Causes:
– Over 200 types of headaches exist, ranging from harmless to life-threatening.
– Headaches are categorized as primary or secondary.
– Primary headaches are recurrent and not caused by underlying diseases.
– Secondary headaches result from underlying conditions like infections or tumors.
– Warning signs indicate when a secondary headache may be dangerous.
Primary:
– Ninety percent of headaches are primary.
– Primary headaches typically start between ages 20 and 40.
– Common primary headaches are migraines and tension-type headaches.
– Migraines have pulsing head pain, nausea, sensitivity to light, and sound.
– Tension-type headaches present as bandlike pressure on both sides of the head.
Secondary:
– Secondary headaches can be caused by issues in the head or neck.
– Excessive use of painkillers can worsen pain.
– Serious causes of secondary headaches include meningitis and brain bleeding.
– Brain tumors can cause dull headaches with nausea and vomiting.
– Gastrointestinal disorders like Helicobacter pylori infection can lead to headaches.
Headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
| Headache | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Cephalalgia |
 | |
| Person with a headache | |
| Specialty | Neurology |
| Types | Tension headache, cluster headache, sinusitis, migraine headache, hangover headache, cold-stimulus headache (brain freeze) |
| Treatment | Over-the-counter painkillers, sleep, drinking water, eating food, head or neck massage |
Headaches can occur as a result of many conditions. There are a number of different classification systems for headaches. The most well-recognized is that of the International Headache Society, which classifies it into more than 150 types of primary and secondary headaches. Causes of headaches may include dehydration; fatigue; sleep deprivation; stress; the effects of medications (overuse) and recreational drugs, including withdrawal; viral infections; loud noises; head injury; rapid ingestion of a very cold food or beverage; and dental or sinus issues (such as sinusitis).
Treatment of a headache depends on the underlying cause, but commonly involves pain medication (especially in case of migraine or cluster headaches). A headache is one of the most commonly experienced of all physical discomforts.
About half of adults have a headache in a given year. Tension headaches are the most common, affecting about 1.6 billion people (21.8% of the population) followed by migraine headaches which affect about 848 million (11.7%).
English
Alternative forms
- headach (obsolete)
- head-ache (archaic)
Etymology
From Middle English hevedeche, from Old English hēafodeċe, equivalent to head + ache.
