Causes and symptoms of headaches

The common headache, which doctors identify with the term headache, is defined by them as a pain located inside the head or in the upper part of the neck.

Headaches: Causes, Symptoms and Classification.

What is a headache?

What is commonly referred to as a "headache" is caused by the alteration of physiological processes involving structures sensitive to pain stimuli, located in: periosteum of the skull, muscles, nerves, arteries and veins, subcutaneous tissues, eyes, ears, sinuses and mucous membranes.

Headaches in most cases are the result of the interaction between genetic predisposition, endogenous causes (internal to the body) and stimuli that trigger the alterations. In other cases on the other hand it can be caused by a traumatic event or rarely it can represent an alarm bell for a more serious pathology.

Classification, Symptoms and Causes.

Headache can be divided basically into three categories:

• Primary headaches;
• Secondary headaches;
• Cranial neuralgia and central or primary facial pain and other headaches.

Primary headaches do not always have a specific cause as a trigger, but are often related to incorrect lifestyles, hormonal imbalances or environmental factors

Primary headaches are the most common and can be divided into: tension headache, migraine, cluster headache

Tension headache is the relatively less painful form of primary headache and also the most common, which depends on the involuntary and continuous contraction of the muscles of the nape, forehead, temples, neck and shoulders, associated with conditions of voltage.

It can be related to stress, depression, anxiety or poor posture and is more common in women.

The pain is often referred to as a "circle in the head", located in the back of the skull or spread to the whole head and, fortunately  does not affect normal daily activities.

Migraine predominantly affects women, and is characterized by intense, throbbing pain. It begins slowly on one side of the head, involving the frontal region above the eye and the temple. Sometimes it can involve both sides and tends to worsen with movement, limiting usual daily activities. A migraine attack can last from four hours to three days.

The causes are unknown, but some stimuli seem to alter the pain regulation system. Furthermore, it can be triggered by hormonal imbalances, foods (chocolate, aged cheeses or food additives), environmental causes, caffeine withdrawal, lack of sleep, smoking, alcohol, etc.

Cluster headache is  the least common but most severe form of primary headache and predominantly affects men and adults over the age of 20.

The pain is intense and throbbing, it always affects only one side of the head and during an attack it remains strictly on the same side. It can be associated with lacrimation, conjunctival redness, drooping eyelid, rhinorrhea and nasal congestion.

Each episode of cluster headache lasts from 15 minutes to 3 hours and occurs with a variable frequency. The attack begins quickly and reaches maximum intensity within about 15 minutes.

The causes can be sought in some hormonal and nervous alterations, with potential involvement of the hypothalamus. The triggering factors are: Jet lag, stress, sleep-wake rhythm alterations, smoking and excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.

The secondary headaches represent the symptoms of other pathological conditions such as sinusitis, pharyngitis, otitis media and head trauma. Secondary headaches can also be caused by very serious pathological conditions which fortunately represent only a small percentage of cases.

Distinguishing between primary and secondary headaches can be difficult.

Cranial neuralgia, facial pain and other headaches

Cranial neuralgia occurs due to inflammation of the cranial and/or cervical nerves. For example, trigeminal neuralgia affects the nerve endings of the face, the anterior part of the skull and the oral cavity.

Other forms of facial pain and other causes of headache are included in this category.

Treatment

Not all types of headaches require treatment.

The appropriate therapy must be established by the doctor, based on the type and frequency of the headache, the symptoms, the coexisting pathologies and any other triggering causes.