Getting headaches sometimes is very common and normal. Work stress, weather changes, cold, loud music, and various other things can cause headaches. But facing headaches often can be complicated. You should visit a doctor to find the causes and treatment. Taking pain-relief medicines every time won’t help a lot.
Types of Headaches
Primary headaches
Primary headaches mean the pain in the head is the only condition. These headaches are not triggered by any other body condition like disease or allergies. Primary headaches can be classified as episodic and chronic headaches. Episodic headaches appear about 10-15 in a month and can last for one to several hours. Chronic headaches can occur more often like twenty days a month or like every day. If you are facing primary headaches; get headaches treatment New York. Chronic headaches can be severe, you should seek a doctor for pain management. Migraine, tension headache, cluster headache, hemicrania continua, ice pick headache, and thunderclap headache are the common types of primary headache.
Tension headache
This is the most common type of headache. It occurs due to muscle contractions in the head and neck. These headaches can be dull, moderate, or intense. A person can feel a tension headache due to performing lots of activities, foods, or any stressor. Many people can develop tension headaches due to staring at the computer screen for the whole day. Common things that can trigger headaches are smoking, caffeine, dry eyes, alcohol, poor posture, lack of sleep, and emotional stress.
Cluster headache
Cluster headache causes severe burning and piercing pain. This type of headache can occur on one side of the face or behind one eye. Common symptoms of cluster headaches are redness, swelling, sweating, flushing, etc. People also face nasal congestion and eye tearing on the headache side. A person can feel a cluster headache for about 15 minutes to 3 hours. Whenever a cluster headache appears, people face about one to four headaches a day. These headaches mostly appear at the same time every day. After getting relief from one headache pain, another headache will start after some time. Most people get cluster headaches during spring and fall.
Migraine
Today lots of people are facing migraine pain due to lots of causes. The pain intensity in migraine can range from moderate to high. This migraine pain can last for hours to days. In this type of headache, people can also get other symptoms like vomiting and nausea. Many people also face visual disturbances like being unable to see, seeing a tunnel view or black dot, etc. Migraine has different stages, prodrome, aura, attack, and postdrome. This type of headache can run in families and women are most prone to develop migraine. Some of the common triggers for migraine attacks are skipping meals, sleep disturbance, exposure to chemicals, etc.
Secondary headaches
Secondary headaches are those headaches that are occurring due to some other condition of the body. Those conditions trigger your headaches and may become chronic. Treating the condition can ease your secondary headaches. Some common types of secondary headaches are rebound headache, hormone headache, caffeine headache, sinus headache, hypertension headache, post-traumatic headache, and spinal headache.
Allergy or sinus headache
Allergies can also cause headaches. These headaches often appear in the sinus area. Many people misdiagnose a sinus headache as a migraine because the symptoms are very similar. Sinus headaches often appear when the weather changes.
Rebound headache
These headaches occur due to medication overuse. The intensity of rebound headache can be dull to intense. A person is more susceptible to rebound headaches when they are frequently using OTC pain relievers.
Exertion headache
This headache occurs quickly after any intense physical activity. People get this headache after physical work like weight lifting or running. Some people can also get an exertion headache after sexual intercourse. This headache can last for a few minutes to some hours.
Hypertension headache
Hypertension headache is an alarming signal that will occur when the blood pressure is very high. This headache can occur on both sides of the head and can get worse if a person is doing any physical activity. If you are getting hypertension headaches then seek help immediately.
Treatment options for headache
Medications
For tension headaches or other primary headaches, you can take OTC pain relievers. These medications can ease headaches. If the OTC medications are not providing relief then you should visit a doctor. Taking lots of pain reliever medications can cause other harm to the body. For headaches like migraine, OTC medications won’t help. You have to get a prescription from your doctor for the correct medication.
Natural medications
Many people also consider natural medication like Homeopathy and Ayurveda for treating headaches. These medications are made from all-natural items like plants. Taking these medications will reduce the pain intensity and recurrence. Natural medications don’t have any harmful side effects.
Treat the condition behind headache
For secondary headaches, you have to work on the primary cause. You can talk about OTC medicines for easing the pain. But it won’t cure your secondary headache. Get proper treatment for the cause of the headache. Once the condition is treated, you won’t face headaches.