect of hypertension or hypotension. Unpleasant sensations arise not only in the head, but also in different parts of the body.
neuralgic. Occurs as a result of a strong moral overload. In a neglected form, painkillers and sedatives have no effect. Resi localized throughout the head.

It is possible to establish the type of headache, as well as to select the appropriate treatment regimen, only after undergoing diagnostic measures.

Diagnostics

Diagnostic measures carried out in the hospital consist of a patient interview and an instrumental-hardware examination. Laboratory studies will not help to establish why the head hurts every day.

When visiting a therapist, an oral survey follows, during which the attending specialist tries to determine the frequency of unpleasant sensations, the type of pain and other important nuances. At the end of the interview, the patient is referred to a specialist, usually a neurologist, neuropathologist or otolaryngologist.

Instrumental and hardware diagnostics consists of the following mandatory measures:

EEG. A procedure that determines whether the brain is working properly. If any abnormalities are noticed, the patient is left for treatment in the hospital.
Fluoroscopy. It is required in order to establish whether head spasms were caused by trauma, hydrocephalus, or other factors.
MRI. It is done to determine if a patient has or does not have a tumor or malignancy.
ultrasound. With the help of ultrasound diagnostics, the doctor determines whether the patient has a problem with the vascular system.

All procedures must be carried out without fail. Additional events are appointed by a specialist at his discretion.

First aid

Some attacks come on so suddenly that the person is at a disadvantage and cannot help himself.

To eliminate unpleasant consequences, you should know how to provide first aid for a headache:

The patient should take a supine position. Place a flat pillow under your head.
After that, you should drink painkillers, preferably of medium action. Without urgent need, do not use potent drugs.
Measure your blood pressure. If the readings are elevated, give the patient a blood pressure lowering agent.
If the spasms continue to grow, the victim must induce artificial vomiting.
Apply cold compresses to the forehead, you can use some ice.
Open windows, balconies and doors. There must be fresh air circulation in the room.

If all the above methods did not work and the condition continues to worsen, an ambulance should be called. The person must remain conscious. It is necessary to create a comfortable atmosphere, to exclude all extraneous noise.

Persistent headaches and possible consequences

Treatment is required or not - this issue is decided by the attending physician. As a rule, this question is guided by a neurologist. Therapy is prescribed if persistent headaches become more frequent and become chronic.

There are several methods of therapy:

Medical therapy. The patient is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. As a rule, medicines combine spasmalholics and painkillers. Medications are selected individually, depending on the provocative cause and nature of the spasm.
Massage treatments. The method is suitable for patients whose problem is osteochondrosis or disorders of the spinal column. Massage acts as an adjunct therapy.
exercise therapy. Some exercises from the complex of physiotherapy exercises help eliminate spasms in the head, provided that they are caused by injury or overexertion.

All other methods are less common and are used when traditional medicine is powerless.

How an attack occurs and what is best to do

An attack of headache begins suddenly, after the provocative cause has outgrown the critical point.

Depending on the nature of the pain, the following actions should be taken:

If the sensations are pulsating, you should turn off all electronic devices and lie down in silence. Sleep if possible.
Take painkillers. Suitable No-shpa, Analgin or Ketanov.
Ventilate the room, if the pulsation is weak - go outside.
Make a massage of the temples. With two index fingers, make circular movements in the area of \u200b\u200bthe temples.

You need to try to protect yourself from extraneous noise as much as possible. If this succeeds, the vessels in the head will come to a relaxed state, which will greatly facilitate the human condition.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine has repeatedly rescued people in situations where constant headaches brought a person to the ward in the hospital. There are several proven folk ways to eliminate migraines.

mint cha th. It is enough to add a few mint leaves to any tea, for any cramps. The remedy eliminates spasms and has a calming effect on the central nervous system.
lemon peel. It is necessary to take two fresh lemons, remove the peel from them and put on whiskey. Next, wrap your head with something warm. The tool will get rid of acute and throbbing pain.
Drops based on propolis and vodka are suitable for a therapeutic course.. You need two tablespoons of crushed propolis and 300 ml of vodka. Mix, let stand for a day. Take a tablespoon, an hour before bedtime or with a severe headache.

Many traditional medicines help eliminate migraines, even when the situation seems hopeless and there is a need to call an ambulance.

Possible consequences

If the headache problem has become chronic, the situation may turn into uncontrollable consequences, such as:

Deterioration of sensory feelings.
Memory problems.
CNS disorders.
Psycho-emotional disorders.
destruction of the vestibular apparatus.

These are far from all the consequences that arise as a result of chronic pain in the head. To prejudice their development, you should visit a medical institution in a timely manner.

Prevention

As a preventive measure, all stressful situations, especially those associated with working moments, should be eliminated. If the work delivers only problems, you should take a vacation and put yourself in order.

Take daily walks in the fresh air, stick to a daily routine, keep an eight-hour sleep schedule, and stabilize your diet. In this case, health problems will not arise.

“Headache” - we hear and pronounce these words so often that we are used to them, perceiving a headache as something annoying, but temporary and insignificant. “Perhaps I’ll take some pills” became the cure for the headache. However, a headache is often a symptom of some serious illness and malfunction in the body, some of which are life-threatening.

How to distinguish the nature of a headache and notice the disease in time?

The main causes of headaches - what can provoke it?

Headache can have different localization, character and intensity:

Headache of vascular origin - the cause is compression, narrowing of the lumen of the blood vessels of the head, as well as their expansion.

Various factors can provoke this:

Thrombi or emboli that block the lumen of small or large vessels.
Atherosclerosis of the vessels of the GM.
Edema, swelling of the GM and membranes, blood vessels.

Headache due to muscle tension - occurs with a long uncomfortable position of the head, heavy loads and physical stress, after sleeping in an uncomfortable position, due to an improperly selected bed - a mattress and pillows.
Headache of the liquorodynamic mechanism of origin - occurs when certain parts of the brain are compressed.

Causes:

Pathological increase or decrease in intracranial pressure.
Compression of the brain by a hematoma, cyst, tumor.

Neuralgic headaches - occur when nerve fibers are damaged or when they are exposed to some pathological process.

Causes:

Various neuralgia (most often - trigeminal nerve, occipital nerves).
Damage to the vestibular nerve.

Headache of psychogenic origin - as a rule, develops against the background of mental disorders, apathy.

Causes of psychalgia:

Stress.
Depression.
Long lasting emotional experiences.
Chronic fatigue.
Parkinson's disease.

There are over 200 factors that trigger headaches. If cephalgia occurs against the background of complete health, then most often this happens after:

Alcohol intake (vasodilation, intoxication).
Prolonged exposure to the sun, heat, sauna (overheating, sun or heat stroke, sudden vasodilation, loss of fluid through sweat).
The use of products containing caffeine.
High humidity.
Sleep disturbances, after lack of sleep or a shift in the usual mode.
Wearing contact lenses or incorrectly fitted glasses.
Intense mental activity.
Stressful situations, fright, strong excitement, experiences.
Injuries, bruises, concussions of the head.
Excessive or uneven sports loads.
Dentist visits and dental treatment.
massage sessions.
smoking.
SARS, other infectious, catarrhal or inflammatory diseases.
Hypothermia, contrast shower.
Started dieting, fasting.
Reception of certain products - chocolate, smoked meats and marinades, nuts, hard cheeses, etc.
Sex.
Taking any medication or inhaling toxic fumes.

Headache diagnostic program - how to independently determine why your head hurts?

The headache itself does not need to be diagnosed. But it is always required to find out what causes this pathological condition. The doctor may prescribe an examination program, depending on the patient's condition, age, nature and location of pain.

Diagnostic program for headaches

Laboratory diagnostic procedures , including a general blood test, a general urinalysis. Sometimes a study of cerebrospinal fluid is required, which is taken by puncture.
x-ray head in the desired projections, spine.
Magnetic resonance imaging head and spine.
CT scan head and spine (including positron emission CT).
Angiography cerebral vessels.
ultrasound.
EEG, RheoEG, myography.

It is helpful to have a chart handy that can suggest the root cause of your headache.

But do not try to diagnose yourself on your own, and even more so - to self-medicate. Contact a specialist!

Table of primary diagnosis of headache

If you often have headaches, keep a diary, in which note the time, the nature of the headache and after which it began.

How to relieve a headache with home remedies and when should you see a doctor?

First of all, it is worth knowing about the dangerous diseases and conditions that accompany a headache.

Headache, increased blood pressure, irritability, sleep disturbances, dizziness often indicate cerebrovascular accidents. Tolerate such symptoms is unacceptable - they can end in a stroke. Moreover, in recent years, stroke has become much younger and more and more often affects people who every day face an excessive workload and a high degree of responsibility: managers, business owners, fathers of large families. When symptoms of cerebrovascular accident appear, doctors often recommend taking combined drugs to improve vascular function, for example, Vasobral. Its active components stimulate metabolic processes in the brain, improve the condition of blood vessels, eliminate the effects of oxygen starvation of brain tissues associated with poor blood supply, and have a stimulating effect, which reduces the risk of stroke.

You should be alert and see a doctor immediately if:

The headache appeared for the first time, suddenly.
The headache is simply unbearable, accompanied by loss of consciousness, respiratory failure, heart palpitations, redness of the face, nausea and vomiting, urinary incontinence.
With a headache, visual disturbances, muscle weakness, speech and consciousness disorders are observed.
Against the background of a severe headache, a person partially or completely loses the ability to move.
Headache is accompanied by other symptoms - rash, fever to high levels, fever, delirium.
Severe headache in a pregnant woman, with epi-status and sharply increased blood pressure.
Headache for a long time.
The headache is aggravated by movement, changing the position of the body, physical work, going out into bright light.
Each attack of headache is stronger than the previous one.

How to relieve a headache with home remedies?

If you are sure that the headache is caused by overwork or, for example, stress, then you can get rid of it in the following ways:

Head massage fingers, a special massager or a wooden comb improves blood circulation, relieves vasospasm and soothes. Massage the head with light movements from the temples, forehead and neck to the top of the head.
Cold and hot compresses. Soak two washcloths, one in hot water and one in ice water. Put a cold compress on your forehead and temples, and press a hot compress to the back of your head.
Potato compress. Cut the potato tuber into circles 0.5 cm thick. Lay the mugs on the forehead and temples, cover with a towel and tie. Once the potatoes are warm, replace them with new ones.
Warm shower– not hot and not cold! Stand in the shower so that the water gets on your head. Can be combined with head massage with a comb.
Black chokeberry tea. Especially useful for hypertensive headaches.
Whiskey compress. Wipe the temples and forehead with a lemon peel or a piece of cucumber. Then attach slices of lemon peels or cucumber slices to the temples and fix on top with a handkerchief.

The site site warns: the information is provided for informational purposes only, and is not a medical recommendation. In no case do not self-medicate! If you have health problems, consult your doctor!

Everyone has experienced a headache at least once in their life. Regardless of the cause and intensity, this symptom always adversely affects daily activities. A person suffering from a headache becomes irritable, distracted, his working capacity decreases, and he cannot absorb new information. The frequent occurrence of this problem can significantly impair the quality of life. Why does headache occur and how to deal with it?

Types of headache

Not many people know that the head can hurt in different ways. It is important to be able to differentiate the symptoms that occur, as this greatly facilitates the establishment of the cause and the development of a treatment regimen. The most common types of pain are:

Tension pain. Everyone has experienced it at least once in their life. It occurs with an uncomfortable position of the neck or with a long static load on it. For example, if you sit at a table for a long time and write, read or work at a computer. In this case, the muscles of the neck and back experience prolonged tension, which is transmitted to the tissues of the head. Such pain can be compared to a tight hoop or cap that squeezes the head from the outside in.
Hypertensive. Often headache occurs in people suffering from arterial hypertension. It, as a rule, has a pulsating character, often localized in the temples or occipital region. The main way to diagnose it is to measure blood pressure.
Hypotensive. Lack of cerebral circulation also leads to the development of headaches. It occurs when arterial hypotension or clamping of blood vessels that feed the brain. Such pain is accompanied by dizziness, and in some cases - syncope. For its diagnosis, it is also necessary to measure blood pressure. Sometimes it is additionally worth examining the functioning of the vessels of the neck.
Migraine. How and why it appears is not exactly known. This is one of the most annoying types of pain. It occurs suddenly, differs in that it is localized in one half of the head. Such pain is accompanied by a fear of light, intolerance to loud sounds and a pronounced decrease in working capacity. It is very intense, poorly treated and can last for several days.
cluster pain. They occur mainly in the representatives of the stronger sex. There is an opinion that men who try to appear strong, despite their inner vulnerability and sensitivity, are prone to cluster or bundle pains. A distinctive feature of this type is paroxysmal pain. They appear as if in bunches, pass after a few minutes, and then can be repeated again.

Pathological conditions and diseases that can cause headache

It should be said right away that the brain itself does not have pain receptors. Even operations on this organ can be performed without anesthesia, after anesthetizing all overlying tissues, which is often done by neurosurgeons. But the membranes of the brain have a lot of pain receptors and are a powerful reflexogenic field. Also, the nerve endings contain the vessels of the brain.

There is an opinion that a headache can be a symptom of encephalitis, but in fact it is not. Even an extensive pathological focus with many other symptoms may not hurt at all until the inflammation passes to the membranes of the brain. This phenomenon is also true for other diseases. This often hinders the diagnosis of tumor processes in the brain. What diseases can cause headaches? The following deserve special attention:

Meningitis. This is an inflammation of the meninges with specific changes in the cerebrospinal fluid. It can occur due to many reasons, but is most often caused by a bacterial infection. The pain is intense, accompanied by photophobia and phonophobia, muscle rigidity and specific meningeal symptoms.
Meningism. Subjective symptoms are similar to those observed in meningitis, but there are no changes in the cerebrospinal fluid.
Tumor. The development of cancer cells in the cranial cavity is not always accompanied by a pain symptom. But there are multiple signs of focal brain damage: paresis, paralysis, decreased sensitivity.
Concussion. Occurs as a result of hitting the head on a hard surface. Moreover, a slight concussion can occur with a slight impact. Often this condition is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sometimes loss of consciousness.
Fracture of the bones of the skull. Such an injury is more dangerous than a normal concussion and requires urgent hospitalization. At the same time, not only the membranes of the brain, which may not be affected, but also the bones themselves and the tissues surrounding them hurt.

Headache does not necessarily indicate the conditions listed above, but it is worth remembering that it can be a symptom of these diseases.

Sometimes the type and cause of a headache cannot be determined even by the doctor himself. There are entire scientific institutes that deal with this problem. They are looking for causes, developmental processes and possible treatments for headaches.

These rules will help reduce the headache until the main treatment works. Sometimes with these simple methods you can completely get rid of a headache. If this symptom occurs, do the following:

Go outside for fresh air or open a window. This will increase the oxygen concentration in the blood and decrease the carbon dioxide content. Even if such a technique does not get rid of the headache, it should definitely reduce it.
Remove anything that is squeezing your head. This applies to hats, headbands, hoops and even hair ties. Braids and tails should also be untwisted. Free your head as much as possible.
Do a little workout. This tip is for those suffering from tension headaches. A few exercises on the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle are enough.
Measure your blood pressure. If the pain is caused by its decrease or increase, just one tablet that normalizes blood pressure can solve the problem.
Lie down. This will help reduce discomfort, regardless of the type of pain and the reasons that caused it. In this case, it is worth taking the most comfortable position, it is advisable to lie down in a dark and quiet room.
Do a cold compress. Soak a piece of gauze, a handkerchief or any other cloth in cool water and attach it to your forehead. Flip it over when it's hot, and then repeat the process again.
Contact your doctor. If the pain does not go away for a long time or often recurs, is accompanied by dizziness, nausea, or other symptoms, contact your local therapist. He will prescribe an examination plan to exclude all possible types of pathology and choose treatment tactics.

In fact, analgesics were invented to relieve pain. But, it should be borne in mind that they can not cope with all types of pain, moreover, they have a number of contraindications and side effects. You can not get involved in taking such drugs. In addition, they usually do not eliminate the cause of the symptom, but only reduce its manifestations. Headache should be relieved with the following medicinal substances:

Paracetamol. The most famous remedy that is widely used specifically for headaches. Indeed, the drug copes with this symptom perfectly, but doctors do not like to prescribe it. This is because paracetamol has a bad effect on the liver and there is a risk of getting hepatitis in the process of treating a headache.
Aspirin. Also often used for headaches. In addition to reducing discomfort, it can reduce body temperature. This is a useful property if the pain is a symptom of a cold. With frequent uncontrolled use, it can cause stomach ulcers and kidney failure.
Analgin. It acts similarly to aspirin, but the antipyretic effect is less pronounced.
Trigan. It is an antispasmodic that effectively fights pain caused by muscle tension and vascular spasm.
Solpadein. Pain reliever, anti-inflammatory and antitussive drug. Most often used for colds.
Ibuprofen. Belongs to the same group as analgin and aspirin, but rarely causes side effects and has a more powerful analgesic effect.
Pentalgin. It contains antispasmodics, stimulants and analgesics. It is a fairly strong drug, but has many side effects. It often cannot be used. In addition, it is contraindicated for athletes who are going to undergo doping control.
migrenol. It is used to treat migraines. Conventional analgesics and antispasmodics rarely cope with this task. It should be borne in mind that the drug has a hypnotic effect.
Imigran. Its action is different from migraine, but this drug is also used to get rid of migraine symptoms.

It can be concluded that headache is a common symptom in many people. It can appear due to various reasons, most of which do not pose any threat to life and health. However, under certain circumstances, it is worth going through a number of additional examination methods in order to exclude a serious pathology of the brain. Headaches can be treated in a variety of ways.

Video: 8 ways to quickly relieve a headache

If you often have a headache, you should definitely look for the cause of this problem. A headache cannot simply be endured or seized with painkillers. Do not ignore problems with your health, perhaps it is with the help of a headache that the body signals you about some problems.

Headache often: a list of causes

Everyone has experienced a headache at least once. However, if such pain is not periodic, but regular, it is already quite serious.

Often headaches due to stress, overexertion and other reasons

Here are the main causes of frequent headaches:

Frequent stress, strong moral or physical strain.
Lack of sleep.
Hormonal disruptions. Such failures can occur, for example, during pregnancy or during menopause, when the body is completely rebuilt.
Eye strain. It is caused by prolonged work at the computer, watching 3D movies, etc.
Long-term medication. In this case, the headache can last another 2 weeks after the person has stopped taking the pills that “bored” the body.
Head injury. Pain can last from 2 to 8 weeks, depending on the nature of the injury.
Obesity.
Meningitis. This is inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. In this case, pain in the head is accompanied by nausea, vomiting.
Glaucoma. Damage to the optic nerves. A common cause of headaches in people over 40 years of age.
Brain cancer.

By the way, if your head often hurts in the forehead, this may have its own reasons. Most often, such pain is caused by sinusitis or frontal sinusitis.

What to do and which doctor to contact if you start to have a headache often

The first thing a person with a lingering headache most often does is take a painkiller pill. However, it is better to relieve pain with folk remedies. Place a fresh cabbage leaf on your forehead, make yourself a delicious chamomile tea, and rub your temples with lemon or lavender essential oil. This will take away the headache.

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