1.

TYPES AND CAUSES OF HEADACHE

DEFINITION
A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the head
(occipital), or in the back of the upper neck.

CAUSES
signals interacting between the brain, blood vessels, and surrounding nerves. During
a headache, specific nerves of the blood vessels and head muscles are activated
and send pain signals to the brain
Headaches that occur suddenly (acute-onset) are usually due to an illness, infection,
cold, or fever. Other conditions that can cause an acute headache include sinusitis
(inflammation of the sinuses), pharyngitis (inflammation or infection of the throat),
or otitis (ear infection or inflammation). In some cases, the headaches may be the
result of a blow to the head (trauma) or rarely, a sign of a more serious medical
condition.
Headaches can also be triggered by specific environmental factors that are shared in
a family's household, such as exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, strong odors
from household chemicals or perfumes, exposure to certain allergens, or eating
certain foods. Stress, pollution, noise, lighting, and weather changes are other
environmental factors that can trigger headaches for some people.
Too much physical activity can also trigger a migraine in both adults and children.

TYPES
Primary
Caused by problems with or overactivity of pain-sensitive structures in head. Not a
symptom of an underlying disease.
TYPE
Tension
Headaches
(chronic daily
headaches or
chronic nonprogressive
headaches ).
Migraines

INFORMATION
- The most common in adult.
- These muscle contraction headaches cause mild to moderate
pain and come and go over a prolonged period of time.
- Caused by emotional stress, anxiety, clenching jaw,
eyestrain and neck or back strain due to poor posture.

- Genetic disease
- Exact causes of migraines are unknown. A popular theory is
that various triggers cause abnormal brain activity, which
in turn causes changes in the blood vessels in the brain
(neurovascular theory).
- Migraine pain is moderate to severe, described as pounding,
throbbing pain.
- Last from four hours to three days and usually occur one to

four times per month.

- Associated with symptoms such as sensitivity to light, noise,
or odors; nausea or vomiting; loss of appetite; and stomach
upset or abdominal pain.
Cluster
Headaches

- The least common

- More common in men than women
- Triggers by alcohol, cigarettes, high altitudes and certain
foods
- The pain is intense and described having a burning or
piercing quality that is throbbing or constant.
- So severe that most cluster headache sufferers cannot sit
still and will often pace during an attack.
- The pain is located behind one eye or in the eye region,
without changing sides.
- occur one to three times per day during a cluster period,
which may last two weeks to three months.
- The headaches may disappear completely (go into
"remission") for months or years, only to recur

Mixed Headache - Combination of migraine and tension headaches.

- Both adults and children experience this type of headache.
Syndrome
(transformed
migraines)
Acute Headaches - In children.
- Occur suddenly and for the first time and have symptoms
that subside after a relatively short period of time.
- If there are no neurological signs or symptoms, the most
common cause for acute headaches in children and
adolescents is a respiratory or sinus infection
Chronic
Progressive
Headaches

- Also called traction or inflammatory headaches, chronic

progressive headaches get worse and happen more often
over time.
- Least common type of headache, accounting for less than
5% of all headaches in adults and less than 2% of all
headaches in kids.
- May be the result of an illness or disorder of the brain or
skull.

Hormone
Headaches

- Headaches in women are often associated with changing

hormone levels that occur during menstruation, pregnancy,
and menopause.
- Chemically induced hormone changes, such as with birth
control pills, also trigger headaches in some women.

Sex Headache

- These are relatively rare and are more common in younger

people, particularly men, usually start shortly after

intercourse begins and end in a "thunderclap" headache at
climax.
- A dull headache can often linger for hours or a day. There is
often no known cause for these headaches and they usually
go away on their own

Secondary
Is a symptom of a disease that can activate the pain-sensitive nerves of the head.
TYPE
Sinus Headaches

INFORMATION
- Associated with a deep and constant pain in the
cheekbones, forehead, or bridge of the nose.
- Intensifies with sudden head movement or straining
and usually occurs with other sinus symptoms, such
as nasal discharge, feeling of fullness in the ears,
fever, and facial swelling.
- Related to an infection and comes with nasal
discharge that is green or tinged with red.
- Sinus infections often resolve with time or antibiotics,
if necessary, and shouldn't cause nausea or light
sensitivity, which are migraine symptoms.

Dental Headaches

- dental-related conditions that can trigger headaches

or face pain, such as bruxism and
temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).
- Bruxism is grinding teeth at night, while TMJ affects
the joints, located just in front of ear, which connect
the jaw to the skull.
- TMJ can be caused by bad jaw alignment, stress, poor
posture (like sitting at a computer all day) or
arthritis, which affect the cartilage, muscles or
ligaments in the jaw.

Ice Cream Headaches

(Brain freeze)

- Shooting head pain that can occur while enjoying a icy

cold drink or treat on a hot day.
- People with migraines may be especially prone to
them.
- An impressive medical name -- sphenopalatine
ganglioneuralgia -- but they're not all that serious.
Experts think a cold sensation on the roof of the
mouth can cause an increase in blood flow to one of

the brain's arteries.

Other :
-

Arterial tears (carotid or vertebral dissections)

Blood clot (venous thrombosis) within the brain separate from stroke
Brain aneurysm (a bulge in an artery in your brain)
Brain AVM (an abnormal formation of brain blood vessels)
(both cancerous and noncancerous)
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Chiari malformation (structural problem at the base of your skull)
Concussion
Congenital heart disease in adults
Dental problems
Ear infection (middle ear)
Encephalitis (brain inflammation)
Giant cell arteritis (inflammation of the lining of the arteries)
Glaucoma
Hangovers
Influenza (flu)
Intracranial hematoma (blood vessel ruptures in the brain)
Medications to treat other disorders
Meningitis (inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding your brain
and spinal cord)
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Overuse of pain medication
Panic attacks and panic disorder
Post-concussion syndrome
Pressure from tight-fitting headgear, such as a helmet or goggles
Pseudotumor cerebri (increased pressure inside the skull)
Toxoplasmosis
Trigeminal neuralgia (disruption of the nerve connecting the face and brain)
Specific types :

External compression headaches (a result of pressure-causing headgear)

Rebound headaches (caused by overuse of pain medication)
Sinus headaches (caused by inflammation and congestion in sinus cavities)
Spinal headaches (caused by low levels of cerebrospinal fluid, possibly the
result of trauma, spinal tap or spinal anesthesia)
Thunderclap headaches (a group of disorders that involves sudden, severe
headaches)