Every person has faced such a problem as a headache. This unpleasant phenomenon can be associated with a variety of factors, and it is far from always necessary to talk about the severity of this symptom.

So, sometimes a headache can occur due to banal overwork, pungent odors, eye fatigue. In this case, it quickly passes as soon as the negative factor ceases to influence. If the head hurts from the fact that the person did not sleep for a long time, it will be enough for him to lie down and sleep, so that the pain stops.

With overwork and exposure to pungent odors, outdoor walks help. If there are no serious reasons for a headache, it is not a cause for concern. However, if the head hurts badly, the pain does not go away, it often arises - this is a direct reason to see a doctor, because the causes of such ailment can be quite serious, and you must find them. Do not clog this pain with medicine and ignore it, if it occurs regularly - such neglect is unacceptable. In approximately 20 percent of cases, persistent headaches indicate serious problems, being a secondary symptom.

Headache causes

Physical strain

There are a number of mechanisms that can lead to a headache. If we consider the main ones, it is necessary to note an overstrain of a physical nature, which leads to muscle spasms.This is characteristic both for increased muscular loads in the neck, head, and for a long stay in an uncomfortable position, for example, during sleep. It is for this reason that it happens that a headache occurs immediately after sleep, when waking up.

Blood thickening

Blood clotting also leads to headaches, as well as vasoconstriction - in these situations, the brain receives insufficient nutrition and oxygen, which causes pain. They can also occur due to the presence of atherosclerotic plaques, blood clots, the presence of tumors, edema - all this worsens the blood supply and creates other problems that the body signals a headache. With swelling and tumors, cerebrospinal fluid circulation worsens.

Neuralgic headaches

There are neuralgic headaches that occur when problems with the nerves, when they are infringed, are squeezed or infected. Also, one cannot ignore the psychogenic component when problems arise due to stresses, chronic fatigue, and other similar influences.

If we talk about a temporary, single manifestation of a headache, then here you can list an even greater number of factors. It can be provoked by alcoholic drinks and smoking, medical anesthesia, ingestion of toxic substances, as well as caffeine and much more.

Heat, high humidity, too long or short sleep, pungent odors, new glasses or lenses - all this can lead to headaches.But these factors do not turn out to be especially dangerous, especially when the symptom is manifested once. In other situations, you need to be careful, and even sound the alarm. For example, a headache with hypothermia, a head injury or even a small hit, with malnutrition or a strict diet - this is dangerous.

Types of headache and symptoms

Headaches can have different localization, and they manifest themselves in different ways. The doctor asks the location of the pain, its intensity, the accompanying symptoms, and these data will be enough for a good specialist to make a specific diagnosis - the specifics of a headache can be so different.

So, in the case of hypertensive patients the back of the head hurts, and the headache due to stress and nerves is expressed as the girdle of the head, and also exciting the occipital region. Migraine invades the temporal region.

If the pain occurs for reasons related to the vessels, then it is expressed as throbbing, aching, may be reflected in vision or may be accompanied by dizziness. Such pain is aggravated by bending, of any activity. Liquorodynamic pain comes as pressure from inside, bursting head, it is accompanied by dizziness, bouts of weakness, there may be nausea or a severe deterioration in the person’s well-being.

If the pain occurs for neuralgic reasons, it is characterized by high intensity, sudden onset. It lasts for days, sometimes for weeks, it is difficult to suppress analgesics, the skin at the site of the pain localization zone may have reduced or increased sensitivity. Sometimes it happens that when you click on the localization zone, the pain intensifies, as if this place was cut with a knife.

Psychogenic headaches can have a very different specificity, often they come against a background of general fatigue, a depressed or overexcited state. Pain from tension or overstressing squeezing, medium or small strength, may be accompanied by sensations of a sagging neck or aching in the same area. To relieve these pains, it is enough to provide massage of the affected area, or general, of the head and neck.

How to get rid of a headache?

If headaches are not typical for a person, and a one-time attack has arisen, you can try taking painkillers bought in a pharmacy. And there are also home, folk methods for relieving headaches - you can wash yourself with cool water or take a shower, press your forehead against the window glass. Sometimes it’s enough to drink tea, cheer up. Essential oils, such as peppermint, can be applied to whiskey by massaging them a little. A light massage, a walk in the fresh air - all this often helps to cope with a headache, and quite quickly.

However, if the intensity of the pain is high, and even more so if the painkillers do not help, need to see a doctor, observing all the accompanying symptoms, and telling the doctor about them. If the day before you fell, hit your head, you must definitely tell the doctor about it, as well as if there was hypothermia, if you went without a hat in the cold. The same can be said about prolonged pain - if an unpleasant symptom bothers you regularly, you need to visit a doctor.